structural equation modeling

The purpose of this study was to present a structural equation model of the dimensions and components of psychological maturity based on entrepreneurial development in education-oriented organizations.

This applied research was conducted using a descriptive-survey design with a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The statistical population included all experts and managers of education-oriented organizations in Tehran province. A total of 384 participants were selected using convenience sampling based on Morgan’s table. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed with SmartPLS software.

The results indicated a significant correlation between indicators (observable variables) and components (latent variables) with the main constructs. Specifically, individual maturity (β=0.617, t=8.806, p<0.001), entrepreneurial acculturation maturity (β=0.711, t=5.784, p<0.001), entrepreneurial interaction maturity (β=0.590, t=10.668, p<0.001), and entrepreneurial psychological motivation (β=0.624, t=6.013, p<0.001) all significantly explained the psychological maturity model based on entrepreneurial development. The model also demonstrated strong overall goodness-of-fit with a GOF value of 0.375.

The study confirms that psychological maturity plays a critical role in fostering entrepreneurship in education-oriented organizations. The four identified components can serve as a foundation for policymaking and designing empowerment programs that target psychological and entrepreneurial development in such institutions.

This study aims to develop a strategic model for the impact of social media on the creation and development of personal sports branding among Olympic athletes. A mixed-methods research approach was employed, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The statistical population included 39 elite Olympic athletes from Mazandaran province, with 25 participants selected through purposive sampling for the qualitative phase and 155 participants selected through convenience sampling for the quantitative phase. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and a structured questionnaire, analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including structural equation modeling. The qualitative data were examined using grounded theory analysis with open, axial, and selective coding. The results indicated that social media significantly influences the personal branding of Olympic athletes, with a strong correlation between social media engagement and brand development. Managing opportunities and threats in digital spaces plays a crucial role in brand sustainability, and effective social media use enhances fan interaction, marketability, and sponsorship potential. The findings also demonstrated that athletes with strong personal branding are more likely to achieve financial success through digital marketing strategies. Structural equation modeling confirmed that personal branding strategies positively impact the transition to global branding. The highest correlation was found between digital branding strategies and financial gains, suggesting that social media presence is essential for brand monetization. Social media serves as a powerful tool in developing and promoting personal sports branding, allowing Olympic athletes to enhance their visibility, engagement, and economic opportunities. Implementing strategic branding efforts, managing digital presence effectively, and utilizing professional marketing strategies can lead to greater success in both national and international markets. The findings emphasize the necessity of structured approaches to digital branding for sustainable athlete branding development.

Given the increasing role of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in higher education, assessing students' competencies in understanding and applying AI is essential. Accordingly, the aim of the present study is to evaluate AI literacy and analyze itsconceptual structure among students at Allameh Tabataba’i University, with a focus on three components: AI literacy, AI self-efficacy, and AI self-management. This study is applied in its objective and descriptive–analytical in nature. Data were collectedthrough a survey method using a questionnaire. The data were analyzed on two levels: (1) descriptive analysis and one-sample t-test to assess the level of AI literacy; (2) confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to evaluate the conceptual structure of the questionnaire. The research instrument was the AI Literacy Scale developed by Karolus et al. (2023), which was distributed among a sample of 203 students at Allameh Tabataba’iUniversity during the 2024–2025 academic year. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26 and PLS 3 software. The results of the one-sample t-test indicated that the mean scores of students in all three components were significantly higher than the theoretical average. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the three-dimensional structure of the instrument had a satisfactory fit. Moreover, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and composite reliability indices indicated high reliability of the instrument. The students under study demonstrated a relatively favorable level of AI literacy. These findings can contribute to the design of AI-related courses and educational resources in universities, particularly in enhancing students’ self-efficacy and practical skills.

Despite the abundant indigenous capacities in local communities, the absence of a coherent model for leveraging value chains remains a major barrier to the development of sustainable employment and economic progress in these areas. The present study aims to design a conceptual model for sustainable employment development and economic advancement in local communities through the approach of value chain completion and development. This empirical research is based on the implementation of 60 advantage-driven projects across Iran, presenting their outcomes and assessing the effectiveness of the actions taken. The study is applied in nature and methodologically descriptive-correlational, aiming to systematically describe the factors influencing sustainable employment within local contexts. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 managers from key employment institutions. The data were analyzed through content analysis and coding, which led to the development of the initial model. After identifying the key variables, the quantitative phase was carried out using structural equation modeling (SEM) on data collected from 120 experts involved in value chain projects. The findings showed that the development of economic capacities based on the value chain has a positive and significant effect on empowering the local development platform. Ultimately, these two variables lead to developmental outcomes and economic sustainability, including a sustainable economy and economic advancement.

The detergent industry in Iran, as a competitive and dynamic sector, faces numerous challenges in understanding actual consumer behavior and designing effective marketing strategies. The primary issue addressed in this study is the inadequacy of traditional marketing models in identifying and leveraging unconscious and intuitive mechanisms influencing the consumer purchase process, which has caused a significant gap between consumers’ perceived and actual behaviors and reduced the effectiveness of marketing investments. This research aims to develop a paradigmatic model of intuitive marketing in Iran’s detergent industry and to propose a localized framework to identify inspirations, unconscious factors, barriers, and effective strategies to enhance customer experience and brand growth.This study was conducted exclusively through a qualitative approach involving in-depth interviews with 20 marketing experts, managers, and academic faculty members. The collected data were analyzed and coded using grounded theory methodology. The findings revealed that environmental inspirations, nostalgic associations, national pride, and family narratives are the core roots of intuitive behavior, while contextual factors such as social identity, specialized training, pricing, and purchase experience reinforce the emergence of this behavior. Structural barriers, perceived risks, and rumors were identified as weakening factors. Proposed strategies include product and packaging innovation, creative and sensory advertising, development of intuitive human capital, and enhancement of customer experience.This research emphasizes that companies should shift their focus from purely rational marketing to investing in the enhancement of unconscious and intuitive capacities of their human resources and products. It is recommended that managers utilize neuroscientific methods, innovative design, and specialized training to create sustainable competitive advantages.

The detergent industry, as one of the dynamic and competitive sectors in Iran, faces numerous challenges in understanding actual consumer behavior and designing effective marketing strategies. The main issue addressed in this present study is the inadequacy of traditional marketing models to identify and leverage the unconscious and intuitive mechanisms influencing consumers’ purchase processes. This gap has created a significant disconnect between consumers’ perceived and actual behaviors, thereby reducing the effectiveness of marketing investments. The objective of this research is to elucidate a paradigmatic model of intuitive marketing in Iran’s detergent industry and to propose a localized framework for identifying inspirations, unconscious influencing factors, barriers, and effective strategies to enhance customer experience and brand growth.This mixed-methods exploratory study involved deep interviews with 20 senior experts, marketing managers, and university professors for the qualitative phase, with data analyzed and coded using grounded theory methodology. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire developed based on qualitative findings was distributed to 384 consumers and stakeholders in the detergent sector. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).Results revealed that environmental inspirations, nostalgic associations, national pride, and family narratives form the core roots of intuitive behavior. Contextual factors such as social identity, specialized training, pricing, and purchase experience reinforce the emergence of such behaviors. Structural barriers, perceived risks, and rumors were identified as weakening factors. Proposed strategies include product and packaging innovation, creative and sensory advertising, development of intuitive human capital, and enhancement of customer experience. The SEM results confirmed the research hypotheses with significant and acceptable path coefficients.The main conclusion is that companies should shift their focus from purely rational marketing approaches to investing in enhancing the unconscious and intuitive capacities of their human resources and products. It is recommended that managers utilize neuroscientific methods, innovative design, and specialized training to create sustainable competitive advantage in the market.

This study aimed to develop a strategic sustainability model for family businesses using a mixed-methods approach. In the qualitative phase, grounded theory was applied through interviews with 18 leaders of multi-generational family businesses in western Iran, resulting in a paradigmatic model. The quantitative phase tested this model using structural equation modeling with data from 220 randomly selected entrepreneurs, experts, and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises. The results confirmed the model’s validity and highlighted that family businesses manage conflicts between business and family goals through a strong family-oriented value system and talent management, which contributes to long-term sustainability.

The emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its accompanying digital disruptions necessitates a new style of leadership for managing organizations to ensure their sustainability and competitiveness. Accordingly, the present study examines the impact of digital leadership dimensions on achieving competitive advantage in online retail. For this purpose, based on the model proposed by Moonsamy (2022), six hypotheses were developed. The methodology of this research is descriptive-correlational in nature. The statistical population consists of all employees of online retail businesses in Tehran, and a total of 390 individuals were selected using a non-probability convenience sampling method. Data collection was conducted through library research and field methods (electronic questionnaire). The validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by expert opinion, and Cronbach’s alpha values greater than 0.70 for the constructs indicate acceptable reliability. Finally, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The findings of this study indicate that all six hypotheses were confirmed at a 95% confidence level. Furthermore, among the dimensions of digital leadership, digital openness, digital competitive intelligence, and digital facilitative leadership were found to play the most significant roles in achieving digital competitive advantage, respectively.

Given the significance of the topic of commercialization and the existence of barriers to the commercialization of products and created ideas—such as financial and governmental obstacles, particularly in the field of chemicals and specifically commercial explosives—greater attention and emphasis on the commercialization process in the industries of our country is essential. The primary aim of the present study is to propose a model for the commercialization of innovations in the commercial explosives industry by considering its antecedents and consequences. This research is applied in nature and conducted using a mixed-methods approach. The qualitative section utilizes grounded theory, while the quantitative section employs structural equation modeling techniques. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a researcher-developed questionnaire. Theoretical sampling continued until category saturation was reached. Interviews were conducted with 10 stakeholders. The findings indicate that causal conditions influencing innovation commercialization have a significant positive impact, which include seven constructs: access to international markets, competitiveness, horizontal and vertical product development, creation of economic added value, utilization of potential capacities, technology drivers in explosives, and response to the broad demand for commercial explosive materials. Both intervening and contextual conditions have a significant impact on the formulation of strategies, which in turn lead to specific outcomes for the commercial explosives industry.

This study investigates the factors influencing gamification in digital marketing at Tehran Technical Complex. The primary aim is to identify and analyze the components that contribute to the success of gamification and enhance user engagement, customer experience, and organizational profitability. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts and managers from Tehran Technical Complex, and the data were analyzed using grounded theory. In the quantitative phase, a researcher-designed questionnaire, informed by the qualitative findings, was distributed to 384 marketing professionals. The quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that user engagement, the digital environment, and profitability are the most critical factors affecting the success of gamification in digital marketing. Additionally, identifying customer behavior and managing customer experience were also significant. Organizational culture and specialization had a moderate impact, while environmental constraints and certain gamification elements showed a lesser influence compared to other factors. This study highlights that effective gamification design and the creation of interactive digital environments can significantly enhance user experience and organizational profitability. However, for sustained success, organizations must foster a culture of innovation and provide the necessary specialized infrastructure. The findings suggest that gamification should be implemented strategically, considering user needs and environmental conditions.

In the present era, organizations as social institutions play a pivotal role in economic, social and cultural development. The success and sustainability of these organizations depend on organizational legitimacy, which means the acceptance and acceptability of the organization by internal and external stakeholders. Organizational legitimacy is not only recognized as an intangible asset, but also as a key factor in achieving transcendental governance. Finally, this study, by examining the relationship between organizational legitimacy, transcendental governance and ethical leadership style, helps to better understand these concepts and their practical application in organizations. This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive survey with a structural equation approach in terms of method. The statistical population of this study includes managers and employees of government organizations in Lorestan province. The Cochran formula was used to determine the sample size, and at a confidence level of 95 percent, the number of sample members was calculated as 384 people. These people were selected using simple random sampling. In this study, the organizational legitimacy questionnaires of Suchman (1995), Elkington Governance Questionnaire (2020), and Brown et al. (2005) were used to collect information, and their validity and reliability were confirmed by content validity and Cronbach's alpha. Structural equation modeling and smart pls software were used to test the hypotheses and analyze the data. The results of the study indicate that organizational legitimacy has a positive and significant effect on transcendental governance.

This research aims to model the factors influencing the acceptance of artificial intelligence in sports services. This study is descriptive-correlational in nature and uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for data analysis. The statistical population consists of users from sports clubs in northern Tehran, and sampling was conducted using a convenience sampling method (n = 380). Data were analyzed using a researcher-developed questionnaire and software tools SPSS and SmartPLS. The results indicated that sports services (β = 0.203), evaluation and monitoring systems (β = 0.102), time and resource management (β = 0.363), and participation in sports (β = 0.230) have a significant positive impact on the intention to use artificial intelligence services in sports (p < 0.05). The overall model fit index (GOF = 0.63) demonstrates a strong model fit. This study showed that artificial intelligence, by improving service quality, optimizing resource management, and analyzing sports data, can contribute to increasing user satisfaction and technology acceptance in the sports field.

E-imc refers to the strategy of coordinating various digital channels and tools to convey coherent messages to consumers. This approach helps to increase the awareness, interaction and loyalty of customers towards the brand by creating an integrated experience. The main goal of electronic integrated marketing communications is to create harmony in all brand communication messages to improve impact and strengthen relationships with consumers. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the psychological and behavioral consequences of integrated electronic marketing communication strategies in the country's dairy industries in a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) manner. This research is practical in terms of purpose and exploratory in terms of data collection method. The qualitative method used in this research is the foundation data method. In the first part and in order to collect qualitative research data, using in-depth and semi-structured interviews with 21 university professors, managers and marketing experts in the field of dairy industry, the model of electronic integrated marketing communication strategies including 11 main categories was extracted. . Qualitative data analysis was performed through open, axial and selective coding with MAXQDA 10 software. In the quantitative part, the model obtained through structural equation modeling was tested and fitted using SMART PLS software. The statistical population of this department includes managers and experts of dairy factories, professors, managers and marketing experts in the field of dairy products, 400 of whom were selected based on the Jersey and Morgan table and by stratified random method. The tool of data collection in this section was a standard questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. The results of the qualitative part of the research indicate that the 6 extracted categories include causal factors (the company's current market share, traditional marketing mix), consequences (psychological, behavioral, brand performance) and the central category (policies and programs of integrated electronic marketing communications). Background conditions (level of electronic communication activities of the industry and competitors, national media infrastructure), intervening conditions (innovation in marketing communication, audience characteristics) and strategies (relational marketing) electronic, development of virtual platforms.

Fraudulent behaviors, while negatively affecting the trust, reputation, and integrity of individuals, organizations, and society, cause financial and non-financial harm and losses to individuals and organizations. Given the lack of studies on the relationship between the antecedents and consequences of the manifestation of accountants' dark personality traits, the present study examined the causal relationships between the components of the native pattern of the manifestation of accountants' dark personality traits (Ahmadi et al., 1403) and prioritized its consequences using SEM and OPA approaches. The statistical sample of the quantitative part of the study consisted of 222 members of the certified public accountants' community with at least a master's degree and at least 10 years of work experience, who were selected using the convenience sampling method. In order to collect data, two researcher-made questionnaires and the standard questionnaire of Jennison and Webster's (2010) dark personality traits were used. The findings of the structural equation modeling technique, which was conducted using Smart PLS software, showed that weak religiosity and personality pathology had a significant effect on the manifestation of dark personality traits of accountants; the effect of the manifestation of dark personality traits, weak religiosity and personality pathology on the fraud diamond; the fraud diamond had a significant effect on deviation from accounting and auditing standards, deviation from ethical requirements and negative professional consequences; and finally, deviation from accounting and auditing standards and deviation from ethical requirements had a significant effect on negative professional consequences. Also, based on the results of the

The purpose of this research is to design a model for creating entrepreneurial attitudes among tourism students at universities in Yazd . The statistical population of this research includes two groups: tourism experts and tourism students from universities in Yazd province. To collect data, a questionnaire was used. Using the Interpretive Structural Modeling approach with the participation of 14 tourism experts, a pairwise comparison questionnaire was completed among the identified factors. Then, to fit the obtained model, the Structural Equation Modeling approach and Smart PLS software were used, The results of research showed that market opportunity has a positive and significant effect on a favorable business environment. Additionally, a favorable business environment has a positive and significant impact on government support, organizational and management ability, and entrepreneurial culture. Finally, factors such as experience and knowledge, entrepreneurial spirit, and collaboration and networking were influential on the power of creativity and innovation.

The purpose of this study is to explore the concepts and dimensions of social media literacy and examine its impact on users' acceptance of social commerce. Social commerce, as a technology-based innovation in the field of e-commerce business models, is a type of online commerce equipped with social constructs, and the development of this new paradigm requires examining the factors affecting its acceptance and use by customers. Over the past two decades, more than 100 factors affecting the acceptance of social commerce have been examined and confirmed. The most commonly used of these factors include trust, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, emotional support, informational support, attitude, mental norms, perceived behavioral control, beliefs, expected performance, expected effort, social influence, facilitating conditions, mutual understanding, motivation, expectations, interaction, social presence, user satisfaction, normative expectations, sociability skills, and social relationships. One of the factors that can affect the willingness to accept social commerce is the level of users' social media literacy, which has not been examined in previous studies. In this study, the effect of the social media literacy factor in the statistical population of Iranian users is examined.

The present research method is based on positivism and inductive approach, and has a developmental-applied orientation. This research is a quantitative and field research conducted in a survey format and aims to explain and predict the effect of social media literacy on the intention and use of social commerce. In this research, first, the deep and comprehensive concepts of social media literacy are discussed, and then a comprehensive analysis of the concepts and models related to social media literacy, including the integrated multidimensional model, the SDT autonomy model, the skill-based and process-oriented model, the CSML and PSML models, the SoMeLit model, and the SMILE model, is conducted. The purpose of examining these models is to identify the dimensions of social media literacy. Based on the research objective, the effect of social media literacy on the willingness to accept social commerce was investigated with the four social, informational, technical, and privacy dimensions of the PSML model. The statistical population studied is the users of 7 widely used social media in Iran, including Instagram, Rubika, Telegram, WhatsApp, Eitaa, Bale, and iGap, who can be potential customers of social commerce. The collected survey data were analyzed based on structural equation modeling-partial least squares.

Based on the results obtained, the effect of the three technical, social and privacy dimensions of social media literacy on the willingness to accept social commerce in the statistical population of Iranian users was confirmed. Considering the application of structural equation modeling-partial least squares, the validity and reliability of the measurement model was examined with VIF, Cronbach's alpha, rho_A, CR, factor loadings, AVE and reliability of explicit variables, cross-sectional loadings, Fornell-Larker criterion, AVE criterion, HTMT criterion and all the indices were confirmed. On the other hand, the structural model was evaluated using the criteria of variance inflation factor (VIF), coefficient of determination (R2), and path coefficients.

 The results of this study confirm the effect of social media literacy on the acceptance of social commerce by Iranian users. Based on the literature study, the research model was created as a constitutive-reflective model. Four factors of the technical dimension of social media literacy, the information dimension of social media literacy, the privacy dimension of social media literacy, and the social dimension of social media literacy were created as components of the willingness to accept social commerce. On the other hand, the willingness to accept social commerce was modeled with some reflective factors. Based on the survey conducted in the target statistical population, the effect of the three factors of the social dimension, the technical dimension, and the privacy dimension of social media literacy on the willingness to accept social commerce was confirmed, and a determination coefficient of 0.728 was obtained for the dependent factor. One of the important limitations of this study was the novelty of the subject of social media literacy and the limited models for its investigation and measurement. In addition, the subject of social media literacy as a factor affecting the acceptance of social commerce had not been investigated in any similar study. In this study, the Tamplin model was used to measure social media literacy. It is recommended that other models of social media literacy be used in future research. In addition, the issue of social media literacy as a cornerstone of the correct use of social media can also be examined as an influential factor in research related to the use of various social media.

Organizational readiness for digital transformation has become the main topic of discussion in academic and organizational circles, and understanding it is one of the main challenges and priorities in theory and practice. Based on this, the aim of this research is to develop a model that conceptualizes the components of organizational readiness for digital transformation and its antecedents and consequences. To achieve this aim, a mixed research method (thematic analysis-structural equation modeling) has been used. The statistical community of this research is the managers and experts of the Information and Communication Technology Organization of Tehran Municipality. To collect data in the qualitative part, based on theoretical sampling logic, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 senior and middle managers in the organization. In the quantitative part, 220 people were selected as a sample using random sampling, and the data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data analysis was done sequentially and in two stages: in the qualitative part, Brown and Clark's recipe was used in thematic analysis for data analysis. In the quantitative part, structural equation modeling method based on partial least squares was used. The findings of the research showed that organizational readiness for digital transformation consists of four dimensions: people, structure, processes and interactions, and data governance. The findings also indicate that organizational readiness plays a mediating role in the relationship between the digital environment and the digital organization. Finally, theoretical and managerial guidelines are discussed and suggestions for future researchers are provided.