A B S T R A C T
The causal explanation of the obstacles and challenges of establishing integrated regional governance and determining the key factor of these challenges in integrated spatial management; this research is exploratory in finding processes and key factors. The grounded theory method was used to identify the key factors that are challenging in implementing integrated governance in the region. A specialized panel of 15 people was used for this purpose. The political economy of rent is considered a key factor determining the numerous obstacles and challenges in creating integrated regional governance in Iran. The application of the political economy of rent leads to the dominance of the national structure of governance over the regional structure and has not been able to institutionalize collaborative approaches involving all governmental, public, private, and non-governmental sectors and institutions. Therefore, as a changeable and unifying socio-spatial process managed by the public sector, spatial management was set as a benchmark. Regional governance is seen as a worthy institutional platform for the manifestation of plural power. In terms of the obstacles and challenges to its establishment, this powerful institutional platform is explained on the basis of two key concepts of political economy and institutionalism. Spatial management through the design of institutional-legal, economic, and environmental mechanisms, the education system reform, and the culture reform led to the establishment of integrated regional governance. However, this establishment takes place within the framework and context of an institutionalist political economy with a flexible, open, and integrated structure
Extended Abstract
Introduction
The discovery of effective knowledge in regional management using dispersed data from the experiences of different countries and managers is significant to achieving the goals of regional governance. When scattered data is collected, processed, and managed, practical knowledge and deep insights can be gained into the regional governance system. In Iran, the existence of different and partial models of the country's administrative system has led to diversity in the type of approach and system of spatial management. The administrative system of the regions has a minimum of systematic structures suitable for the regions' current needs. This study aims "to explain the obstacles and challenges in the implementation of integrated regional administration and to identify the key factors of these challenges in integrated spatial administration."
 
Methodology
The approach of the present study is qualitative and was conducted using the grounded theory method. The grounded theory method is qualitative research in which a theory is developed based on a data series. The grounded data theory method is usually implemented in three ways: the systematic, emergent, and constructivist methods. A systematic method was used to analyze the data in this study. The systematic method has three main steps as open coding, second step as centralised coding, third step as selective coding. The statistical population of this study includes experts and managers of ministries at the macro and micro levels, selected by the snowball method (chain reference). In this study, 15 people were interviewed. The in-depth interviews were introduced with questions on the "obstacles and challenges to the introduction of integrated regional governance," the remaining questions were based on the interviewees' answers.
 
Results and discussion
When explaining the obstacles and challenges to the introduction of integrated regional governance during the in-depth interviews, respondents considered the existence of a rent-seeking political economy as a key factor in these obstacles. The rent-seeking political economy leads to the government implementing its plans without consulting social groups and without considering issues such as efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In such an environment, rentier governments adopt an import substitution policy based on historical experience. Applying the rentier political economy approach leads to the dominance of the national management structure over the regional structure. On the other hand, the experience of the world and the country has shown that the state-oriented approach in regional development planning and management is not effective. The participatory approaches in which all state, public, private, and popular departments and institutions are institutionalized to participate with each other and the country's planning and management system, with its centralized and state-oriented features, do not have an efficient mechanism to seek the participation of non-state sectors and citizens.
 
Conclusion
The findings of the text crystallise a sectoral administration, a limited, non-dense system, a political-administrative centralism, a polar spatial pattern, the presence of all kinds of departments, an incoherent and divergent spatial structure, the neglect of socio-cultural construction, the weakness in the creation of regional institutions, the neglect of the creation of regional identity and ecological instability and the creation of supercritical conditions in the regions, the rentier political economy with an inflexible, closed, divergent and dispersed structure. Considering these obstacles and challenges in creating integrated regional governance in Iran, spatial management creates integrated regional governance through the development of institutional-legal, economic, and environmental mechanisms, education system reform, and culture reform. However, this establishment will occur in the text and the context of an institutionalist political economy with a flexible, open, and integrated structure.
In other words, when spatial organization manifests as a central category in which the political economy believes. The process of introducing integrated regional governance is based on the political economy's belief in the introduction of spatial management. Therefore, the strategy that forms the link between these concepts is the approach of integration in all dimensions. The integration approach with coordination, cooperation, and collaboration can bring the planned mechanisms to fruition.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
Authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved thecontent of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
 
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
 We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.