نشریه کارافن
سال بیستم شماره 62 (تابستان 1402)

The internationalization of rural businesses, particularly the internationalization of industrial goods, is one of the indicators of the growth and development of a country. Therefore, the aim of the current research was to identify the factors affecting internationalization performance based on the resource-based and dynamic capabilities views. The research method was applied in terms of purpose and qualitative in terms of data collection. The statistical population in this research included the managers and owners of international rural businesses in the packaging industry of different regions of West Azerbaijan Province in the period of 2018 – 2022. Data was collected through the study of documentary sources and semi-structured interviews with 13 rural packaging businesses of West Azerbaijan Province using purposive sampling method until theoretical saturation. In the open coding stage, 130 preliminary codes were identified from the analysis of the interviews using Atlas.ti7 software. After refining and merging similar codes, 70 codes were finalized. In the second step, axial coding was carried out using open codes around the investigated phenomenon. Based on the results obtained from the interviews and data analysis, the factors affecting the performance of the internationalization of rural businesses in West Azerbaijan Province were divided into two categories: internal factors and environmental factors. Internal factors included social capital, product features, tangible resources, management experience and commitment and credibility, human resources, local learning and flexibility while environmental factors included low psychic distance, rural capital, and institutional environment.

Considering the variety of approaches, levels of analysis, and focus points in business failure research, this bibliometric paper aims to build a knowledge map for business failure and entrepreneurial failure studies (published between 2016 and 2021) to identify related key concepts, and to develop a conceptual framework. In terms of methodology, we conduct a co-occurrence analysis on business failure and entrepreneurial failure. Then, using a content analysis of the key concepts identified in the co-occurrence analysis, we develop a conceptual framework of the studies. This research uses a mixed approach; after quantitative analysis of data (published research between 2016 and 2021 on WOS database) using co-occurrence analysis, qualitative content analysis of keywords derived from co-occurrence analysis is conducted. The findings show that the word "business failure" has the most occurrences with the words "performance", "strategy", "innovation", "failure", "growth", and "behavior". In addition, the word "entrepreneurial failure" has the most occurrences with the words "decision making", "self-efficacy", "perspective", "learning from failure", "persistence", and "self". Based on the results of the content analysis, the studies are divided into 6 general categories: typologies of business failure, post-failure processes, bankruptcy prediction models and financial ratios, determinants of business survival and growth, individual factors affecting the entrepreneurial failure, and environmental and institutional factors affecting business failure. Finally, practical implications and future research are discussed.

The success of a brand, particularly in the service sector, has been considered by many researchers. The purpose of this study was to identify the components of a successful brand and to validate the status of a successful brand in higher education. The method of this research was hybrid. The statistical community in the qualitative part included experts of the Technical and Vocational University. 10 people were selected using the snowball sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Content analysis and open coding method were used to analyze the data. In the quantitative part, the statistical population included the staff of Technical and Vocational University. First 17 experts were selected for analysis and then 67 university staff were selected as a sample by simple random sampling method. In order to analyze the data, the structural equation modeling approach with SmartPLS version 2 was used. Qualitative findings showed that a successful brand consists of the categories of university image, costs and finances, university services and facilities, out-of-university advertising and communication, educational planning and success, and university position. Path analysis findings showed that the factor load of the questions related to each variable was higher than the standard, so the questions could explain the relevant variables well. Statistical t also showed that there was a significant relationship between the questions and the relevant variables. The findings illustrated that the greatest gap between the current and favorable situation was related to the categories of university credibility, university partnership with society, perception of individuals and society of the name of the university and the quality of education.

Appropriate location for a business environment is one of the major success factors in investment. This article aimed to provide a method for optimal location of a business site using intuitionistic fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (IFAHP). The options evaluated in this study include five places proposed in Kurdistan Province, Iran. The fuzzy Delphi method was used to select the criteria, and intuitionistic fuzzy Delphi method was used to measure the weight of the criteria relative to each other and to measure the option weights relative to each criterion. Necessary calculations were performed to prioritize the available site using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and intuitionistic fuzzy sets. Finally, the priority of each site for a prefabricated building material production workshop was determined. Measuring the importance coefficient and conversion of verbal variables to intuitive fuzzy numbers were among the advantages of this approach. In addition, since uncertainty was not defined in classic and fuzzy sets, the employment of intuitive fuzzy sets which involved uncertainty factors could help planners develop better future plans. The results of this study showed that intuitionistic fuzzy analytical hierarchy process method can be used for optimal location of business sites.

Due to population growth, the need for construction is inevitable. In this regard, the country's construction industry has always faced challenges in ensuring its quantity and quality. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to provide a customer complaint model in the country's construction industry with the foundational data theorizing approach. This research was qualitative and basic in terms of purpose. The statistical population of the present study included professors of architecture, civil engineering and urban planning and senior managers of construction companies in Anzali city in 2020. In this research, theoretical sampling was used and the sample size was determined to be 17 based on theoretical saturation. The data collection tool in this research was a semi-structured interview, and qualitative data analysis was carried out through the fundamental data processing method. In addition, the formal method was used to confirm validity of the findings, and the coding agreement coefficient method was used to confirm reliability; the result of recoding was 0.91. The findings were also analyzed by the manual coding method. The findings showed the causal conditions (including the lack of business ethics and non-compliance with project management configuration principles), central phenomenon (customer complaints), intervening conditions (drafting policies and macro policies of the government), background conditions (economic and competitive factors), strategies (special value of the brand) and the cost of lost opportunity and design of the structure based on needs assessment were selected as outcomes. It can be concluded that the customer complaint model in the country's construction industry had ethical, economic, policy and cost components that can be considered by the country's construction industry planners.

Business-to-Customer (B2C) e-commerce systems cover a wide geographical area and a wide range of customers. One of the new ways to respond well to customers is a sharing economy. Sharing economy is an innovative business model with an emphasis on community and people that affects the social value of the society. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sharing economy on B2C e-commerce systems with the mediating role of social value. The research method was applied in terms of purpose and in terms of implementation, it was a descriptive-survey and correlational method. The participants of the study comprised of 110 experimental and academic experts and graduate students majoring in information technology management. The sample size was determined according to Krejcie and Morgan Table 86 and a stratified method was used for sampling. Data analysis was performed using structural equations using SmartPLS3 software. Findings indicated that obligation, economic factors, infrastructure, and collaboration had a positive and significant effect on social value. Social value also has a positive and significant effect on B2C e-commerce systems.

This research was conducted with the aim of providing a sample of psychometric subjects of impulse buying from the perspective of personality traits. The current research was an exploratory-developmental study and using the theme analysis method, extracted the main topics related to the concept of impulse buying based on 5-factor personality traits and presented it in the form of a model. In this research, the library method (previous literature study) and in-depth interviews with participants involved in impulse buying behavior research were conducted until theoretical saturation was reached. The participants of the research included 23 women (buyers of Huda Beauty brand cosmetics) from the border countries of the Persian Gulf (Oman, Kuwait, UAE) and the southern provinces of Iran, whose impulsivity and buying extremism was proven using RFM and Barat tests. Nvivo10 software was also used to analyze the collected data. The findings showed that 16 inclusive themes and 32 organizing themes derived from the text of the final interviews formed the pattern of the research. Furthermore, in this model, components such as bashfulness, self-surprise, Clayton's message and purchasing capacity were proposed as new themes, indicating its innovative aspect. In addition, in the proposed model, the variables of buying pleasure, emotions, and usefulness were confirmed by previous studies, and the variables of lack of self-control and situational factors were also proposed as intervening variables between the intention and impulsive buying behavior. In the behavioral consequences section, two sections of practical reactions and emotional consequences were developed.

Management scholars believe that compared to the 20th century, current organizations are facing increasing challenges, transforming innovation organizations from an optional aspect to a crucial one. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of organizational happiness on organizational innovation while considering the meditating effect of change acceptance. The present study was applied using a descriptive survey method.  The statistical population of the study included 600 employees of the Customs Administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran Province, 231 of whom were selected via random sampling method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. In order to analyze data, the structural equation modeling technique and LISREL software were used. The results of this study indicated that organizational happiness was effective in organizational innovation while considering the meditating effect of change acceptance. Therefore, valuing the happiness of employees in various aspects was crucial and should be considered by organizations to lead to transformability in personnel and innovation within organizations.

A review of the economic literature shows that economic freedom and foreign direct investment are both considered to be the most important factors affecting economic growth, which have been examined in pairs in almost all studies and for several reasons. Examining their simultaneous connection is ignored. Therefore, in this study, using the method of Toda and Yamamoto (1995), the existence of a causal relationship between the three important variables of economic growth, economic freedom and foreign direct investment in Iran's economy was evaluated for the period 2010-2019. In this study, to investigate the relationship between the research variables, first, the VAR model (K+D max) was estimated, and then the K number of coefficients was estimated in the model by the Generalized Wald test (MWALD), and then commented about their causality. The results of this study showed that in the period in question, there was only a two-way causality relationship between economic freedom and foreign direct investment. In addition, the causal relationship between economic growth and the next two variables was also one-way, and this causality was from the aspects of economic freedom and foreign direct investment towards economic growth. Therefore, the Iranian economy will stabilize and accelerate economic growth and stability by improving economic freedom and revising the method of foreign direct investment in construction infrastructures and knowledge-based activities with higher added value.

The main purpose of this article was to identify barriers to the establishment of Business Intelligence (BI) in hospitals of Kermanshah city. The research methodology was qualitative, and documentary studies and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect information. The research population included university faculty members, hospital managers, and information technology specialists in Kermanshah. Using the purposive sampling method, 21 specialists were selected to collect data. In order to internalize the data obtained from the interviews, three methods of triangulation, verification and involvement of members with the subject were used; the reliability of the research was calculated using the reliability of the retest and using the Holstie reliability formula, which is 89%, indicating the appropriateness of the reliability of research. The obtained data were collected in the documentary studies section using content analysis and content analysis methods. According to the findings of this study, barriers to the establishment of business intelligence in hospitals in Kermanshah included six categories of infrastructural, organizational, managerial, human, cultural, and educational factors. The results of this research show that the rapid changes in the organization's environment have inevitably made it important for them to retain their customers in today's competitive environment. Recognizing these barriers is the first step in managing and establishing business intelligence in hospitals, and achieving this important goal for hospitals in Kermanshah requires the removal or management of the barriers identified in this paper.

While the culture of study should have the highest position among students as a main element in learning, it has not enjoyed such a position due to various reasons, and today, the habit of studying has lost its importance among students. This research aimed to identify the factors affecting students' readicide. Therefore, this research was conducted with a qualitative method and a meta-synthesis approach. The statistical population included all foreign articles and documents from 2002 to 2022 and Persian language articles from the same period. Out of the 263 articles that matched the research inclusion criteria, 88 articles were selected as the final research sample. Data analysis was carried out using a thematic analysis technique and 40 basic themes under 4 organizer theme categories including: "personal factors" (addiction to the internet and use of virtual space, watching TV, and not knowing the benefits of studying), "family factors" (low education of parents, and not having a home library), "social, economic, and cultural factors" (financial inability to buy books for study, and unsuitable study environment) and "factors of the educational system" (a large volume of textbooks and homework, and non-research-oriented assignments assigned to students) were identified as factors affecting students' readicide. According to the network of themes obtained from the identified readicide factors, the education authorities can take the necessary measures with better planning and appropriate action plans to eliminate and reduce the effect of the identified factors and improve students' study situation.

The quality of teaching is one of the most important issues in universities and educational centers which has been emphasized in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the quality of teaching of professors in the tendency of geography students to critical thinking at the University of Kurdistan. The present research used an applied method in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population included all students in the field of geography at the University of Kurdistan (undergraduate, graduate and doctoral) and in the academic year 2021/2022, who completed a questionnaire. To determine the sample size, Cochran's formula was used and a sample size of 244 people was estimated by simple random sampling. The face validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed by the professors at the departments of Educational Sciences and Geography, respectively. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.7 to 0.95. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 26 software and SmartPLS3 structural equation model was used to fit the model measurement. The results revealed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the quality of teaching in the tendency of geography students to critical thinking.

Today, human resources have become the best competitive advantage in organizations. Workforce agility can make an organization superior to other organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to identify and prioritize the components of workforce agility in the insurance industry. This research was of a mixed type. The statistical population of this research included the active employees in the insurance industry of Kerman Province. 8 industry experts were selected as the statistical sample in the qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase with thematic analysis approach, the components of workforce agility were identified and the reliability and validity of the tool was confirmed. In the quantitative phase, workforce agility components were prioritized with the fuzzy DEMATEL approach. Qualitative findings showed that sixteen open codes were categorized into six core codes and core codes were categorized into three optional codes including individual, organizational and social characteristics. Selected open codes of workforce agility (as quantitative phase input) included technical knowledge, motivation, trainability, effective communication, emotional intelligence, adaptability, teamwork, creativity and innovation, and analytical ability. The quantitative findings showed that these components, in order of priority, were creativity and innovation, analytical ability, emotional intelligence, motivation, teamwork, technical knowledge, trainability, effective communication, and adaptability. Additionally, the findings showed that teachability, effective communication and adaptability were classified under the cause variables group; emotional intelligence, teamwork, creativity and innovation and analytical ability were grouped under effect variables and technical knowledge and motivation were grouped under neutral variables.

Today, intellectual capital as a strategic asset for financial performance and increasing competitiveness of organizations are known, and managing the available intellectual capital in organizations has become one of the most important tasks. However, this matter is extremely difficult due to the complexity involved in definition, measurement and evaluation of strategic intellectual capital. Since today's companies are facing a very competitive environment, the identification and proper management of intellectual capital is and will be the main difference between successful, average and failing companies. Considering the importance of the issue and the need to pay attention to the category of intellectual capital, the present research examined the effect of intellectual capital on the improvement of organizational performance by considering the mediating role of organizational learning capabilities. The current research was developmental in terms of the type of research and in terms of methodology, it was an analytical survey using a questionnaire as a tool. The statistical population included 60 senior managers of chain hotels, and the obtained statistical sample was 51 people. The data collection tool of the present research was a questionnaire; data was analyzed using SPSS and Lisrel statistical software. The findings of this research demonstrated the effect of intellectual capital elements on financial performance and organizational learning ability, thus emphasizing the reduction of the effect of intellectual capital elements on the improvement of financial performance with the inclusion of learning ability variable.

The aim of this study was to provide an optimal model for non-formal (free and special) skills training at technical and vocational universities in order to adapt to market needs. The statistical population of the study consisted of 9 experts and specialists in the educational system who were selected using purposive and non-probabilistic sampling methods and in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The present study uses the qualitative data analysis method of the foundation to identify the main and sub-categories of the research. MAXQDA software was used for qualitative analysis. In total, the obtained model includes 7 main categories including informal skills training, personality traits, leadership and leadership in teamwork, development of infrastructure and necessary platform for informal skills, policy-making appropriate to informal skills training, community culture and meeting market needs. Based on the results, it was shown that the development of infrastructure and the necessary context of informal skills, personality traits and leadership in teamwork, informal skills training, policy-making appropriate to informal skills training, culture building in society and finally meeting the needs of the labor market in providing an optimal model were selected for non-formal (free and special) skills training, technical and vocational universities.

Educational needs assessment and professional development of human resources play a very important role in the performance and increasing the expertise and flexibility of the employees of an organization. Considering the prominent role of lawyers in society, this becomes doubly important. Therefore, developing a comprehensive program for the professional development of lawyers will also be of great importance. The aim of the current research was to first assess the educational needs (with a merit-based model) and then develop a suitable and desirable five-year program for the professional development of lawyers in Kurdistan Province. The research approach used in the current study was exploratory (qualitative-quantitative). In the qualitative part, descriptive phenomenological approach was used. The field of research was Kurdistan Province Bar Association. Purposive sampling with maximum diversity was used to select the participants. In order to collect the required data in the first phase, a semi-structured interview protocol was used with the participation of 12 people, which continued until the stage of theoretical data saturation. Three-stage theoretical coding was used to analyze the qualitative data. In total, 273 open codes, 52 core codes and 4 optional codes were extracted. In the second phase of the research and a quantitative part, the descriptive-survey strategy was used. The statistical community consisted of all lawyers who were members of the Kurdistan Province Bar Association, totaling 400. The sample size was 122 people determined by using the Karjesi-Morgan Table and stratified random sampling method. To answer the quantitative questions of the research, a self-report questionnaire containing closed-ended questions on a Likert scale was used. From the results of data analysis, four general categories of professional development needs were identified. Based on this, the organizers of 10 short-term and long-term operational programs, including a workshop to familiarize with unanimous opinions, insistence and high authorities, a workshop on professional ethics, a special annual professional growth award, a workshop to familiarize with the concepts of professional development, a workshop to familiarize with the concepts of lifelong learning, a workshop to familiarize with new laws, suggested a workshop on defense techniques and speaking techniques, preparation of electronic pamphlets by the center, a memorandum of understanding and an exchange of experiences with the country's universities and educational and research centers, and the institutionalization of the professional development unit. In a proposed package, content components of the programs were presented in 4 cases, professional development strategies in 10 cases, and tools and mechanisms for providing professional development programs in 12 cases. Findings indicated that unless bar association members engage in a serious and voluntary self-improvement process, any proposed programs will have little success.

With the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic and the replacement of the face-to-face method of teaching with the virtual education method in universities, the issue of measuring the effectiveness of virtual education has received a great deal of attention. The present research was aimed at investigating the effectiveness of virtual education in the electronic learning management system of the Girls' Technical and Vocational University of Shahreza. The research population included the students and professors of in the field of Graphics at the Technical and Vocational University of Shahreza, in the academic year of 2021-2022. A researcher-made questionnaire was used as tool of research. For data analysis, Kaiser-Meir-Elkin test, Bartlett test, first and second stage confirmatory factor analysis, correlation coefficient test, covariance test, path analysis and structural equation modelling were used. The research results showed the primary desire of students for virtual education, the effectiveness of virtual education compared to the face-to-face method, the technical and structural features of the Samyad system, and the capability of the Samyad system to transfer the concepts and curricular skills in the graphics field. Finally, the quality of academic evaluation in the Samyad system was considered to be the effective factors of this system, which also had the necessary credibility. In addition, there was a meaningful two-way relationship between the factors that formed the effectiveness of the system, and the covariance of the factors that make up its effectiveness was significant. Therefore, considering the effectiveness of the Samyad system, its use was effective in optimizing the teaching-learning process of students.

Academic well-being, which is one of the most important and influential factors on students' academic progress, can be directly or indirectly affected by the entrepreneurial education system, psychological capital, and mental well-being. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the entrepreneurial education system on academic well-being through mediation of psychological capital and mental well-being. The research method was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population of the research included all the students of work-knowledge and technical and professional conservatories in Chabahar city (Sistan and Baluchistan Province) in the academic year of 2021-2022. Using stratified sampling (by gender), 313 students were studied through questionnaires of entrepreneurial educational system, mental well-being, academic well-being and psychological capital. Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation model with SPSS21 and Smart PLS 3.2.8 software were used to analyze the data. The findings of the correlation coefficient showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the entrepreneurial education system, academic well-being, psychological capital and mental well-being. The results of the structural equation model also showed that the entrepreneurial educational system had a positive and significant effect on the academic well-being of students both directly and indirectly with the mediation of psychological capital and mental well-being. The entrepreneurial education system had a positive effect on the students' psychological capital and mental well-being by strengthening students' belief in their abilities to achieve success and persevere in pursuing goals, creating positive documents about themselves, and by promoting students' academic hope and optimism and enduring problems. Psychological capital (through improving academic self-efficacy, academic optimism, academic resilience and academic optimism) and mental well-being (through increasing the enjoyment of learning and feeling of belonging to school) have a positive effect on the academic well-being of students.

Considering the special importance and position of family in terms of education and society and the influence of the cultural and religious context of society in the formation of relationships and family structure, the present study was conducted to investigate the validity and effectiveness of indigenous couple therapy model.  The present study was an experimental-quantitative research conducted as a pretest-posttest with a one-month follow-up. From the statistical population, 26 people were selected by random sampling and placed in the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was trained in 9 sessions of 90-minute weekly training. The research instrument was the Family Flexibility Questionnaire, which was administered to the subjects to collect information. To analyze the data, repeated measures analysis of variance was used. The results showed that the pattern of indigenous couple therapy based on the combination of Minuchin and Islam structural approach had a significant effect on promoting family flexibility and the durability of the effect of education was maintained after one month (p <0.05).

Electronic procurement is one of the most important tools of e-commerce that mechanizes the activity of purchasing and supply in organizations using internet technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the continuity of the use of electronic procurement system and user satisfaction based on the quality acceptance model of technology in small and medium active rural industries in Kermanshah Province. The method was quantitative and regression study. The statistical population consisted of users of small and medium rural industries in Kermanshah province, and 284 people were selected as the study sample by simple random method based on Cochran's sample size determination table. The research tool was a standard questionnaire. The reliability of this tool was determined by Cronbach's alpha of 0.86. Exploratory factor analysis, structural equations, and path coefficient testing with PLS software were used to analyze the data. Organization employees' perception of procurement services had a positive and significant effect on satisfaction with electronic procurement system and perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, satisfaction with the system, online ordering process perceived usefulness, quality of completion of procurement orders, and quality of information flow. According to the results and the knowledge of the variables influencing the adoption of technology, it is possible to plan carefully and increase the preparation as well as the successful application of these systems in the target community.

Political, economic, social, and technological changes have created a shift in consumer interests, desires, and behavior, causing many startups to fail due to an inadequate value proposition. Despite the successful results of the implementation of service design in organizations, the study of the principles and tools of service design that can improve the quality of the value proposition in start-ups has been neglected. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to provide a model of service design in information and communications technology (ICT) start-ups to prevent failure with the application of service design. The applicable tools and principles of service design in ICT start-ups and the results obtained from the use of these tools and principles were examined. The present research was practical with a qualitative approach using a multiple case study method. To collect data, 15 interviews were conducted with the managers of ICT start-ups based at the Science and Technology Parks of Tehran and Sharif Universities. Then, the data was analyzed by content analysis. Based on the results, service design required three stages: identifying opportunities, a compilation of value proposition, and implementation of value proposition; the tools and principles of service design were determined separately in each stage. Using service design resulted in an increase in the quality of the proposed value in the five dimensions of social, emotional, functional, innovative, and personalized value.

In recent decades, money laundering methods have become much more innovative due to the development of financial products and services offered, the complexity of financial communications, the advancement of technology, and the acceleration of cash flows around the world. Banks are most affected by money laundering. In this regard, one of the most important risks faced by banks and financial institutions is money laundering risk. Therefore, the main purpose of the present study was to design a model for money laundering risk in banks and financial and credit institutions. A mixed research method was used with a sequential exploratory approach. In this study, first, qualitative data was collected and analyzed followed by quantitative data collection and analysis in the second stage. To meet this challenge comprehensively and systematically, all indicators in the field of money laundering risk in banks and financial institutions that were effective were extracted. Through interviews and documentary studies using the qualitative method of grounded data theory, the effective indicators were identified, extracted and placed into 23 organizing themes and 96 basic themes. In the quantitative part and in order to confirm the components from the perspective of experts, the factor analysis method was used. The results showed the significance of the measurement models and structural equations at the 99% confidence level.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of income smoothing on the amount of fees paid for auditing services in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In this study, the criteria of net income volatilities and accruals were used as indicators of income smoothing in companies. For this purpose, the financial information of 118 companies in the years 2011 to 2020 were extracted and reviewed by systematic elimination method as a statistical sample of the research. Multiple linear regression method was used to test the hypotheses. Findings showed that income smoothing based on both criteria of net income volatilities and accruals had a significant effect on audit fees in companies. In other words, profit with less volatilities (higher quality of income) and accruals with less volatilities in companies (higher quality of accruals) led to a reduction in the amount of fees received by auditors.

Much research has been conducted on earnings management based on accruals in the field of accounting but earnings management based on real activities and its effects have received less interest. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the real earnings management activities prior to share issuance and also their impact on the stock returns of companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange. In this research, the relationship between the variables in the period of 2015-2020 was examined annually for 106 companies accepted in the Tehran Stock Exchange which were selected through the screening method (systematic elimination) and continuously active during the mentioned years. The hypothesis testing method used was the multivariate regression model in the composite data set. At the confidence level of 95%, the first hypothesis of the research (existence of real earnings management prior to share issuance in the companies accepted in the Tehran Stock Exchange) was not confirmed. The second main hypothesis (real earnings management has an effect on stock returns in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange) was confirmed.

One The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the revaluation of fixed assets and the modification of the financial structure of companies listed on the Iranian capital market (both stock exchange and OTC). Since increasing the debt capacity and improving the liquidity of business units can also help to improve the financial structure of business units, the relationship between fixed assets revaluation and these two variables was also investigated. In this regard, first, all the mentioned companies that had revaluation of fixed assets during the ten-year period from 2011 to 2020 were identified and then the effect of revaluation on their financial structure as well as debt capacity and liquidity using generalized least squares regression. The variables of company size, growth opportunity and profitability were also considered as control variables in the financial structure model. The results of the research demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between the revaluation of fixed assets and the modification of the financial structure, the increase in debt capacity and the increase in liquidity. These results are in line with the goal of the legislator, particularly Article 14 of the law on maximum use of the country production and service capacity and protection of Iranian goods approved on 5th May, 2019, which encourages companies to reform the financial structure, to revaluate fixed assets and increase capital from this point.

The current research was conducted to investigate the effect of liquidity on credit policies and the role of company competitiveness characteristics on the sensitivity of credit policies to the liquidity of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In addition, the effect of company credit policies on excess stock returns and the effect of firm competitiveness on the sensitivity of excess stock returns to credit policy were studied. For this purpose, after extracting the financial information of 142 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange for the period 2008-2020, the multiple regression model was used with the combined data model. The results of the regression models indicated that corporate credit policy was significantly affected by cash flows and the company's competitiveness in the market affected the sensitivity of credit policies to cash flows. In addition, regarding the effect of credit policies on the company's excess stock returns, the results indicated that credit policies had a significant impact on the company's excess stock returns. However, in terms of competitiveness, the impact of credit policies on excess stock returns was decreased.

One of the most important issues in gas distribution companies in the country is the multi-level agility of processes in their supply chains. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate various factors in process agility using the systems dynamics approach. The statistical population of this research comprised of all managers of seven provincial gas supply companies. In this research, the Delphi method was used to identify the variables affecting process agility, statistical tests were used to analyze the correlation between data, the Dimtel method was used to classify the causal and effectual variables, and dynamic system analysis was used for dynamic model analysis and simulation. The validity of the model was measured based on structural and behavioral validity tests. The results showed that due to changes in performance, the cost of implementing changes in a system varied in terms of cycle and in the later stages, the cost of development increased. This delay also increased costs and reduced development productivity. Moreover, the simulation illustrated that process agility helped complete more tasks at a lower cost. The dynamics model developed in this research can be used as a tool by an organization to understand and analyze the effects of different rapid development practices and supply chain management strategies.

In today's highly competitive markets, it is impossible to eliminate or ignore the resources of turbulence. Hence, supply chain managers must accept uncertainty and look for an approach to adapt to such conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to design a supply chain agility model with fuzzy DEMATEL approach in the oil and gas industry in Khuzestan Province. This research was quantitative research with fuzzy DEMATEL approach. The statistical population of the present research consisted of experts in the oil and gas industries in Khuzestan Province. Based on this,10 experts were interviewed from the oil and gas industries in Khuzestan Province. Supply chain agility factors in the oil and gas industries included flexibility, competitive price, reliability, responsiveness, customer relations, quality, speed, availability, innovation, and up-to-date and competence. The required data was collected using a pairwise comparison questionnaire. In order to analyze the data, the fuzzy DEMATEL approach and sensitivity analysis with Excel software were used. Findings showed that the factors of flexibility, competitive price, quality, availability and innovation and up-to-date were in the group of causal variables and the factors of reliability, responsiveness, customer relations, speed and competence were in the group of effect variables. The findings of sensitivity analysis also revealed that for every 10% change in the independent variables of flexibility, or responsiveness, or competency, the supply chain agility increased by 1.1%. In addition, the findings demonstrated that for every 10% change in the independent variables of customer relationship, speed, or availability, the supply chain agility increased by 1%.

The current research sought to determine the impact of market competition and product substitution on the relationship between the abnormal return of the first earnings announcement and the last earnings announcement (as a basis of the information content of the earnings announcement). The research method was applied and the statistical method used included the multivariate regression model. To test the hypotheses of the research, the financial data of a statistical sample including 112 companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2016 were collected. The results of the hypothesis test showed that there was no significant relationship between the abnormal return of the first profit announcement and the abnormal return of the last profit announcement; in addition, the product market competition, product substitution, the difference in the direction of the abnormal return of the first and the abnormal return of the last profit announcement, and the loss report could not explain the relationship between the abnormal return of the first profit announcement and the impact of the abnormal return of the last profit announcement. It appears that the delay in the announcement of profits and imitation of the latest profit forecast could be reasons for rejecting the research hypotheses. In addition, the inefficiency of the Tehran Stock Exchange market could be considered a reason for the lack of information content in the announcement of profits, and the abnormal returns were caused by other factors. In other words, the lack of effectiveness of abnormal returns can indicate that the competition of the product market does not have the necessary regulatory efficiency and the Iranian stock market tends towards monopoly or multilateral monopoly.

Blockchain technology is a relatively new technology, and due to its decentralization, consensus and encryption, it is one of the safest technologies in the world. Considering the importance of the security and accuracy of taxpayer information for the tax administration on the one hand and the capabilities of blockchain technology on the other hand, the present study examined the possibility of using this technology in the country's Tax Affairs Organization. In this research, since the possibility of using blockchain technology in the design of the value added tax information exchange system in the country's tax affairs organization should be investigated first, a model was presented by examining the existing theoretical and empirical foundations based on the technology acceptance model in the organization (TOE). Opinions on the factors affecting the adoption of technology in the organization were investigated. Then, using the qualitative method (content analysis), a semi-structured interview was conducted with 27 participants and the factors affecting the adoption of blockchain in the organization were identified. Lastly, the final model was presented by analyzing 15 questionnaires using the fuzzy Delphi method. The results of the present research showed that the perceptions of the employees of the Tax Affairs Organization regarding the three components of technology, organization and environment confirm the possibility of using this technology which was considered acceptable by them.

Tourism is an economic sector with a high multiplier effect, which is referred to as the driving engine of economic growth and can bring prosperity to the entire economy as an economic stimulator. Since the tourism product has a high price elasticity, its pricing is of particular importance to maintain and increase the demand of this economic sector. The price of tourism products is a function of the costs of this sector, and the increase in costs, including the costs of electricity, gas and water consumption, can affect the price of the final product. Considering the tendency towards the gradual liberalization of energy prices, this research examines the effect of increasing electricity, gas and water prices on the price index of the tourism sector. For this purpose, the cost-based approach of social accounting matrix was used. Due to the multi-sectorality of the tourism product, a matrix was designed to include the inbound tourism sector and the domestic tourism sector as two distinct sectors in the production account. The findings of the research showed that a one-unit increase in the cost of electricity, gas and water caused a slight increase in the price index of the tourism sector, and a significant price increase can be expected in the tourism products following an increase in the price of these items.

Today, Customer Relationship Management (CRM( has become an inevitable necessity in organizations. However, one of the primary problems in this area is the lack of a clear criterion for classifying customers. Creating predictive models from customer categories is also one of the challenges of customer relationship management. For this purpose, in this paper, the combination of LRFM method with quartile concepts and multi-class data mining methods was used to categorize customers. In this solution, customer information records were first reviewed and refined to remove invalid data. Customers were then categorized by combining the concepts of the LRFM method with quartiles. In order to identify and classify new customers, the obtained outputs are subjected to feature selection and their additional features removed. Then, the remaining features were transferred to different classifiers to create predictive customer category models. Contrary to previous research achievements, in this paper, multi-class microscopic and macroscopic evaluation criteria were used to evaluate the performance of predictors. In order to evaluate the results, in a case study, part of the customer information of Sarchin Khorasan Company was used. Evaluations showed that the accuracy of the predicted models of the proposed method in customer classification was higher than the conventional method of customer classification using K-Means. In addition, the proposed method performed better in group detection of records.