Background and Objectives: Theory building is one of the key scientific phenomena that contributes to the development of knowledge and the advancement of different academic fields. Despite repeated recommendations and policy-making efforts intended to promote theory building in Iran, this phenomenon has not yet developed to the expected level, and Iranian universities continue to face various problems in this regard. Without a comprehensive understanding of these problems, it is difficult to design effective measures for increasing theory-building capacity. The barriers affecting theory building may be organizational or extra-organizational. Organizational barriers refer to problems that arise within a particular institution, such as internal regulations or working conditions, whereas extra-organizational barriers are broader issues that affect universities and research institutions across the country. Because such barriers are embedded in the wider academic, economic, social, and policy environment, they can influence the capacity of different institutions to support theory building. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to identify the most important extra-organizational barriers to the growth of theory-building capacity in Iran from the perspective of faculty members.
Methodology: The study employed a qualitative approach and used the method proposed by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana for qualitative data analysis. Before conducting the interviews, 71 academic studies were reviewed in order to identify barriers reported in the existing literature, and the extracted barriers were used in developing the research interview framework. In the next stage, 12 faculty members of Tarbiat Modarres University were selected through expert sampling and interviewed. The participants were selected because of their expertise in theory building or their experience with theory-building activities, and efforts were made to include individuals from different academic fields and with different levels of professional experience. Interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis. The qualitative data were then analyzed through coding and pattern identification. MAXQDA software was used to support the coding process and to organize the extracted codes into broader categories and themes corresponding to the research questions.
Findings: The findings showed that the barriers to theory building can generally be divided into organizational and extra-organizational groups. The present study focused on the second group, namely barriers that exist beyond a particular university and affect the broader Iranian academic community and higher education ecosystem. Seven general categories of extra-organizational barriers were identified. The first was the weak relationship between science and society, including the limited impact of science on economic development, weak university-industry relationships, insufficient connection between science and society, and the low value assigned to science by leaders and society. The second category concerned the country's economic challenges, including the low income of researchers, the distressed economic situation, and the limited dependence of the economic structure on science. The third category was ineffective management of higher education, including the formality of science, lack of university independence, inadequate university administrative structures, weak anti-corruption attitudes among authorities, and cultural issues. The fourth category was inefficient higher education, including weak communication among universities, limited effectiveness of higher education, and incompetence of higher education managers. The fifth category was the difficulty of theory building itself, including failure to follow theory-building steps, insufficient attention to its prerequisites, the relatively young age of modern science and universities in Iran, and the inherent difficulty of theory building. The sixth category was inappropriate educational policy, including ineffective educational evaluation, unsuitable national educational policies, and ineffective pre-university education. The seventh category was inappropriate research policy, including research bureaucracy, ineffective national research policies, and ineffective research evaluation systems.
Discussion: The findings indicate that increasing theory-building capacity requires attention to conditions beyond individual universities. The institution of science needs sufficient independence and intellectual freedom to support the emergence and development of theories. The current management structure of higher education also requires greater dynamism and efficiency, while educational and research policy-making can benefit from participation by a wider range of academic specialties. In addition, theory building is a demanding activity that requires substantial time and resources, including financial support, research facilities, and human resources. Improving the relationship between science and society, strengthening higher education management, revising educational and research policies, and providing appropriate resources for researchers may help reduce the identified barriers. Addressing these interconnected challenges can provide a more supportive environment for the development of theory-building capacity in Iranian higher education. The resulting classification also offers policy-makers a structured overview of barriers that can support more informed decisions and more targeted interventions.