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Many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) allow students or their advisors to restrict access to theses/dissertations (TDs) by applying embargoes. This study aims to identify why Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) allow embargoes.

One hundred HEIs were randomly selected, representing seven geographic regions. The authors imported policies/guidelines for embargoing TDs into MAXQDA software and coded the qualitative data.

Among the 100 studied HEIs, 43 HEIs (43%) have policies/guidelines on the web for embargoing TDs, most of which are from North America. For the majority of HEIs, embargoes are a voluntary option for students/advisors. Content analysis of the 32 embargo policies showed that embargo reasons (18 key reasons) can be categorized into six broad themes (commercialization, publication, ethical issues, funding contracts/agreements, security and safety, and miscellaneous).

In this study, only those policies are reviewed that are available, discoverable and accessible on HEIs' websites.

Highlighting the detrimental effect of not managing stipulations towards embargoes clearly, the findings could be useful for national/institutional policymakers and administrators of research departments, academic libraries, institutional repositories and graduate offices.

This is the first study to investigate rationales for TDs embargo practices. It creates awareness of how embargoes are managed and reflected in policy. Ultimately, it recommends further interrogation on how embargoes influence the principle of openness to scholarship.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-09-2022-0497.

While distribution channels of theses and dissertations have changed significantly in the digital age, they are generally still considered grey literature. This paper aims to argue the applicability of the concept of grey to electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).

The paper is presented as a debate between two contradictory opinions on the application of the grey literature concept to ETDs.

The paper provides a definition of grey literature and then discusses its application to electronic dissertations and theses. In particular, it assesses the aspects of acquisition, quality, access and preservation. Some arguments highlight the “grey nature” of ETDs, such as the limited access via institutional and other repositories. Other arguments (e.g. the development of ETD infrastructures and the quality of ETDs) question this grey approach to ETDs. The paper concludes that “greyness” remains a challenge for ETDs, a problem waiting for solution on the way to open science through the application of the FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability reusability) principles.

Library and information science (LIS) professionals and scientists should be careful about using the concept of grey literature. The debate will help academic librarians and LIS researchers to better understand the nature of grey literature and its coverage, here in the field of ETDs.

Some definitions from the print age may not be applicable to the digital age. The contradictory character of the debate helps clarify the similitudes and differences of grey literature and ETDs and highlights the challenge of ETDs, in particular, their accessibility and findability.

Implementing and maintaining Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) program at a national level encounters numerous difficulties in particular from technical, legal, business, and financial perspective. Business model (BM) is a tool to help to address business-driven challenges, such as business feasibility and viability, as one of the important aspects. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the BM practiced by different national Electronic Theses and Dissertations (NETDs) cases.

BM of seven NETDs programs have been studied through an online questionnaire; besides, programs’ websites were observed and related documents were examined. Business model canvas (BMC) was used to describe the business rationale behind the selected cases.

Most of the NETDs programs lack a documented BM. The main value of these programs is sharing ETDs which is offered to academics through online channels; skillful staff and proper hardware/software are their main resources to do so. Furthermore, their key activities are developing hardware/software and negotiating with ETDs owners as their key partners. All these activities required huge cost which is generally covered by public funding.

This study pioneers in applying BM concept into field of NETDs. Therefore, the major contribution of this study is to provide an analysis of NETDs programs’ BM through BMC. Furthermore, the paper provides recommendations on how ETDs could be implemented in a cost effective, sustainable, and viable way.

Strengthening and improving Scientific and Technical Information (S&Ti) flow in all nations require an effective national S&Ti policy (NS&TiP). The very first step in developing an integrated NS&TiP is clarifying its scope and dimensions. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the dimensions of NS&TiP, in the form of an analytical framework, and to show how to apply it.

The current study adopted a qualitative method, called the framework approach, and proposed HeLICAM, a comprehensive framework including different dimensions for NS&TiP. Afterward, Iran's science and technology documents were analyzed based on the proposed framework.

HeLICAM framework includes (1) human resources, (2) laws and regulations, (3) ICT infrastructure, (4) connections, (5) activities and (6) information market. The results obtained from the application of HeLICAM in the analysis of Iran's science and technology policy documents indicated that the various dimensions of NS&TiP have mostly been overlooked. Although several policies have been developed for science and technology in Iran, the efforts have not been comprehensive and effective enough.

This study proposes the normative analytical framework called HeLICAM. The purpose of HeLICAM is to provide a draft of NS&TiP dimensions to policymakers that will be useful in NS&Ti policymaking because this framework helps to answer questions like “what dimensions have been considered in writing the policy document?” and “What it lacks?”, “What are its strengths and weaknesses?”, and “How can it be improved?”

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-11-2020-0493

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for categorizing and evaluating stakeholders that addresses the key five constraints of The Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience (TSIS), including (1) binary attributes, (2) heterogeneous stakeholders in each category, (3) ignoring stakeholder-organization relationship, (4) ignoring stakeholders' communication frequency and (5) ignoring fringe stakeholders.

In the first step, a set of solutions for the limitations and constraints of TSIS was extracted by holding three rounds of the Delphi method with the participation of 42 senior and middle Iranian managers in various organizations and based on it, “Basic Analysis for Stakeholder Evaluation and Classification” (BASEClass) was developed as an enhanced theoretical and empirical framework for stakeholder analysis. In the second Step BASEClass is validated by conducting an empirical study in an organization with the participation of 46 managers, experts and specialists.

BASEClass is an enhanced theoretical and methodological framework for classifying stakeholders based on the three primary attributes of legitimacy, power and urgency, and also the communication quantity as a complementary attribute in a 3D cubical schema, prioritizing stakeholders in several cubes based on one of the multi-criteria group decision-making methods.

BASEClass effectively reduces the mentioned limitations and constraints of TSIS and as a result can improve the effectiveness of strategies for dealing with different stakeholders.

This paper aims to propose an integrating model for creating virtual libraries in Iranian universities of medical sciences.

This study was conducted with an analytic survey method. The statistical population comprised 66 Iranian universities of medical sciences, of which 59 libraries participated in the study. A researcher-made checklist was used for data collection. To ensure the accuracy of data, interviews and, in some cases, observations were also performed. Statistical estimates, including frequency, percentage, cumulative frequency and diagrams, were used for data analysis, and the system analysis method was used for modeling.

Results demonstrated that the library software programs of the studied universities of medical sciences do not have desirable interoperability capabilities. Only Azarsa program can exchange information with other systems. In terms of metadata and its standards, the studied libraries use programs with various standards, with MARC and Dublin Core standards being the most frequently used ones in the studied sample.

The model proposed here for integration is a hybrid model which can translate metadata standards and use the Z39.50 and OEI protocol to transfer data.

There is an inclination towards openness in research greatly supported by the accessibility of open access theses and dissertations (OATDs) from many universities and research institutions through institutional repositories or collaborative efforts like the OATD.org. This study aims to explore different trends in the availability of theses through OATD.org to assess different dimensions concerning the OATD landscape.

An online survey was conducted to examine the availability of theses from 1994 to June 2023. The indexed theses were analyzed for their incorporation into OATD.org during different time frames. The data were further analyzed to reveal different facts concerning OATDs, with a focus on their growth and evolving trends.

OATDs are fast becoming available globally, with a significant overall growth rate. The data depicts growing trends in almost all the identified time frames, with the highest during 2004–2008. Moreover, there is a significant gap in the availability of OATDs from different geographical domains, with the highest-indexed OATDs from developed countries, indicating that the OATD landscape is still in its infancy in developing nations.

This study is limited to the coverage encompassed by the OATD.org portal, which is the best and most significant resource for finding OATDs published worldwide.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first ordered and thorough attempt to explore the trends in the availability of OATDs through OATD.org.