**Abstract**



**Objective:** Corporate governance and corporate entrepreneurship are among the most important factors contributing to competitiveness enhancement and value creation in business organizations. Despite the growing body of research in these areas, there remains limited understanding of how different corporate governance components are related to entrepreneurial performance in strategic industries in developing countries, particularly within the economic and institutional context of Iran. This study aimed to identify the corporate governance components associated with entrepreneurial performance in Iran’s steel industry and to explain their role in fostering corporate entrepreneurial activities.



**Method:** This qualitative study was conducted based on an interpretive paradigm. The study population comprised companies operating in Iran’s steel industry. Given the nature and objective of the research, which was to gain an in-depth understanding of the corporate governance components associated with entrepreneurial performance, 13 steel companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange were selected as the cases through purposive sampling. The selection was based on criteria including relevance to the research topic, the presence of formal corporate governance structures, and accessibility to information and qualified participants. The participants consisted of 16 managers and experts associated with the selected companies who were chosen based on their managerial experience, specialized knowledge, and familiarity with management, corporate governance, and innovation. Sampling and interviewing continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Charmaz’s three-stage coding approach, including initial, focused, and axial coding. MAXQDA software was also employed to enhance the accuracy, coherence, and traceability of the data analysis process.



**Results:** The findings indicated that a set of corporate governance components can be associated with the entrepreneurial performance of steel companies through different pathways. Seven major components were identified: transparency and accountability; regulatory and institutional environment; corporate communication network; ownership structure and institutional arrangements; board structure and responsibilities; protection of minority shareholders’ rights; and organizational culture and risk-taking. The findings showed that enhancing information transparency and managerial accountability can reduce information ambiguity and improve oversight and strategic decision-making, thereby creating more favorable conditions for identifying and exploiting innovative opportunities. Moreover, effective monitoring mechanisms, active board participation in strategic decision-making, and appropriate ownership structures and institutional arrangements can facilitate coordination and resource allocation for entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore, an organizational culture supportive of innovation and risk-taking, together with stronger interactions with stakeholders and external institutions, facilitates access to resources, knowledge, and new opportunities and enhances firms’ capacity for innovation and value creation.



**Conclusion:** The findings demonstrate that corporate governance is not merely a control and monitoring mechanism; rather, it can function as a strategic capacity for fostering corporate entrepreneurship and enhancing entrepreneurial performance. Accordingly, simultaneous attention to monitoring and control mechanisms, ownership structure, the role of the board of directors, shareholder rights, the institutional environment, communication networks, and organizational culture can create more favorable conditions for developing innovative and entrepreneurial activities in steel companies. By identifying these components within the context of Iran’s steel industry, this study contributes to the theoretical literature at the intersection of corporate governance and corporate entrepreneurship and provides a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that influence innovation, opportunity exploitation, and value creation in industrial firms.



**Keywords:** Corporate governance, entrepreneurial performance, steel industry, organizational culture, ownership structure.