As institutions are key pillars of groundwater resource management (GRM) it is important to determine the institutional constraints to GRM. This study used qualitative research methods to identify such constraints in western Iran. The participants were 37 key informants involved in GRM in Khorramabad county, including experts, representatives of relevant authorities, and members of local institutions. Snowball sampling was used to select the sample. Participants underwent in-depth individual interviews that were documented and transcribed for qualitative analysis. Open coding revealed 260 codes and 54 subcategories relevant to institutional constraints to GRM, which were further classified using axial coding. Using selective coding, a storyline was created, detailing the relationships among several of the categories, subcategories, and concepts. The results showed that the main phenomenon is “institutional structural and functional weakness”. Some conditions are contextual and allow the phenomenon to occur and some conditions have affected it. Regarding the contextual conditions, some cultural elements act as barriers to GRM. The inability of institutions involved in GRM to deal with unauthorized actors because of legal weakness (in both formulation and enforcement) also affects the phenomenon. In addition, weak organizational management due to centralized planning and complex bureaucracy affect the phenomenon. This research on causal conditions also indicates that groundwater exploitation in the form of drilling unauthorized wells and engaging in unplanned and unauthorized extraction is the most important cause of the phenomenon. The most important strategy of the institutions to overcome the phenomenon is to implement water engineering and control measures.

由于机构是地下水资源管理（GRM）的关键支柱，因此确定对GRM的机构约束非常重要。这项研究使用定性研究方法来确定伊朗西部的此类限制。与会人员是霍拉马巴德县参与GRM的37名关键线人，包括专家，有关当局的代表和地方机构的成员。使用雪球采样选择样本。参加者进行了深入的个人访谈，这些访谈被记录下来并记录下来以进行定性分析。开放编码揭示了与GRM体制约束相关的260个编码和54个子类别，这些进一步使用轴向编码进行了分类。使用选择性编码，创建了一个故事情节，详细描述了几个类别，子类别和概念之间的关系。结果表明，主要现象是“制度结构和功能薄弱”。一些条件是上下文相关的，并且允许现象发生，而某些条件已经影响了它。关于上下文条件，一些文化因素成为GRM的障碍。由于法律弱点（在制定和执行方面），参与GRM的机构无法与未经授权的行为者打交道也影响了这一现象。此外，由于集中计划和复杂的官僚机构而导致的组织管理薄弱也影响了这一现象。对因果条件的这项研究还表明，以钻未经批准的井的形式以及从事未经计划和未经批准的开采的形式开采地下水是造成这种现象的最重要原因。