Journal of value creating in Business Management

Abstract Abstract The present study aims to investigate the role of demand management strategies in company sustainability and company performance with the mediating role of supply chain sustainability. This research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive survey in terms of data collection. The statistical population of this research includes all the managers of the companies that distribute livestock inputs in the country (300 people), the census sampling method is available, which is obtained by using a questionnaire, which includes four dimensions of supply chain sustainability, demand management strategies, company sustainability and the performance of the company. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling method based on partial least squares method, and data analysis of this research was done using Smart PLS version 3 software. The results show that demand management strategies affect the sustainability and performance of the company. It was also found that the stability of the supply chain affects the stability of the company. The mediating role of supply chain sustainability on demand management strategies and company performance was proved. Introduction The issue of performance has made researchers and users think for years. In the past, commercial organizations only used financial indicators as a performance evaluation tool. But in the recent years, broader definitions have been proposed in this field; some researchers defined performance as work results, because it has the strongest link with financial goals and revenues, some others consider performance only as the results obtained and another groups consider it a behavior (Rezaian fardoie et al, 2023). It seems that the new definitions are more consistent with the performance of companies, because the emerging eras in the current time not only help companies in terms of performance, cost reduction, increased transparency, sustainability and efficiency (Iqbal et al, 2021), rather, companies should try to create stability and homogenization of the demand for their products and services, considering sustainability as a necessity, today a sustainable service is able to meet customer demands without any destructive impact on the natural and social environment. Therefore, companies should try to provide profitable products and services continuously, this will help the sustainability of the company (Rajani et al, 2022). One of the factors affecting the sustainability of the company is the stable demand for the products. Companies can influence the demand through demand management strategies, which is one of the important aspects of achieving the desired results (Iqbal et al., 2021). In fact, demand management strategies, along with supply chain stability, try to reduce supply chain challenges and disruptions, these disruptions have serious consequences in the financial affairs, market and operational performance of the company (Ebrahimi et al, 2021). Therefore, this research seeks to answer the question: does the demand management strategy affect the sustainability and performance of the company with the mediating role of supply chain sustainability? Theoretical framework Company performance Organizational performance includes the actual outputs and consequences of an organization's activities, measured in comparison with inputs. In other words, organizational performance refers to how the organization's missions, tasks, and activities are performed, along with their results (Muzammil, 2022). Corporate sustainability:  Corporate sustainability is an approach aimed at creating long-term value for the organization's stakeholders through an environmentally friendly business strategy. In this approach, it is tried to focus on economic, cultural, social, environmental and moral dimensions. Also, long-term goals should not be sacrificed to achieve short-term goals. (Ashrafi et al, 2020) Demand management strategies: They are strategies that influence and control the way of managing demand, how to monitor and manage customer demand. These strategies include understanding what your customers want, as well as the plans necessary to meet those demands. These strategies help you plan and manage future demand and make sure you take the right actions to meet it (Mariano-Hernández et al, 2023). Supply chain sustainability: Supply chain sustainability is the impact that a company's supply chain can have in promoting human rights, fair labor practices, environmental progress, and anti-corruption policies. There is a growing need to integrate sustainable choices in supply chain management (Anindito, 2021). Salimi (2024) in a research conducted under the title of investigating the relationship between performance on company sustainability and cost of capital by explaining the mediating role of company risk on companies listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange, reached the following results: the results indicate that there is an inverse significant relationship between the performance and sustainability of the company with the cost of capital. Also, the mediating role of risk in the relationship between the performance and sustainability of the company and the cost of capital was confirmed. Also, this research determined that there is a significant relationship between the performance and sustainability of the company. Rajani et al, (2022) in a research titled the role of demand management strategies in the sustainability of the service industry and the impact on company performance: using the structural equation modeling approach in the geographical region of India, have reached the following results: green human resource management practices (Human Resource Management) can help organizations align their business strategies with the supply chain and sourcing environment. Also, the results show that hiring and training based on green human resources have significant effects on the sustainability of the supply chain and sourcing. This means that in order to achieve sustainability, human resource managers must prioritize environmentally friendly sourcing. This knowledge should be transferred to the employees hired during the recruitment process. Research methodology The current research aims to investigate the role of demand management strategies in company sustainability and company performance with the mediating role of supply chain sustainability. This research is applicable in terms of purpose and descriptive survey in terms of data collection. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling method based on partial least squares method and data analysis of this research was done using Smart PLS version 3 software. The tool used to collect data is a standard questionnaire. The statistical population of this research includes all the managers of livestock input distribution companies (300 people), the census sampling method is available. The findings of this research show a significant relationship between demand management strategies on sustainability and company performance. The questionnaire of this research is taken from the researches of Agyabeng-Mensah (2020) in the field of supply chain sustainability, Rajani et al, (2022) in the field of demand management strategy, Saunila et al, (2022) in the field of company sustainability, Zhang et al, (2019) ) in the field of company performance, and 5 options are used from the Likert scale. This questionnaire includes questionnaires of supply chain sustainability (3 questions), demand management strategies (4 questions), company sustainability (3 questions), company performance (6 questions); each of which has its own subcategories, and the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by 30 experts. and its reliability was calculated by CVI and CVR method; the CVI value of the above questionnaire is 85%, and the CVR value is equal to 51%. The results of data analysis were done through the structural equation model by SMART PLS version 3. Research findings The results show that according to the obtained t, it can be concluded that demand management strategies have an effect on sustainability (7.557) and company performance (16.315). It was also found that the stability of the supply chain affects the stability of the company. The mediating role of supply chain sustainability on demand management and sustainability strategies (with a value of 0.439) and company performance (with a value of 0.352) was proved. Conclusion: The results of research hypotheses using the structural equation model showed that supply chain sustainability plays a partial mediating role between the impact of demand management strategies on both sustainability (0.439) and company performance (0.352). Also, demand management strategies affect the sustainability of the supply chain. According to the results, the value of t in the model of the role of demand management strategies in the stability of the company with the mediating role of supply chain stability is equal to 63.993 and in the model of the role of demand management strategies on the performance of the company with the mediating role of supply chain stability is equal to 61.054, which is higher than the value of 1.96, and at the 95% confidence level it can be said that demand management strategies have a significant effect on both sustainability and company performance. The results of many previous researches confirm this issue (Rajani et al, 2022, Govindan et al, 2020, Bag et al, 2021). Govindan et al, (2020) has addressed the topics of demand management and supply chain sustainability, Bag et al, (2021) to supply chain sustainability on performance, and Rajani et al, (2022) the supply chain strategies on the sustainability of the company. In order to increase the sustainability of the company, it is suggested to the government to put more emphasis on environmental sustainability, social sustainability and economic sustainability, and give incentives in this field to industries and importers. In order to increase the company's performance, managers should have a special focus on financial ratios such as return on assets, return on equity, and net profit. Also, these managers should be sensitive to marketing and sales indicators such as sales growth and manage it properly.

Abstract Abstract
The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of Sanctions’ Reduction and the financial strength of companies on the development of garment exports, considering the mediating role of direct exports and indirect exports. The research method is practical in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey-correlation in terms of method. The statistical population of this research includes the managers of garment manufacturing and exporting companies, and the sample size was determined to be 344 people using random sampling method. To analyze the data, the method of structural equations modeling has been used using Smart PLS software. The tool used for data collection is standardized questionnaire. The findings of this research show that the Sanctions’ Reduction has a direct and significant effect on the development of garment exports. Also, the financial Strength of companies has a direct and significant impact on the development of garment exports. Direct exports play a mediation role on the relationship between the Sanctions’ Reduction and the development of garment exports, the mediation role of indirect exports on the relationship between the Sanctions’ Reduction and the development of garment exports was also confirmed.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
A review of the latest statistical report on world trade, which was recently published by the World Trade Organization, shows that the dollar value of the world's textile and clothing exports was 315 billion and 505 billion dollars respectively in 2018, the ratio of the previous year increased 6.4 and 1.11 respectively, the increase was the fastest growth in the world's textile and apparel trade since 2012. It is also predicted that the annual growth rate of about 5% from 2019 to 2025 will bring the world's textile and clothing exports to about 1207 billion dollars in 2025. In Iran, many companies are active in the country's textile and clothing industries with operating licenses from the Ministry of Mining Industry and Trade, which constitute a significant percentage of all active industrial enterprises in the country. Also, these industrial units account for a significant percentage of the country's industrial employment. It is worth mentioning that this amount is related to industrial units, and due to the large number of small and trade units, the number of employees in the country's textile, clothing and leather industry is a significant amount of the entire industry (Ebadi et al, 2021). While the industries upstream of the apparel industry are also very important, the fashion industry is $1.3 trillion global business that employs more than 300 million people worldwide and represents a significant economic force and a significant driver of worldwide GDP (Gazzola et al, 2020). Considering that the export of clothing has high value added and foreign exchange earnings, it is also considered as one of the industries that have a very high employment generation capacity, and its capital-intensiveness considering its created sustainable employment is much lower compared to other industries (oil and petrochemical). Also, the growth of this industry affects other industries, and exports in this field can be driving force of upstream and downstream industries. Neglecting attention to Iran's garment exports has resulted that Iranian companies are not identifying the procedures and influencing factors for entering and stabilizing in these markets for consecutive years, and the managers of these industries have no effective strategy to develop their exports and overcome sanctions and improve their financial strength. Therefore, with the existing assumptions, this research seeks to answer the question of whether sanctions and the financial strength of companies can affect the development of garment exports, and whether direct export and indirect export can play a mediation role on the relationship between the Sanctions’ Reduction and the development of garment exports.
Theoretical Literature
Financial strength is a scientific process that helps an organization measure the effective use of company resources to maximize financial resources (Bei & Wijewardana, 2012). In other words, financial strength is an indicator to measure the probability of a company needing the support of third parties such as shareholders, banks, government, or official institutions to finance and pay the company's debt (Salimi et al, 2017).
Export is a set of actions and activities that are carried out to transfer the goods and services of commercial or governmental companies from one country to another for receiving currency or exchanging it for other goods and services (Moshabaki & Khademi, 2012). The most important export methods are direct export and indirect export. Direct export is an export in which goods and services move directly to foreign markets (Grozdanovska et al, 2017). Indirect export means the export of goods through intermediaries. They can be agents or companies that carry out the export. Agents act as brokers or establish a relationship between the exporter and foreign buyers (Grozdanovska et al., 2017).
Export development programs include all commercial, informational, and educational actions. In addition to sourcing, these programs also evaluate the export performance of the current period compared to the previous period. Despite planning for export development, these export programs are always accompanied by obstacles (Malca et al, 2020).
Sanctions are sets of restrictive measures applied by a country or a group of countries against a country that violates international laws or has violated accepted moral standards (Khaledi & Ardestani, 2022).
Research Methodology
The current research is applicable in terms of the purpose, and descriptive-survey-correlation in terms of the method. The tool used for data collection is a standard questionnaire (5-point Likert scale) as a result of the Alidaie et al, (2023) qualitative research work. The statistical population of this research includes the managers of garment manufacturing and exporting companies (N = 987); random sampling method was used to select the sample and finally, by Cochran's formula, at least 276 garment industry managers were selected to conduct the research, and 344 questionnaires were collected.
Research Findings
To analyze the hypotheses or the conceptual model of the research, Smart PLS 3 software was used, and the results showed that the effect of sanctions’ reduction on the development of garment exports was calculated as (0.415), which indicates a favorable effect. The t-test statistic was also obtained (7.586), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of financial strength on the development of Iran's garment export has been calculated as (0.468), which indicates a desirable effect. The t-test statistic was also obtained (4.557), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96), and it shows that the effect is significant. The effect of indirect export on the development of garment export has been calculated equal to (0.457), which indicates a favorable effect. The t-statistic was also obtained (4.497), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of direct garment export on the development of garment export has been calculated equal to (0.581), which indicates a relatively strong effect. The t-test statistic was also obtained (9.211), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of sanctions’ reduction on direct export of clothing has been calculated as (0.927), which indicates a very strong effect. The t-test statistic was also obtained (81.106), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of sanctions’ reduction on indirect export of clothing has been calculated as (0.574), which indicates a favorable effect. The t- test statistic was also obtained (43.805), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of sanctions’ reduction on financial strength has been calculated as equal to (0.451), which indicates a favorable effect. The t-test statistic was also obtained (3.144), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of direct export on financial strength has been calculated equal to (0.414), which indicates a favorable effect. The t-test statistic was also obtained (4.711), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of indirect export on financial strength has been calculated equal to (0.515), which indicates a desirable effect. The t-test statistic was also obtained (4.379), which is greater than the critical value at the 5% error level, i.e. (1.96) and shows that the effect is significant. The effect of direct exports on the relationship between the sanctions’ reduction and the development of garment exports shows that the partial mediation of direct exports is confirmed with an intensity of 0.56. The effect of indirect export on the relationship between the sanctions’ reduction and the development of garment exports also indicates that the partial mediation of indirect export is confirmed with the intensity of the effect of 0.33.
Conclusion
The results of the hypothesis "the sanctions’ reduction impacts on the development of garment exports" are confirmed. The results of this hypothesis are in line with the research of Pourebadollahan et al, (2019) and Jafari et al, (2023). The results of the hypothesis "financial strength on the development of Iran's garment export" are confirmed. The results of this hypothesis are in line with the research of Rasoulinezhad & Kazemnia (2019) and Khorshidi et al. (2015). The results of the hypothesis "direct exports play a mediation role on the relationship between the sanctions’ reduction and the development of garment exports" are confirmed. Therefore, the direct export plays a mediating role. Also, the results of the hypothesis "indirect exports have a mediation role on the relationship between the sanctions’ reduction and the development of garment exports" are confirmed, which indicates the mediation role of indirect exports. Considering that the current research is exploratory and has innovation, it does not have a similar research history in the field of garment export.
The policy makers of the country should try to reduce the sanctions as much as they can, and in the situation of sanctions, it is recommended to the garment manufacturers and exporters to switch to indirect exports if there is a problem with direct exports. Increasing communication with brokers in this field is the key to the success of these companies in indirect export. These companies can increase their financial strength through appropriate and optimal financing methods and select target markets that have high export value added. These companies can transform their distribution network into internet sales and distribution networks in the export target markets and do brand development in the export target markets and avoid exporting products with fake brands.