LAUSR

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate factors contributing to the development of resilience capacity and capability of industrial clusters in order for them to mitigate, absorb and adapt to the impacts of Iran’s economic sanctions. Design/methodology/approach The Hospital Equipment Cluster of Tehran (HECT) was selected as the case study for the research. The data were collected using the library and field research and analyzed using the thematic analysis method. Findings The key dimensions of resilience were grouped into socio-cultural, economic, technical-organizational and institutional–infrastructural categories. Based on the “complex adaptive system” theory, each of the abovementioned dimensions were investigated on different levels of analysis, including individual, enterprise, cluster, government and environment. Eventually, recommendations were made by considering required capacities and capabilities of resilience of the hospital equipment sector toward economic sanctions. Originality/value The resilience toward economic sanctions, as an extensive disaster, is a considerably new subject and few studies have been performed in the field. This research provides practical solutions for local policy-makers, authorities and enterprise managers.