ملیحه سیاوشی

The research aims to investigate the effect of awareness of the brand connection with a charity, trust in the charity, charity's reputation, and consumers' perception of effectiveness in improving the cause, on the behavioral intentions of buyers.

The research was conducted using a quasi-experimental method (a pre-test-post-test design) in two experimental groups (Mahak and Imam Khomeini Relief Committee (RA)) in cyberspace. First, the participants watched a 74-second promotional video of Ehsan brand products (without mentioning the charity and only focused on the variety and quality of the products) and answered the questions related to the intention to buy the brand and recommend it to others. Then, by showing a printed ad, they learned about the brand's connection to one of the charities. then, the willingness to buy and the intention to recommend, as well as the participants' perception of effectiveness in improving the cause, trust in the charity, and the charity's reputation were measured again. Hypotheses were checked using the mean comparison test of dependent pairs and structural equation modeling.

Consumers' awareness of connecting the brand with charity strengthens positive behaviors such as willingness to buy and recommend the product to others. Also, when buyers feel that they can influence the improvement of the cause, the tendency to buy and recommend the brand increases. Not enough evidence was found to confirm the influence of charity reputation and charity trust on buyers' behaviors.

Success in attracting the participation of donors through promotional activities is one of the important challenges of charities, and advertising is one of the most important promotion tools used for this purpose. According to professional principles, for an advertisement to be effective, it must be attractive to the audience and reflect common values (Giddens, 2004, pp. 55-56). Previous research on charity advertising shows that the effectiveness of a charity advertisement is influenced by the alignment between the values included in a charity advertisement and the values that donors adhere to (Wymer and Gross, 2023, p. 23) and the congruence between the values included in the charity advertisement and the values of the target society of the ad have an effect on the effectiveness of the ad and the willingness of the audience to volunteer in charity activities (Bennett, 2013, p. 135); So, it is very important to ensure that the published advertisement affirms highlights and reinforces the cultural values of the target society. Therefore, the present study investigates the effect of using 14 cultural values, including collectivism, economy, family, individualism, patriotism, respect for the elderly, security, tradition, nature, work, and kindness (taken from Cheng's classification (1997)) and logical appeal, fear appeal, and reassuring appeal (taken from the research of Masoodipoor and Kheiri (2013)) on the effectiveness of charity advertisements published by the Imam Khomeini Relief foundation of Qom. 

In terms of purpose, the present research is of applied type, and in terms of method, it is descriptive research that was conducted in two qualitative and quantitative stages. First, using interpretive content analysis, the cultural values included in 18 advertisements published by the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation of Qom during one season were identified. For this purpose, the said advertisement in the form of a CD along with a questionnaire and a general description of the cultural values that the researchers intended to examine were delivered to 5 experts active in the field of marketing and advertising who were willing to cooperate with the researchers. They were asked to identify what cultural values were included in each ad. Any ad that at least three experts believed used a cultural value was considered an ad containing that cultural value and each ad could contain several cultural values. In the second stage of the research, by conducting a field study, the opinions of 100 Qommi audiences about the various aspects of the effectiveness of each advertisement were measured, and the average rating of the effectiveness of each advertisement and each cultural value was determined using Friedman's test. The reason for using the Friedman test is that the sample is correlated because each person answered the same questions for all 18 ads. This test corresponds to the repeated analysis of variance test in which a subject is measured several times (Ahmadi Kohanali and Chamani, 2012, p. 106). 

The results of the first stage of the research showed that the most frequent value used in the reviewed advertisements is kindness, which is present in 13 of the 18 reviewed advertisements; after that, religion (reassurance) in (6 ads), family (5 ads), individualism, religion (logical) and economy (4 ads) and security (3 ads) are the most frequent values in the investigated ads. However, according to the results of the research in the second stage, the most influential cultural values on the effectiveness of advertisements, in order of effectiveness, were family, work, individualism, patriotism, religious (logical) and collectivism, kindness, respect for the Elderly, religious (fear), nature, economic, security, religious (reassuring) and tradition. 

Designing the advertisement message according to the beliefs, preferences, and desires of the audience has an impact on the success of the advertisement. Accuracy in the ranking of advertisements and the ranking of cultural values used in them can provide good evidence to confirm this hypothesis that the cultural values included in charity advertisements affect the effectiveness of advertisements. The most frequent value used in the reviewed advertisements is kindness, which is natural considering the context of the research. Charity advertisements often combine rational and emotional content and attempt to evoke feelings of empathy among the audience for the people the charity is trying to help, and research shows that this technique is effective (Wymer and Gross, 2023, p. 14). The reason for this rank is the existence of this value in the majority of the ads that were investigated, which made it unable to create differentiation. The results of the research showed that while the values of affection, religion (reassuring), family, individualism, religion (logical), economy, and security are the most frequent in the investigated advertisements; Using the values of family, work, individualism, patriotism, religion (logical), and collectivism in advertisements have led to more effective advertisements. Considering the high costs of advertising and the limited resources of charities, charity marketers and advertising companies that advertise for charities need to be more careful in using cultural values in advertising. The time-consuming nature of completing the questionnaires and, as a result, the reduction of the respondents' participation rate, as well as the comparison of the effectiveness of advertisements from different media, are limitations of this research that should be taken into account when applying the research findings.

The advent of novel information and communication technologies, notably the Internet and social media, has facilitated the proliferation of electronic communication between individuals and businesses in the virtual realm, thereby furnishing an appropriate medium for their interaction. On the other hand, the development of digital media has led to a transformation in the marketing landscape, shifting away from conventional methods towards diverse digital marketing strategies. The transformation in communication and marketing has opened up novel opportunities for businesses, particularly those that are small or medium-sized, to leverage contemporary web-based marketing techniques, such as social media marketing, to advertise their products and services. Owing to their distinctive attributes, such as enhanced flexibility and the necessity to employ cost-effective tactics, these businesses can leverage social media marketing, which entails reduced expenses and minimal technological prerequisites. Hence, given the significant contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises to national economies, it is necessary to establish a framework for leveraging this form of marketing to enhance their operational efficacy. The review of related literature demonstrates that a variety of factors, including company-specific characteristics as well as internal and external factors, can have an impact on the adoption of social media marketing. Hence, the present study examined the domains of social media marketing adoption and its impact on the operational efficacy of small and medium-sized enterprises. The intended statistical sample consisted of senior executives and specialists from small and medium-sized enterprises located in the province of Hormozgan. The present study employed convenience sampling, and the census method was utilized to determine the sample size. Data was collected through a questionnaire, which was disseminated among a total of 143 companies. However, only 107 questionnaires were deemed usable and included in the analysis. The questionnaire items were evaluated for validity using three techniques: content validity, form validity, and construct validity (specifically, convergent and divergent validity). The questionnaire's reliability was assessed using three measures: factor loading, Cronbach's alpha, and composite reliability. The structural equation modeling technique was employed to examine the model and the interrelationships among the variables. The partial least squares method was utilized for this purpose, and SmartPLS was used as an analytical tool. According to the results of the research, it can be stated that all three factors of technology, organization and environment directly have a positive and significant effect on the acceptance of social media marketing. Also, the results of factor loadings showed that the influence of the environmental factor on this acceptance is greater. Considering that the two constructs of customer pressure and competitive pressure related to this factor have the highest factor loading, it can be concluded that small and medium-sized companies are under pressure from customers and competitors to accept social media marketing. The reason for this result can be attributed to the competition in the industry. When the industry is competitive, companies face more challenges in attracting and retaining customers, that's why they need to use social media as an effective tool to attract and communicate with customers. In a competitive industry, the company can maintain its competitive advantage in the market by respecting the demands of customers and fulfilling them. Considering these results, companies should pay attention to the role of factors influencing this acceptance when accepting social media marketing in order to provide internal and external preparations. Since the findings showed that the acceptance of social media marketing has a positive and strong effect on the performance of small and medium-sized companies, therefore paying attention to these factors can lead to better acceptance of this marketing and improve the performance of the company in various dimensions. It helps with finance, marketing and branding. Performance improvement can also increase the efficiency, productivity and income of the company, which will ultimately bring important consequences for the society, including increased employment, higher welfare and economic growth. The results also showed that the adoption of social media marketing is positively and indirectly influenced by technological and organizational factors that are mediated by variables of ease of use and perceived usefulness. By understanding the ease of use of this marketing and its usefulness, policymakers can increase the willingness to accept social network marketing in small and large companies.Based on the aforementioned findings, it is recommended that companies take into account the factors that impact the adoption of social media marketing, which can establish suitable internal and external conditions...

Recently, with the expansion of competition between domestic companies and international competitors, a new concept called the image of the country of product destination has attracted the attention of researchers. It is believed that the image of the country of destination of the product can, like the country of origin of the product, influence consumers' purchasing decisions. The present study, by conducting an online experimental design, examines the effect of country of product selling destination image on the purchasing decisions of domestic consumers in purchasing three products: porcelain, faucets, and office furniture. The results of the study on three different groups of experiments (with a total of 154 usable questionnaires) showed that the image of the country of product export's destination affects the perceived quality of product and willingness to buy it. But this effect is not the same at different prices. The results showed that in all three types of products when the price level of the product is average, the positive image of the country of destination has a positive effect on the perceived quality and willingness to buy the product. The findings of this study can help manufacturers and owners of domestic brands to improve consumer perception of the quality of domestic products and gradually eliminate negative stereotypes about them. .

Organizations are expected to be sensitive and conscious of their responsibilities to each of the organization's stakeholders in the pursuit of their financial benefits. Employees are one of the most important stakeholders for which the organization should be responsible and so must know what responsibilities it has towards them. However, most studies on corporate social responsibility(CSR) have focused on external stakeholders such as customers and the community, and less attention has been paid to the organization's responsibilities to employees.The present study is a multi-stage study that has been conducted with the aim of identifying the dimensions and indicators of CSR towards employees. First, by studying the theoretical foundations, dimensions and indicators of CSR towards employees were extracted from the research literature. Then, the identified dimensions and indicators were given to a group of 9 experts of Hormozgan Regional Electricity Company who were purposefully selected and their opinions on the appropriateness of indicators with the performance of the electricity company and how to measure them were collected. Finally, the performance of Hormozgan Regional Electricity Company was evaluated in the identified indicators.7 Dimensions including employment, management and staff relations, occupational safety and health, education and training, equal opportunities and non-discrimination, creation of decent and fair working conditions, and freedom to participate in unions and collective bargaining, with total of 15 indicators were identified. The results of evaluating the performance of Hormozgan Regional Electricity Company in the identified indicators are also provided along with suggestions for improving the situation.

Physicians' personal branding is one of the new areas in the medical-health system that promotes business growth and productivity. In addition, in the field of treatment and health, it also improves public health and public trust in the system. Given the importance of this issue, the present study has taken a step in this direction to identify the effective indicators in creating personal branding of physicians and to prioritize them.

The present study is an applied, descriptive survey. The statistical population of the present study is the specialized physicians of Bandar Abbas city and to collect data, ten specialized physicians have been selected as research experts with the snowballs technique. To analyze the data, the fuzzy Delphi method has been used to identify the effective indicators in creating the personal brand of specialist physicians and the multi-criteria decision making method (SWARA) has been used to gain weight and prioritize these indicators.

First, by examining the theoretical foundations of the research, 25 effective indicators for creating a personal brand were identified. Then, according to experts’ opinion answers, among the available indicators, 14 effective indicators in creating a personal brand of specialized physicians were identified. Finally, the identified indicators were confirmed and prioritized using the SWARA technique. According to the results, these indicators along with their average rank (a lower average rank indicates more importance) are experience and expertise (1.8), social responsibilities (2.6), adherence to professional ethics (3.5), credibility (4), reliability (5.1), personality traits (6.6), generosity and generosity (6.7), communication ( 8.3), authenticity (8.5), presence in social media (9.6), attire (11.4), individual performance (11.9), having personal goals (12.30) and having a personal vision (12.70)

According to the results, the indicators that have the greatest impact in creating the personal branding of specialist doctors are related to indicators related to professional, social or cultural issues such as expertise, compliance with professional ethics, trust and credibility, social responsibilities, communication and indicators that are related to personal and individual issues such as individual performance, having a vision and personal goals, although they are influential, but have a lower priority. Specialist physicians can be more successful in the field of competition by identifying and strengthening the indicators that influence their brand.

AbstractThe main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of the dimensions of tourism marketing mixed in creating and enhancing tourists' desire to choose Hormoz Island as a tourist destination. The present study is descriptive and correlational in terms of purpose and method of research. The statistical population includes all domestic and foreign tourists who have visited the attractions of Hormoz Island at the time of the survey. Sampling method was available and 384 subjects were selected. Data were collected using a closed-ended questionnaire and data analysis was performed using Structural Equation Modeling with the help of Smart PLS software. The findings of the study showed that tourism marketing mix dimentions is generally effective on the behavioral intentions of tourists, but the effect of the process element on the behavioral intentions was not confirmed.

The present study examines the role of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity in the occurrence of the counter-productive work behaviors in a military organization. This is an applied research in terms of purpose; and in terms of nature and method it is a descriptive-correlational research. Data were collected using a standard questionnaire from a sample of 248 participants who were selected in a proportional way and analyzed using structural equation modeling in PLS software. The results of this study show that while the effect of quantitative job insecurity on interpersonal counter-productive work behavior is negative, and on organizational counter-productive work behavior is positive; the effect of qualitative job insecurity on deviant behaviors is opposite. This result suggests that the different nature of qualitative and quantitative job insecurity leads to different behaviors. Paying attention to these differences in human resource decision-making can help managing of the organization better.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of quantitative and qualitative job security on different dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior. The present research is applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of method, is a descriptive survey that has been carried out using survey questionnaires. The statistical population of the study was the Air Force personnel of Shahid Abdolkarimi, Bandar Abbas; a sample of 278 personnel was randomly selected in a proportional way. Data analysis was performed by structural equation modeling using PLS software. Findings indicate that the impact of quantitative job insecurity (social and altruistic rituals) on the dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior was confirmed at 95% confidence level, as well as the effect of qualitative job insecurity (social customs, chivalry, altruism, and work conscience) on organizational citizenship behavior was confirmed at 95% confidence level. Therefore, the present study shows that the nature and extent of the impact of the lack of job security on both quantitative and qualitative differences on different aspects of organizational citizenship behavior are different. Therefore, HR managers in military organizations whose personnel may experience both types of job insecurity must pay attention to these differences.

The main objective of this research is to identify the factors affecting the importers' decision to buy Iranian handmade carpet  . This research is applied and is qualitative in terms of the type of data used. The research data were collected using interview with Iranian handmade carpet importers in the European ::union:: who were present at The 25th International Handmade Carpet Exhibition in Tehran. The sampling method was accessible, and the sequential method was used to determine the sample size. Accordingly, with14 Iranian handmade carpet importers to the European ::union:: were interviewed, that of which 11 persons were originally European and 3 persons Iranians residing in Europe. Data analysis was performed using qualitative content analysis. The content analysis results led to the identification of 233 primary codes that were categorized as 62 selective codes. By reviewing and filtering selective codes, 38 sub themes were identified, which were ultimately classified into 5 main themes. Some of the indicators have a positive effect and some have a negative influence on the decision to buy Iranian carpet. The ten main identified themes are: product, price, distribution, promotion, and environmental factors. Some of the indicators identified in this research, such as ordering capability in production, supply quality, negative media space against Iran, uniqueness of carpet, having a reliable business partner in Iran, provide international credentials, economic situation in the destination country, and etc. ,for the first time  and from the perspective of importers were mentioned; which illustrates the distinction of this research with previous research on carpet marketing.

Several studies have shown that, when the SMS ads are relating to wants of mobile subscribers, there are more likely that they have read and accept them. Given that mobile operators have access to part of subscriber’s information; are the best options to building a database of their information, and use of it for adaptation of SMS ads with needs and interests of subscribers. Considering this issue, current study sought to identify factors that affect the willingness of mobile phone users to provide personal information to create this database. Analysis of data from a sample of 302 mobile phone users, that were gathered using questionnaire and analyzed with use of structural equation modeling and ANOVA, indicate that attitude, subjective norms, perceived trust, and control on the information disclosure, are influencing on subscriber’s willingness to provide information. Also attitude influenced by the perceived risks and benefits of providing information; and perceived trust influenced by the mobile user’s trust to institutional environment and monitoring laws in this media. In addition, results showed that effect of providing incentives, such as discount in contact costs, on the user willingness is mediated by sensitivity of the information requested and level of control that provided in providing information. The findings of this study can help to mobile operators in implementing data- based messaging’s plan.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have offered innovative and cost effective advertising tools for managers. One of such technologies is mobile phone which has enabled a novel marketing channel for companies to directly reach their customers. Yet, mobile marketing is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigations. This paper has studied 588 customers’ perception for receiving commercials through their mobile phones and factors that would affect such perception. Research methods in the present article based on purpose are applied and descriptive- survey. A questionnaire has been designed and respondents have been selected through categorical randomization method. Hypotheses testing were done through t-test and Pierson test. Results showed that, unlike many other countries, Iranian customers had positive attitude toward mobile marketing.