Business, Marketing, and Finance Open

Dual Continuity Leadership: Sustaining Information Systems and Business Continuity for Innovation and Resilience in High-Tech Firms

Amir Moslemi ^* iD

This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect effects of dual continuity leadership on organizational innovation and organizational resilience through information systems continuity and business continuity in high-tech firms. This quantitative, applied, cross-sectional study used a descriptive-correlational and explanatory design. The statistical population consisted of managers, supervisors, information technology specialists, research and development employees, and professional staff working in high-tech firms in Tehran, Iran. A total of 384 participants were included through a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire assessing dual continuity leadership, information systems continuity, business continuity, organizational innovation, and organizational resilience. Construct validity was examined through confirmatory factor analysis, while reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. Indirect effects were assessed using bootstrapping with bias-corrected confidence intervals. Dual continuity leadership significantly predicted information systems continuity (β = 0.62, p < .001) and business continuity (β = 0.59, p < .001). Information systems continuity significantly predicted organizational innovation (β = 0.31, p < .001) and organizational resilience (β = 0.26, p < .001), while business continuity significantly predicted organizational innovation (β = 0.22, p = .001) and organizational resilience (β = 0.42, p < .001). Dual continuity leadership also had significant direct effects on organizational innovation (β = 0.21, p = .001) and organizational resilience (β = 0.19, p = .002). Bootstrapping confirmed significant indirect effects through both continuity mechanisms, supporting partial mediation. The model explained 42.7% of the variance in organizational innovation and 51.6% of the variance in organizational resilience. Dual continuity leadership appears to strengthen innovation and resilience in high-tech firms by simultaneously sustaining critical information systems and essential business processes, indicating that integrated continuity-oriented leadership can function as both a protective and adaptive strategic capability.

A Comparative Study of Internal and External Auditors’ Perceptions of the Impact of Information Technology Adoption on Audit Quality

Hossein Fakhari ^* iD , Mohammad Najm Abdulamir Albandar iD

The rapid development of information technology (IT) plays a significant role in enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of audit processes; however, realizing these benefits depends on auditors’ perceptions and acceptance of such technologies. Accordingly, the primary objective of the present study was to examine the effect of the acceptance and use of information technology on audit quality and to comparatively assess the perceptions of independent and internal auditors based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). In terms of purpose, this study was applied research, and in terms of research method, it employed a descriptive–survey design. The statistical population consisted of 1,200 auditors working in Iraq, including 700 independent auditors and 500 internal auditors. Using Cochran’s formula, a sample of 291 participants (170 independent auditors and 121 internal auditors) was selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected both in person and online using a standardized questionnaire based on Davis’s Technology Acceptance Model (1989) and a five-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and the Mann–Whitney U test. The structural model results indicated that the acceptance and use of information technology had a positive and statistically significant effect on audit quality in both populations (p < .05). Among independent auditors, perceived ease of use (β = .336) had a stronger effect on audit quality than perceived usefulness (β = .274), whereas among internal auditors, perceived usefulness (β = .432) played a more prominent role in enhancing audit quality than perceived ease of use (β = .122). Furthermore, the Mann–Whitney U test indicated a statistically significant difference between internal and independent auditors in their perceptions of the effect of information technology on audit quality (p < .05). The findings demonstrate that although the application of information technology improves audit quality, auditors’ perceptual priorities differ according to their professional roles: independent auditors place greater emphasis on the ease of use of technological tools, whereas internal auditors focus more strongly on their usefulness and operational efficiency. Therefore, audit firms and organizations should develop user-friendly technological infrastructures while designing and implementing training programs tailored to the distinct needs of each group.

Optimal system design and optimal budget models in the presence of interval data

Mohammad Pouryusef iD , Ghasem Tohidi ^* iD , Masoud Sanei iD , Farhad Hosseinzadeh Lotfi iD , Shabnam Razavyan iD

This paper develops an interval data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework for optimal system design (OSD) and optimal budget determination. Classical OSD DEA models generally assume that input and output data are known precisely. In many applications, however, production data are affected by measurement error, incomplete records, forecasting uncertainty, or managerial judgment and are therefore more realistically represented by lower and upper bounds. To address this issue, the present study extends profit-maximizing OSD DEA models to the case of interval input and output data. The proposed formulation enables a decision-making unit (DMU) to determine an economically desirable input-output configuration under a given budget when benchmark data are imprecise. The study also develops a complementary procedure for determining the optimal budget and for identifying budget congestion in the interval-data setting. In this framework, budget congestion occurs when forcing a DMU to consume a budget above the optimal level reduces profit rather than improving performance. The models are formulated as deterministic linear programming problems and can therefore be solved using standard optimization software. A numerical example with ten DMUs, three inputs, and two outputs is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach. The results show that the interval OSD framework provides a practical decision-support tool for profit-oriented resource allocation when production data are not exactly known.

An Analysis of the Key Elements and Consequences of Blockchain Adoption in the Financial Industry with an Emphasis on Stakeholder Trust

Ameneh Moshtaghi iD , Saeid Baseri ^* iD , Hassan Ghodrati Ghazani iD , Mohammadreza Mohagheghi iD , Mohammad Esmaeili Joosheghani iD

This study aimed to identify and analyze the principal elements and consequences of blockchain adoption in the financial industry, with particular emphasis on the role of stakeholder trust. This qualitative study was conducted through a systematic review of the literature and thematic analysis of scholarly publications published between 2006 and 2026. Relevant studies were identified from major international and Iranian scientific databases using combinations of keywords related to blockchain, financial services, FinTech, adoption, trust, transparency, security, regulation, and digital finance. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 64 eligible studies were included in the final analysis. Data were extracted using a structured review framework covering technological, organizational, regulatory, economic, behavioral, and trust-related factors. Qualitative content analysis and thematic synthesis were then applied to identify recurring adoption determinants, dimensions of stakeholder trust, positive consequences, and major implementation challenges. The synthesis indicated that technological characteristics were the most frequently identified determinant of blockchain adoption, reported in 55 studies (85.94%), followed by stakeholder trust in 52 studies (81.25%), perceived usefulness and relative advantage in 49 studies (76.56%), regulatory and legal conditions in 46 studies (71.88%), and organizational readiness in 43 studies (67.19%). Trust in technological integrity was the most prominent trust dimension, identified in 50 studies (78.13%). The most frequently reported positive consequence was increased transparency and auditability, observed in 51 studies (79.69%), followed by improved transaction efficiency in 48 studies (75.00%) and enhanced data integrity and security in 46 studies (71.88%). Regulatory and legal uncertainty was the most common challenge, identified in 45 studies (70.31%), followed by privacy concerns in 39 studies (60.94%) and cybersecurity vulnerabilities in 37 studies (57.81%). Blockchain adoption in the financial industry is a multidimensional sociotechnical process in which stakeholder trust plays a central mediating and reinforcing role between technological capabilities, institutional conditions, perceived risks, and implementation outcomes. Successful adoption depends not only on technical performance but also on regulatory clarity, organizational readiness, privacy protection, effective governance, and the ability to demonstrate tangible value to stakeholders.

The Role of Dual Holders in Enhancing Information Transparency: An Analysis of Their Impact on Accounting Information Disclosure with Emphasis on the Moderating Role of Corporate Governance

Reza Majidi iD , Meysam Foroghi Abari ^* iD , Zohreh Zivdar iD

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of dual holders on accounting information disclosure, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of corporate governance monitoring mechanisms. Accounting information disclosure, as one of the most important mechanisms for reducing information asymmetry and enhancing capital market transparency, plays a critical role in investors’ decision-making. In this context, dual holders—investors who simultaneously hold both the equity and debt of a firm—may exert a substantial influence on corporate disclosure policies because of their access to private information and their enhanced influence over management. The statistical population of the study consisted of 105 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2015–2023. The data were analyzed using panel-data techniques and multivariate regression models. The findings indicate that dual holders have a positive and significant effect on accounting information disclosure; specifically, as the ownership concentration of dual holders increases, the quality of information disclosure improves. The results further demonstrate that corporate governance monitoring mechanisms significantly strengthen the positive effect of dual holders on information disclosure. These findings suggest that, when accompanied by an effective corporate governance system, dual holders can function as a complementary monitoring mechanism that enhances corporate information transparency and reduces information asymmetry. Based on the findings, it is recommended that capital market policymakers strengthen corporate governance mechanisms and improve the transparency of ownership structures in order to facilitate more effective utilization of the monitoring capacity of dual holders.

Iranian Managers’ Perceptions of the Independent Audit Report: A Qualitative Study Based on Thematic Analysis

Maryam Farmanesh iD , Heydar Mohammadzadeh Salteh ^* iD , Ebrahim Navidi Abbaspour iD

This study aimed to develop a qualitative thematic model explaining how Iranian managers perceive, interpret, and respond to independent audit reports, with particular attention to the conditions shaping interpretation, the strategies used to resolve ambiguity, and the consequences of this interpretive process. This qualitative study employed an exploratory–interpretive design and thematic analysis. Participants were purposively selected from accounting and auditing experts and senior managers of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 65–90 minutes and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim with participants’ consent. Data analysis followed the six-phase thematic analysis approach, including familiarization with the data, initial coding, generation of themes, review of themes, definition and naming of themes, and preparation of the analytical report. Coding was conducted iteratively, and methodological rigor was strengthened through independent coding of a sample of interviews, comparison between coders, consensus-based resolution of discrepancies, and documentation of the analytical process. The findings revealed an integrated interpretive model consisting of six dimensions: causal conditions, the central phenomenon, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, strategies and interactions, and consequences. Unusual audit content functioned as a threshold trigger that shifted managers from routine reading to active interpretation. The central interpretive task involved decoding the seriousness and practical meaning of audit opinions. Organizational structures, especially active audit committees and access to financial expertise, facilitated understanding, whereas individual accounting knowledge, regulatory pressure, trust in the audit firm, and prior experience shaped interpretive responses. Managers used direct auditor communication, referral to specialists, selective reading, and organizational meetings to resolve ambiguity. These processes influenced decision quality, audit literacy, and trust in the auditing process, while accumulated experience created a gradual learning feedback loop. Managers’ understanding of independent audit reports is a dynamic and iterative process shaped by textual signals, individual expertise, organizational context, institutional pressures, interaction with professional intermediaries, and cumulative learning; therefore, improving audit-report usefulness requires attention not only to technical accuracy but also to comprehensibility and interpretive support.

What Mortality-Reminder Experiments Identify About Motives: Partial Identification and the Economic Value of Motive Evidence

Hamed Mohammadpour iD , Ghahreman Abdoli ^* iD

Under standard design conditions, randomization identifies a mortality-reminder assignment effect on a prespecified economic choice, not why choice changed. The analysis separates this effect from arm-marginal changes in theory-indexed practical content and individual component transitions. Inferring noninstrumental concern for a specified other's good or the actor's own good requires defensible cross-arm alignment and four bridges: content, choice, measurement, and causal order. Under the paired-construction closure condition, other-good and self-good specifications can generate the same arm-specific observable-law family. Valid aligned component marginals yield sharp marginal Fréchet bounds on individual transitions, but not the joint transition law. Narrowing the supported state set may inform without changing action; motive evidence has economic decision value only if it changes a prespecified prediction, transport conclusion, policy ranking, minimax-regret choice, or welfare conclusion. A consequential-giving construction shows states sharing one baseline choice law can reverse the ranking of beneficiary-impact versus public-recognition fundraising policies. The dated, search-bounded map contains 221 records from 121 works. Of 93 source-version records in a post hoc five-gate audit, 18 records from 13 works met all criteria. Because the audited studies lack a common estimand, results are not pooled or vote-counted; the audited evidence supports no domain-general shift toward altruism or self-regard. The proposed eight-cell giving design varies cue, beneficiary impact, and truthful publicity; an actor-return-substitute follow-up tests prespecified causal-order predictions after independent validation that the substitute generates the targeted actor return. Under valid exclusions and decision-calibrated precision, the design can discriminate among economic-component restrictions; neither design point-identifies unrestricted practical motives.

An Optimal Auditing Model for Identifying Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion in the Iranian National Tax Administration

Mina Bakhtiari Chehelcheshmeh iD , Arezoo Aghaei Chadegani ^* iD , Ehsan Kamali iD

The present study aimed to develop an optimal auditing model for identifying tax fraud and tax evasion in the Iranian National Tax Administration, taking into account the environmental characteristics and prevailing conditions of the country. Given the exploratory approach of the research and the adoption of a qualitative methodology, grounded theory was employed. Accordingly, during the first half of 2023, the views of 15 experts specializing in tax auditing and possessing practical experience in this field were collected through in-depth interviews to investigate the factors affecting optimal auditing for the identification of tax fraud and tax evasion. Ultimately, an “Optimal Auditing Model for Identifying Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion in the Iranian National Tax Administration” was developed, encompassing causal conditions, intervening factors, contextual conditions, strategies for achieving optimal tax auditing, and their consequences. The findings resulted in the identification of six main dimensions and 18 axial components within the optimal auditing model for identifying tax fraud and tax evasion. These included the core category and causal conditions (the use of modern financial technologies, integration of auditing processes with tax systems, and an efficient auditing system); contextual factors (operational capabilities and the use of information technology, tax equity, the level of transparency and an efficient tax information system, macroeconomic factors, and political factors); intervening conditions (social and cultural characteristics and legal characteristics); strategies (establishment of quality-monitoring and ranking mechanisms, strengthening resources and modern facilities for optimal tax auditing, and providing the necessary arrangements for establishing extra-organizational balance); and consequences (consequences of resolving tax disputes, consequences of optimal tax auditing, and consequences at the taxpayer level). One of the most important achievements of this study is the proposed framework for optimal tax auditing aimed at identifying tax fraud and tax evasion. Within this model, the principal foundation of optimal auditing for identifying tax fraud and tax evasion is defined as a commitment to quality centered on economic information.

Business, Marketing, and Finance Open

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The Interactive Effect of Foreign Direct Investment and Human Capital on Export Diversification in Selected Member Countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Identifying the Influential Components of the Taxpayer Participation Model for Tax Policy-Making in the Iranian Tax Administration

Sentiment Analysis of Customer Opinions in Iran: A Systematic Review

Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Macroeconomic Variables on the Performance of Factor Investment Strategies (Smart Beta) in the Iranian Capital Market

A Model of Electronic Banking Services’ Impact on Iraq’s Financial System Development

Forecasting the Prices of Selected Cryptocurrencies Using Various Machine Learning Algorithms

Threshold Effect of Financial Stress in the Relationship Between Global Crude Oil Price Volatility Spillovers and the Base Metals Market of Listed Companies

Threshold Effects of Financial Stress on the Relationship Between Oil Price Volatility and the COVID-19 Crisis on Stock Return Volatility in Pharmaceutical Companies Listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange

Integrated Analysis of Industry 4.0 Technologies in Warehouse Management of Chain Stores Based on the BWM-TOPSIS Technique

Development of a Dynamic Spatial Durbin Model with Generalized Common Effects (SDM-DPD(GCE)) to Examine the Impact of Macroeconomic Indicators on Housing Prices in Iran

The Impact of Exchange Rate Policies and Liquidity Creation on Macroeconomic Variables: A DSGE Model Approach

Examining the Impact of Digital Transformation on the Reconfiguration of Organizational Identity in Banks with Emphasis on Organizational Agility and Organizational Learning

The Impact of Inflation on the Efficiency of Performance-Based Budgeting and Managerial Controls

Blockchain Technology Acceptance in Accounting Information Systems by End Users in the Domain of Accountants’ Competencies

An Anxiety Management Model in Medical Tourism Patients: A Meta-Synthesis Study

Presenting a Structural Model of the Effect of Personality Traits on Financial Capability with the Moderating Role of Ideology

The Role of Value-Added Tax in the Development of Social Justice in Iran

Investigating the Impact of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence on Activity-Based Project Costing

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