structural equation modeling (sem)

This study explores the critical role of enhancing the quantity and quality of knowledge-based products in knowledge-based market formation within Iran, with a particular focus on the medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) industry. The main objective is to analyze the current state of entrepreneurial marketing in knowledge-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in MAP sector in Iran and further investigate how transformation in company marketing strategies, alongside the strengthening of innovation and entrepreneurship, leads to the formation of a macro-market for an ecosystem and an entire industry. These findings are essential for increasing the competitiveness of firms in a rapidly evolving technological innovation system. Furthermore, this study investigates the alignment of entrepreneurial marketing strategies with the unique needs and constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in this sector. The research methodology is empirical and applied, employing a robust mixed methods approach through a sequential explanatory design using , including both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data collection was conducted through surveys and questionnaires distributed to SMEs engaged in the medicinal and aromatic plants industry across Iran. The collected data were analyzed using Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). These analytical methods were chosen to uncover both direct and indirect relationships between various dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing and firm performance. Additionally, experts' opinions were utilized for further analysis of the findings. The findings of this study reveal significant variability in the responses to different dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing, with average scores ranging between 3/67 and 4/26. The strongest correlation was observed between the dimensions of innovativeness and opportunity focus, with a correlation coefficient of 0/677. These two dimensions were identified as particularly critical in driving firm performance within the industry. The correlation coefficient of other dimensions is also higher than average. Moreover, the results from the SEM analysis emphasized that dimensions such as innovativeness, opportunity focus, and customer intensity exert the most substantial impact on overall firm performance. The study suggests that SMEs which prioritize these key dimensions are better positioned to gain a competitive advantage and achieve long-term success in both domestic and international markets. On the other hand, firms assign relatively low importance to the risk-taking dimension, which could negatively impact the market formation. The study concludes that knowledge-based SMEs in Iran’s medicinal and aromatic plants sector are increasingly keen on adopting and implementing entrepreneurial marketing strategies, especially those that emphasize marketing-related dimensions. However, for the successful formation and sustained growth of a knowledge-based market in this industry, a concentrated focus on enhancing innovativeness, risk-taking, opportunity focus, and customer intensity is crucial. These dimensions are essential for fostering a competitive and sustainable market environment that will empower these SMEs to thrive and achieve long-term success. Additionally, the study suggests that supportive policies and infrastructure are necessary to facilitate the broader adoption of these entrepreneurial marketing practices across the industry, ensuring that the sector can fully leverage its potential in the global marketplace.

 This study concentrates on innovation policy instruments embedded in the Knowledge-Based Production Leap Act. This law was enacted to strengthen innovation in knowledge-based companies and provide appropriate support infrastructures in Iran. It employs a combination of innovation policy instruments to achieve its objectives. The primary objective of this research is to identify the impact of these legal instruments on the innovative performance of knowledge-based companies and to assess the success or failure of these instruments in achieving the set goals. A total of 15 articles of the law (comprising 29 parts include innovation policy instruments) directly related to innovative and knowledge-based companies have been evaluated in this study.

 This research was conducted using a quantitative method, comprising a main phase of data collection and analysis. Data were initially collected through a Likert-scale questionnaire distributed to 114 knowledge-based companies across various industrial sectors. In the quantitative analysis phase, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the relationship between different articles of the Knowledge-Based Production Leap Act and the performance of knowledge-based companies. Additionally, Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) was used to identify policy priorities and determine the strengths and weaknesses of various policy instruments.

 The findings reveal that certain legal provisions, particularly Articles 1, 4 and 11, which focus on financial support and the development of research and development infrastructure, have played a significant role in enhancing the innovative performance of knowledge-based companies. These supports include financial facilities, subsidies, the improvement of technological infrastructures, and the provision of resources for development research. Conversely, legal provisions related to customs tariff legal representative, such as Articles 3, 12 and 15, were identified as weaker instruments and require further revision and adaptation to meet the real needs of companies. Moreover, the findings indicate that a lack of coordination among certain policy instruments has reduced their overall effectiveness.

Limitations and Implications: 

One of the limitations of this study is its focus on data collected from knowledge-based companies in Iran, which may not be fully generalizable to other countries. Additionally, the study is centered on the short-term impacts of the implementation of the law, and further research is needed to analyze its long-term effects. Furthermore, the limited access to accurate quantitative data on the long-term performance of companies may not fully capture the detailed and lasting impacts of these policies.

Practical Implications: 

The results suggest that policymakers should consider revising non-financial instruments such as consultancy and training, ensuring that these instruments are fully aligned with the specific needs of industries and knowledge-based companies. Additionally, it is recommended that greater interaction between the government and the private sector be established so that regular feedback from companies can be communicated to the government and the Islamic Consultative Assembly for policy optimization. Moreover, implementing a continuous evaluation system to monitor the performance of policy instruments and the enforcement of the law could facilitate necessary reforms. Finally, special attention to the financial and infrastructural needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the innovation sector remains crucial.

Originality: 

This research introduces innovation in several aspects. First, it focuses on evaluating the performance of a significant law related to innovation policy in Iran. The findings of this study have practical implications for improving and enhancing the law. The second innovative aspect lies in the the combination of two methods — structural equation modeling (SEM) and Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) — in evaluating innovation policies is presented as an analytical methodology in innovation studies. This approach allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the multifaceted impacts of policy instruments and their interactions.

The widespread occurrence of fraud in chain stores poses a major challenge for the retail sector. The issue can be examined from multiple perspectives: customer fraud during purchases, employee fraud, fraud against investors and stockholders by stores, and deceptive practices that stores use against their customers. There is a notable research gap regarding the latter type of fraud, which this study aims to address by exploring and identifying prevalent methods of customer deception in chain stores. This article aims to present a model for explaining the methods of deceiving customers in chain stores.
 
A mixed-methods approach was employed to illustrate the facets of customer fraud and deception by chain stores. Following a comprehensive literature review, in-depth interviews were conducted with (frequently purchasing) customers, industry experts, and key informants and professionals in the retail industry. This led to the identification of significant factors associated with customer deception in chain stores. Subsequently, a conceptual framework for the customer deception model was developed using cognitive mapping techniques, in collaboration with retail industry scholars and specialists. To validate the initial model, a quantitative field survey was conducted using structural equation modeling. This process led to the development of the final model, termed the "Customer Deception Tree".
 
Over half of the participants reported experiencing instances of fraud and deception, highlighting a critical concern for the retail industry. The identified components of customer fraud are visualized in a tree model format. This model outlines the prevalent methods of deceiving customers across five primary stems, which include misleading advertisements, failure to deliver promised services, price manipulation, alterations in product characteristics, and misplaced goods on shelves.
 
The act of misleading consumers by chain stores has emerged as a significant and increasingly pervasive unethical behavior in recent years. This research delves into the various dimensions of this issue, identifying and presenting contributing factors within a comprehensive model. This model serves as a guiding framework for stakeholders in the retail industry, including marketers and policymakers, particularly those involved in decision-making and strategic planning within chain stores, to address and mitigate this issue effectively. It is imperative to recognize the significance of avoiding such deceptive practices. Furthermore, the model can assist regulatory bodies and governance institutions in improving their protocols and supervision mechanisms, updating their enforcement strategies against fraud, and ensuring the protection of consumer rights. The tree symbol serves as a visual metaphor for the phenomenon of deception, aiming to alert consumers, the public, academics, and the research community to its existence. Ignoring or neglecting this symbol allows deceptive practices to grow and become more deeply rooted and widespread. By raising awareness of this "deceptive tree," there is an expectation that regulators will be encouraged to intervene, curbing its growth and influence by addressing deceptive tactics before they become even more ingrained.

This research has been carried out with the aim of identifying factors affecting financial synergy through Iranian banking industry. The approach of the present research is mixed with exploratory nature and in terms of its goal, fundamental-applied. In the qualitative approach, the grounded theory of the foundation was carried out using the semi-structured interview tool, and the quantitative survey approach was carried out using a researcher-made questionnaire resulting from a qualitative study. The number of decision-makers of this research in the qualitative stage is 15 experts in the field of banking and academic faculty members who were selected by the purposeful sampling method and snowball technique until the theoretical saturation is achieved, and in the quantitative stage 384 people are the managers and experts of 7 merger banks using the random cluster sampling method. For data analysis in qualitative research, Strauss and Corbin method was used based on three stages of open, central and selective coding MAXQDA software, and in quantitative research, descriptive statistics methods were used in SPSS software and inferential statistics from structural equation modeling in AMOS software. The findings of the qualitative section show that the data obtained from the interviews during the coding process resulted in the field of financial synergy. The findings in the quantitative part showed that the causal conditions of financial synergy have an effect on the central core. The findings in the quantitative part showed that the causal conditions of financial synergy have an effect on the central core. The background and input conditions of financial synergy have an effect on its strategies. Financial synergy strategies have an impact on its consequences. Also, the results showed that the main dimensions of financial synergy through Iran's banking industry are at a low readiness level.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of intellectual capital on organizational entrepreneurship by considering the mediating role of knowledge management in small and medium-sized enterprises in the Shiraz Special Economic Zone. The present study is applicable in terms of its purpose, and is of a descriptive-correlational type. The statistical population of the study includes managers, experts, and employees of small and medium-sized enterprises located in this region. The sample size was determined 236 people by the Cochran formula, and the sampling was carried out randomly. The data collection tool is the standard questionnaires of intellectual capital, knowledge management, and organizational entrepreneurship. SPSS and LISREL software were used to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that intellectual capital, including the three dimensions of human capital, structural capital, and relational capital, has a positive and significant effect on organizational entrepreneurship. Also, the mediating role of knowledge management in this regard was confirmed; in such a way that knowledge management has strengthened the connection between intellectual capital and organizational entrepreneurship and has paved the way for the promotion of innovation and competitiveness in organizations. Accordingly, it is suggested that managers of small and medium-sized companies strengthen the entrepreneurial capacities of their organizations by developing intellectual capital and establishing effective knowledge management systems.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationship between market orientation, organizational innovation and performance of small and medium enterprises. For this purpose, the research hypotheses were formulated with exploratory approach and comprehensive literature review, and indicators were identified for measuring each of these variables. Then, by establishing theoretical relations between the main research structures, the conceptual model of the research was designed and presented. The data needed to test the hypotheses were collected by a questionnaire and a sample of 170 individuals from the small and medium enterprises of the East Azerbaijan province. According to the findings, direct and significant relationship between market orientation and business performance and the positive and significant relationship between organizational innovation and performance were confirmed. Also, the impact of market orientation on performance has been confirmed through its impact on innovation. The values of the coefficient of paths in the final model showed that market orientation is explaining directly 23.3% of the variation of performance variable, and it is indirectly 21% through the mediator of organizational innovation. The simultaneous analysis of the factors studied on the performance by structural equation method, as well as the calculation and analysis of fit indices and quality criteria of measurement models and structural model with PLS software, confirms the conformance of conceptual model and empirical background to reality.

Today, knowledge or intellectual capital plays a more significant role in achieving competitive advantage and attaining organizational goals. Tile and ceramic industry is one of important industries in Iran. So, attention to performance in this industry is very essential. The aim of the current research is to assessment the effect of human resources knowledge sharing on performance in Yazd tile and ceramic companies with emphasizing on the mediating role of intellectual capital. The statistical population of the study was managers and experts in the tile and ceramic industry. The present research is a descriptive-correlational survey which data were collected using standard knowledge sharing, intellectual capital and organizational performance questionnaires. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires indicated that the instrumentation had a good validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) method was used to test the research hypotheses and conceptual model. The results of data analysis showed that human, structural and relation capital have a significant effect on operational and financial performance. Also, explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing has a positive and significant effect on financial and operational performance, respectively. According to the findings, it can be concluded that paying attention to factors affecting knowledge sharing and promotion of intellectual capital dimensions is an effective factor in performance improvements.

Due to major changes in the activities, procedures, and business of human resource management (HRM) over the past years, the "human resource managers' competency" has been taken into consideration by relevant organizations and associations. Identification of roles, which are expected of human resource management in global organizations, provides the main framework for developing competency models for human resource managers. Furthermore, such models do not consider personal competencies. The present study aimed to improve the competency-based human resource management model by Dave Ulrich. The statistical population consisted of 180 human resource managers and employees who were selected by census sampling. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was equal to 0.76. The research method had a descriptive-analytical type and used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results confirmed the validity and reliability of the competency factors and tools.

Green financing, one of innovative financial instruments, covers a variety of banking industry topics. Asmonetary and financial institutions, banks are in charge of financing enterprises, and they are alsoconsidered to be an integral part of economic and commercial activities. Therefore, it is necessary tostudy the factors which affect green financing of enterprises through the banking industry. The present study applies a mixed methods approach, and in the first step, the green financing model of enterprises through Iran's banking industry is presented based on grounded qualitative research approach. In the second step, structural equation modeling technique is applied to test quantitatively the relationships between elements of the resulting model. In the qualitative part, the statistical population included environment and banking experts who were selected using targeted samplingviasnowball method. Among the selected population, 16 experts were interviewed, and after coding the interviews and achieving theoretical saturation, the components of the model were determined in form of 77 subcomponents and 21 principal components. Consequently, the final model was developed. In the quantitative part, the statistical population included the experts and managers of 8 banks with green financing and banking experience in order to examine the validation and fitting of the developed model. After collecting a sample of 500 items out of the handed-out questionnaires and analyzing the results using structural equation modeling, the results indicated that the obtained components have a direct and meaningful impact on the green financing process of enterprises, and the main aspects ingreen financing of enterprises through Iran's banking industry have low levels of readiness.

Nowadays, Using from Innovation Strategy is one of the most important tools for improving the products and services commercialization in companies. In this study, the model of innovation strategies has been investigated based on the classification of Fletch et al, 2018. Also, The Chen et al, 2009 model about classification on the dimensions of technology commercialization has been used. The research has been done with an exploratory approach and based on structural equation modeling with SmartPLS3 software. In this study designed Questionnaires were answered by 112 experts and managers from knowledge-based and medium-sized firms. The results indicated that Product Innovation Strategy and Process Innovation Strategy is positively, significantly influence to Products and Services Commercialization accelerated paths. In addition, the findings revealed that these Strategies are significant predictors of Market Development. Also, the findings showed that, product innovation strategies, unlike process innovation strategies, can’t have a positive and significant impact on Technological Scope in product and process commercialization.

Despite the importance of developing petrochemical industries, most of the country's exports in the petrochemical industry have been limited to raw materials and semi-industries, which is due to the incapability to acquire appropriate technology in the downstream industries. Technology transfer is one of the most important shortcut methods for acquiring and developing technologies in these industries, but one of the most important challenges is the managers' little familiarity with the technology transfer process and the abilities it requires. The aim of this study is to identify and prioritize the effective abilities in the success of the technology transfer process in the downstream, petrochemical industries, and for this purpose a combined method of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) has been used. In this regard, the content validity was confirmed by CVR and CVI forms and the final questionnaire was distributed and collected by the Porsline system among the statistical population and in order to investigate the accuracy of the theoretical model of the research, factor analysis with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and AMOS software was used.The results of this stage of the study indicate that 82 indicators in 8 ability factors affect the success of the technology transfer process in petrochemical downstream industries and the effectiveness of all 8 factors is ability at the semantic level. On the other hand, prioritizing the abilities that affect the success of the technology transfer process was done through the Analytic Network Process and Super Decisions software. The results show that technology dissemination abilities are the first priority, and technology adaptation abilities as well as development and improvement abilities are the second and third priorities.

In recent years, the use of structural equation modeling is widespread in tourism studies. However, when using this method, there are challenges that need to be identified and resolved. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the challenging and problematic areas of using SEM in tourism research in Iran. This study has been done Based on a systematic review through secondary data analysis. The statistical population of this research is the Persian-language articles published in the internal scientific-research tourism journals (approved by the Ministry of Science) from the beginning of the publication of the quarterly papers by the end of 1396. Sampling method was a purposeful process and after that, the sample size was determined 116 papers. Data analysis was performed based on two approaches by using SPSS25 software. First Approach: Descriptive Analysis of Articles and Second Approach: Analysis of the Challenges of Using the SEM Method. Results show that Lack of checking the required sample size, Failure to test the normal distribution of data, Lack of attention and a complete report of the effect analysis and effect size of R2 and As well as selective and arbitrary reporting of fit indices are among the most important challenges and mistakes of Iranian researchers in using SEM in tourism research. Scientific advice is provided to overcome these challenges.

The first step in tourism development is identifying barriers and challenges.The purpose of this research is to examine and analyze the challenges of developing historical-cultural tourism from the local community's point of view, using structural equation modeling (SEM.The present study was descriptive-analytic and data collection was carried out through library studies and field observation (questionnaire distribution).The statistical population of the study was 383 local residents of Kurdistan province in 1396 ,Respectively ,using Cochran sample size and random sampling method. For analyzing and categorizing the extracted data from the questionnaire and testing the main hypothesis,one-sample t-test was used to test the hypothesis of the sub-hypotheses and structural equation modeling using AMOS statistical software.The results confirm the main hypothesis and sub-hypotheses of the research and show the positive effects of the factors and indicators of infrastructure and infrastructure, health and quality of the environment, tourism attractions and urban management on tourism development, and show that these factors are part of the challenge The development of historical-cultural tourism is from the point of view of the local community of Khoy, and the physical activities carried out in this area have not been adequate and sufficient. Key words : Shams Tabrizi, Tourism Khoy city, Local residents, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

Project Risk Management is a critical component of project management as risks that are not well-managed may lead to project failures. This study aims to classify Iranian’s Construction Projects key risks by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. At first, based on a comprehensive literature review 28 indicators were identified to recognize the construction projects risk. Thereafter, a questionnaire was distributed amongst the experts of construction industry, and finally 239 questionnaires were collected. In the next step, the model of construction projects risks was estimated by using of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) which the indicators explained five latent variables (Environmental, Quality, Cost, Time and Safety related factors). The results presented that priorities of the indicator of “Construction Projects Risks” are “Time Risk”, “Cost Risk”, “Quality Risk”, “Environment Risk” and “Safety Risk”, respectively. Furthermore, the results of the research provided a comprehensive model for the construction projects risks, which it can be used by scholars and project managers.