Author = mojtaba ramazani
Business Management

Presenting a unified model of Empowering Employees' Performance based on a Comprehensive Tax Plan in the country's Tax Affairs Organization

Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring 2025, Pages 157-181

https://doi.org/10.22034/jvcbm.2024.444903.1319

akbar pourhassan harzandi, nader bohlooli, mojtaba ramazani, Jafar Beikzad

Abstract Abstract The present research has been conducted in order to provide a consolidated model of employee performance empowerment based on a comprehensive tax plan in the country's tax affairs organization. The lack of a systematic conceptual model of empowering the performance of employees is one of the challenges faced by managers of public sector organizations, and the tax affairs organization is no exception. The research design is mixed-exploratory and qualitative-quantitative; the interviewees included 20 experts from the Tax Affairs Organization, selected by purposive sampling method and in accordance with the principle of theoretical saturation. At the first step of the research (qualitative stage) and through in-depth semi-structured interviews and based on the theme analysis approach, relevant themes were identified (including 738 propositions, 159 basic concepts, 28 organizing themes, and 6 overarching themes). The second research (quantitative stage) was also drawn respectively based on the combined method of Fuzzy DEMATEL-structural-interpretive modeling (ISM-FUZZY DEMATEL), cause-effect diagram, and integrated model of employee performance empowerment in the form of structural-interpretive modeling graph of the research and the influence and dependence matrix of the main themes of the research based on the MICMAC analysis, and the analysis of the results of the meta-fuzzy showed that the factors "employee performance empowerment interventionists", "employee performance empowerment platforms", and "comprehensive tax plan" are respectively the most influential factors; and "employee performance", "strategies", and "employee empowerment", respectively, are considered as the most influential factors of this research, and these results are in line with the levels mentioned in the ISM interaction network and also the output of the Mik-Mac software analysis. Introduction Empowerment is not just giving power to employees, but it also makes employees improve their performance by acquiring knowledge, skills and motivation (Askaroghli & Abedi, 2012). [On the other hand], the activity environment of government and private organizations has undergone great changes in the last decade. This environment has changed from a static and motionless environment to a highly variable and dynamic environment (Shafaei et al., 2024). [Therefore], organizations today consider information technology as a tool to improve the performance of their people and adapt to changes (Haq-Shenas et al. 2013). Empirical research confirms that performance is directly and indirectly affected by technology (Afrawi et al., 2016) and organizations need to pay attention to information technology as a determining factor (Pourhassan.H & Rahimi, 2016) in such a way that the country's tax affairs organization is not an exception to this rule, and has based its tax activities in the form of a digital economy based on the use of electronic technologies and the comprehensive plan of the system. The country's comprehensive tax system is undoubtedly considered as one of the national mega-projects and at the same time one of the biggest projects based on information and communication technology in the history of the country, and the social effects of this project and the scope of its effects are very wide and. all people are connected with it in one way or another, in such a way that, the application of the mentioned plan in the form of the driving engine of the country's economy; in addition to achieving its extra-organizational goals (providing government revenues), is expected to include empowering and improving the performance of the employees of that organization, in the form of achieving its goals. On the other hand, although there are many theoretical sources about empowerment, the empirical work about its contribution to the performance of the organization has produced different findings; in a way that it has created a challenge for organizations that want to implement empowerment programs (Afram et al., 2022). Therefore, today management experts and senior managers of government organizations in Iran are aware of the importance and role of improving the empowerment of employees and on this basis, they are trying to identify and the ways of how to apply useful methods to strengthen its positive aspects. In general, it can be said that one of the problems faced by managers in some Iranian government organizations is the lack of a conceptual, correct and deep model of employee empowerment (Nazari et al., 2015), so that this deficiency was also evident in the country's tax affairs organization, based on the field investigations of the researchers of this research. Therefore, it was necessary to identify the capabilities of the country's tax affairs organization in the field of empowering the performance of employees (for the optimal use of the maximum capacity and potential of its human resources) on the one hand, and analyzing the relationships between these variables (through leveling the influence and effectiveness of the main themes of the research along with determining the power of influence and the degree of their dependence) with other effective factors in this field, including strategic, intervening and foundational factors on the other hand, and finally answer this basic question: is it possible to present a consolidated model of employee performance empowerment based on the implementation of a comprehensive tax plan in the country's tax affairs organization or not? Theoretical Framework  The long-term goal of empowerment is continuous improvement in the performance of the entire organization, and its short-term goal is to use the abilities of the organization's members. As a matter of fact, empowerment definitely leads to freedom of choice and more action, but these are only instrumental goals and are considered a way to achieve the real goal. The real goal is always to improve performance (Pak-niyyat & Fathizadeh, 2008). Despite this, the evidence that indicates the failure of most empowerment programs to meet the expectations of managers and employees is increasing day by day. Although many organizations have suffered losses and stagnation from the implementation of empowerment programs, empowerment is still considered a panacea that, despite being unsavory, is a cure for many of the organization's pains (Abtahi & Abesi, 2013). First of all, empowerment is a process that helps to improve the performance of employees and teams by developing and expanding their independence and ability. In other words, empowering employees is an efficient approach for human resource development on the one hand; and on the other hand, it lays the groundwork for organizational development and prosperity. From an empirical point of view, employee empowerment is a basic strategy for the development of human resources and specifically for increasing the performance of employees (Kumari & Hemalatha, 2018). In the challenge of an environment that is changing rapidly and in every moment is faced with new technologies; Capable employees feel completely comfortable. Therefore, the ability to easily accept changes by employees is very important for the performance of organizations (Ndegwa, 2015). Therefore, the presented definitions lead us to the fact that if the concept of empowerment is properly understood and connected with the idea of ​​continuous improvement in the overall performance of the organization, it will create the maximum utilization of the intellectual resources offered (Arbabian et al., 2019). Research methodology  The purpose of the research is applicable in terms of orientation, interpretive in terms of research philosophy, and its main strategy is based on a mixed approach (qualitative-quantitative) and by combining the content analysis method (in the qualitative phase) with structural-interpretive modeling methods, DEMATEL-fuzzy technique and mik-mak analysis (in the quantitative phase of this study). In both the qualitative and quantitative sections, the interviewees of this research made up of 20 experts of the Tax Affairs Organization, selected by the purposeful sampling method (and by observing the principle of theoretical saturation in the qualitative phase). As a result, the main method of data collection was semi-structured in-depth interview. The stages of conducting the research were such that in the first stage, thematic analysis method (theme) was used to analyze the qualitative data obtained from the interview. In the second stage (quantitative part of the research), an expert-based questionnaire, specifically for DEMATEL-fuzzy and structural-interpretive modeling, was distributed among the target population of this research (20 selected experts), so that the main themes of the research were connected with each other through a combined method: DEMATEL (Fuzzy) - Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM-DEMATEL) to determine the cause-effect relationships, so that the results was presented by the formulation of the integrated model of employee empowerment and performance based on the comprehensive tax plan in the form of the ISM model of the research, and finally, the power of dependence and influence of the main themes of the research was also identified based on MICMAC analysis. Research findings  In the qualitative phase of this research, in order to identify the dimensions and components of employee performance empowerment, the thematic analysis approach of qualitative researches was used, and the findings of this phase include 738 propositions, 159 basic concepts, 28 organizational themes, and finally, there were 6 main themes. In the quantitative phase of the research, in order to determine the cause-effect relationships between the themes collected from the qualitative phase of the research, by using the combined method of DEMATEL (fuzzy) - structural-interpretive modeling (ISM-DEMATEL), the main themes of the research were related to each other. And finally, the power of dependence and influence of the mentioned themes based on the MICMAC analysis was determined so that the criteria of "Employee Performance Empowerment Platforms", "Comprehensive Tax Plan", and "Employee Performance Empowerment Intervenors" are independent: and the criterion of "employee empowerment" is of the interface type; and the rest of the criteria, namely "strategies" and "employee performance" are also of the dependent type, and finally, by means of the structural-interpretive modeling (ISM) method, the levels of influence and effectability of the factors were investigated, which showed that the research model consists of four levels: three criteria (Employee Performance Empowerment Platforms, Comprehensive Tax Plan, and Employee Performance Empowerment Intervenors as the most effective, and three other criteria namely Employee Performance, strategies, and employee empowerment are the most effective research criteria. Conclusion  The current research was conducted with the aim of presenting a consolidated model of employee performance empowerment based on a comprehensive tax plan in the country's tax affairs organization, through a mixed study. The results of the qualitative part of the research with thematic analysis approach led to themes and categories related to empowering the performance of employees, and finally, in the quantitative part of the research, the integrated model of empowering the performance of employees based on the implementation of a comprehensive tax plan was designed and engineered by distributing an expert-based questionnaire among experts, using the combined method of DEMATEL-fuzzy-interpretive structural modeling and incorporating the results of MICMAC analysis; in such a way that this method of research was consistent with the research approach used in the study of Bigdley et.al., (2022). In addition, the results of this research is almost aligned and compatible with some of the research findings of Bakhshi et al., (2018), Eskandari & dadashkarimi (2017), Busara (2016), Tondpour et al., (2019), Ardalan et al., (2016), Shariati et al., (2015), Haq-Shenas et al., (2013), Hejbar et al., (2022), as well as cultural norms and social values ​​mentioned in the research of Sharifzadeh et al., (2024).  Finally, based on the findings of this research, major policy suggestions and recommendations in the direction of re-creating and re-engineering employee performance empowering strategies based on the implementation of the comprehensive tax plan in the country's tax affairs organization are mentioned below.: - Localization of the comprehensive tax plan - Creating the maximum interaction between the stakeholders of the comprehensive tax plan based on the win-win strategy - Strengthening the technical infrastructure of the comprehensive tax plan (especially the integrated tax software) - Setting up a continuous monitoring system for the performance of managers, workers and implementers of the comprehensive tax plan

Business Management

Providing a model of purchase intention and customer experience on customer behavior in virtual networks

Volume 4, Issue 3, Autumn 2024, Pages 274-297

https://doi.org/10.22034/jvcbm.2023.413881.1167

Kazem Tolooee, Hossein budaghi Khajeh Noubar, Hossein Gharehbiglo, Mojtaba Ramazani

Abstract Abstract
The purpose of this research is to provide a model of purchase intention and experience of customer on customer behavior in virtual networks. The current research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of the present study includes the customers of the stores of Afogh Korosh who bought from these stores in 2022 during one month (June), which was considered to be 384 people using Cochran's formula. Sampling is random, and a multi-stage cluster type. The collection tool in this research includes a questionnaire of purchase intention pattern based on customers' experience in designed virtual networks. Data analysis was done through SPSS and SMART PLS software. The effect of mindfulness and customer experience (respect for the customer, importance of time, banking operation research, customer value culture, modern technology, offering facilities, enjoyment, queuing system, environment coloring, and excellent situation) on the satisfaction, loyalty and trust of customers was proved. The results showed that the aspects of purchase intention and customer experience through effecting on customer behavior leads to better understanding of mindfulness and experimental factors among banking systems, and can increase satisfaction, loyalty and also trust among customers of Afogh Korosh store. Also, the research model has a good fit.
Extended Abstract                                          
Introduction
With the powerful development of the Internet, web and mobile applications; customers get a wide range of options to choose their desired products and services (Duarte et al, 2018). Meanwhile, one of the emerging aspects, especially in our country, in this field is the emergence of online stores (Rasuli et al, 2018). Maintaining a high level of online shopping convenience has become a strategic driving force for online retailers to promote and maintain customer loyalty (Duarte et al, 2018). Despite the many advantages of online stores that have been mentioned, the problem here is that when a customer visits and intends to buy from an online store, he is not faced with a real seller and a real store, but with an online website and virtual store that presents information about his product and invites the customer to buy these products (Rasuli et al, 2018). An online marketplace focuses on capturing the needs of specific consumers and offers various possibilities for online retailers to advertise their products or services. To maintain a presence in the market, customer needs must be precisely understood. This understanding helps the market to improve service quality, trust and customer engagement to increase customer satisfaction and encourage the desire to buy more. (Putri et al, 2023). Practitioners need to better understand the factors that improve the relationship between consumers and online retailers, and increase revenue and profits. Increasing competition in the market has forced businesses to develop a stronger relationship with their customers, which positively affects their repurchase decisions (Antwi, 2021). Therefore, the researcher is trying to answer the question: how does the presentation of the model of purchase intention and customer experience affect the behavior of customers in virtual networks?
Theoretical Framework
Intention to buy
Repurchase intention refers to the repeat purchase of a particular brand by a customer after using the same brand, or the customer's belief in continuing to buy from a particular company in the future (Bulut, 2015).
 
Customer experience
 Chen & Yang (2021) in their research define customer experience as the dominance of online customers on customer interactions and the environment of service employees, policies and sales processes, in which the higher the customer experience, the greater the increase in business performance in e-commerce. (Anifa, 2022).
Customer Satisfaction
 Mirzaee Azandariani & Arya (2022) define satisfaction as follows: Customers' reaction to evaluate the perceived difference between prior expectations or to some extent ideal performance and the actual performance of the product, which is perceived after consumption. Customer satisfaction is defined as the result of an effective evaluation of a benchmark compared to perceived performance in practice. In other words, if the perceived performance meets expectations, satisfaction has been achieved (Shahab Far, 2017).
Customer loyalty
Loyalty is a strong deep commitment created for stable and continuous repurchase of a preferred product or service in the future, while there are situational influences and competitors' marketing efforts to change the customer's use towards another product or service (Wolter et al. et al., 2017).
Customer trust
Trust refers to all the skills that customers have and all the decisions made by customers to achieve a goal (Aziziyah, 2020).
Kim & Park (2023) conducted a research on the influence of virtual influencers' attractiveness on purchase intention: a product moderated mediation model. The findings showed that the attractiveness of virtual influencers is not directly related to purchase intention. However, imitative desire and brand attachment mediated this relationship. In addition, the conditional direct effect of virtual influencers' attractiveness on purchase intention was partially supported while the indirect effects were moderated by imitative desire and brand attachment by product-endorser fit.
Tang (2023) conducted a research on empowering digital marketing with interactive virtual reality in interior design: effects on customer satisfaction and behavioral intention. The results showed that the above factors positively affect customer satisfaction with a digital platform empowered by the internal design of the IVR. It was found that the quality of information has the greatest impact among these three factors. Although many researchers have conducted in-depth research on digital marketing, existing research lacks a consumer perspective to examine the factors that most influence consumers. In addition, relatively little work has been done to determine customer perceptions of a digital marketing approach using virtual interior design and its interactive features. Therefore, a theoretical model for interactive virtual interior design features for digital marketing is proposed.
Research methodology
The current research is applicable in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of the present study includes the customers of the stores of Afogh Korosh who bought from these stores in 2022 during one month (June), which was considered to be 384 people using Cochran's formula. Sampling is random, a multi-stage cluster type. The collection tool in this research includes a questionnaire of purchase intention pattern based on customers' experience in virtual networks.
Research findings
Data analysis was done through SPSS and SMART PLS software. The effect of mindfulness and customer experience (respect for the customer, importance of time, banking operation research, customer value culture, modern technology, offering facilities, enjoyment, queuing system, environment coloring and excellent location) on the satisfaction, loyalty and trust of customers was approved. The results showed that the dimensions of purchase intention and customer experience with the effect on customer behavior on better understanding of mindfulness and experimental factors among banking systems can increase satisfaction, loyalty and also trust among customers of Afogh Korosh store. Also, the research model of It has a good fit.
Conclusion
The current research has been conducted with the aim of providing a model of purchase intention and customer experience on customer behavior in virtual networks. The results of this research are aligned with the results of Kim & Park (2023), Tang (2023), Rusta et al, (2023), Kautish et al, (2023), Asgari & Naghdi (2021), Kosa & Uysal (2021), Boak (2021), Golalizadeh et al, (2023), Poursalimi & Bayat (2022), Pakrovan et al, (2022), Torkrar et al, (2022), Kazemi et al, (2021). Tang (2023) showed that the above factors positively affect customer satisfaction with a digital platform empowered by the internal design of the IVR. It was found that the quality of information has the greatest impact among these three factors. Although many researchers have conducted in-depth research on digital marketing, existing researches lack a consumer perspective to examine the factors that most influence consumers. In addition, relatively little work has been done to determine customer perceptions of a digital marketing approach using virtual interior design and its interactive features. Therefore, a theoretical model for interactive virtual interior design features for digital marketing is proposed.
According to the results of the research, the following suggestions are presented:
1- Increasing electronic services on the store's website and application in order to create more satisfaction and motivation in customers and repeat purchases.
2- Creating this mentality in customers that they will have more benefit to buy from this store; this will cause the frequency of purchases in customers and increase customer satisfaction.
3- Increasing the benefit perceived by the customer in order to their better understanding about the store's products and also creating satisfaction and loyalty in them.