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Financial flexibility, investment efficiency and effective corporate governance mechanisms have been issues of concern to stakeholders. Yet, little empirical evidence on the combined moderating effects investment efficiency and corporate governance mechanisms on the nexus between financial flexibility and firm performance. This study aims to address this gap and extend the extant literature by examining the moderating effects of corporate governance and investment efficiency on the nexus between financial flexibility and financial performance.

The empirical study is based on progression analysis using a sample of 13,865 US listed companies selected from BoardEx (WRDS) for the period (2010–2022) with 89,198 firm-year observations.

Findings of this study indicate that financial flexibility improves firm value as well as accounting performance. Furthermore, the results reveal that both investment efficiency and corporate governance moderate the effect of financial flexibility on firm performance. The authors complement and extend the literature on the optimal investment strategies domain by showing that the combined impact of corporate governance mechanisms and investment efficiency strengthens the nexus between financial flexibility and firm performance.

Key limitations of this study due to the characteristics of the sample selection: country-specific context and proxies used by this study.

Findings of this study have managerial and theoretical implications for firms’ boardrooms, institutional and individual investors, regulators, academics and other stakeholders regarding behavioural aspects of investment decision-making.

The authors’ novel contribution to the extant literature is articulated by the conceptual framework underlying this study and by the new evidence regarding exploring the combined effect of corporate governance mechanisms on nexus between financial flexibility and companies’ performance.

This study aims to analyze a conspicuous corpus of literature related to the field of technology-based intensive care research and to develop an architecture model of the future smart intensive care unit (ICU).

Papers related to the topics of electronic health record (EHR), big data, data flow and clinical decision support in ICUs were investigated. These concepts have been analyzed in combination with secondary use of data, prediction models, data standardization and interoperability challenges. Based on the findings, an architecture model evaluated using MIMIC III is proposed.

Research identified issues regarding implementation of systems, data sources, interoperability, management of big data and free text produced in ICUs and lack of accuracy of prediction models. ICU should be treated as part of a greater system, able to intercommunicate with other entities.

The research examines the current needs of ICUs in interoperability and data management. As environment changes dynamically, continuous assessment and evaluation of the model with other ICU databases is required.

The proposed model improves ICUs interoperability in national health system, ICU staff intercommunication, remote access and decision support. Its modular approach ensures that ICUs can have their own particularities and specialisms while ICU functions provide ongoing expertise and training to upgrade its staff.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of postbiotics and the use of postbiotics to increase the shelf life and quality of food.

In this review paper, all articles from five electronic databases containing Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct were considered and selected according to the purpose of the study.

In addition to improving food safety and increasing its shelf life, natural food preservation using biological preservatives also has a positive effect on improving consumer health. As a result, protection using natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents seems essential. Postbiotics, having favorable characteristics such as nontoxicity, long shelf life and ease of standardization and transportation, are known as suitable antioxidant and antimicrobial, and there is an interest in making antioxidant and antimicrobial active films containing postbiotics to delay spoilage, increase the shelf life of perishable foods without changing their sensory characteristics.

Postbiotic refers to all soluble factors that are either secreted from living probiotic cells or released after cell lysis. These compounds include enzymes, peptides, polysaccharides, organic acids, teichoic acids and cell surface proteins, and their effects have been proven to improve some human and animal diseases. Probiotic bacteria must survive unfavorable conditions such as processing, storage, distribution, preparation and the digestive system to exert their health-giving effects, whereas their metabolites (postbiotics) have overcome these adverse conditions well and may be a good substitute for probiotics.

The purpose of the study is distributed generation planning in a radial delivery framework to identify an appropriate location with a suitable rating of DG units energized by renewable energy resources to scale back the power loss and to recover the voltage levels. Though several algorithms have already been proposed through the target of power loss reduction and voltage stability enhancement, further optimization of the objectives is improved by using a combination of heuristic algorithms like DE and particle swarm optimization (PSO).

The identification of the candidate buses for the location of DG units and optimal rating of DG units is found by a combined differential evolution (DE) and PSO algorithm. In the combined strategy of DE and PSO, the key merits of both algorithms are combined. The DE algorithm prevents the individuals from getting trapped into the local optimum, thereby providing efficient global optimization. At the same time, PSO provides a fast convergence rate by providing the best particle among the entire iteration to obtain the best fitness value.

The proposed DE-PSO takes advantage of the global optimization of DE and the convergence rate of PSO. The different case studies of multiple DG types are carried out for the suggested procedure for the 33- and 69-bus radial delivery frameworks and a real 16-bus distribution substation in Tamil Nadu to show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology and distribution system performance. From the obtained results, there is a substantial decrease in the power loss and an improvement of voltage levels across all the buses of the system, thereby maintaining the distribution system within the framework of system operation and safety constraints.

A comparison of an equivalent system with the DE, PSO algorithm when used separately and other algorithms available in literature shows that the proposed method results in an improved performance in terms of the convergence rate and objective function values. Finally, an economic benefit analysis is performed if a photo-voltaic based DG unit is allocated in the considered test systems.

The citizen-shareholder approach in the capital market is considered a knowledge-enhancing and emerging concept in financial and accounting offerings. Its reliable background in management and human sciences makes it an essential basis for protecting the interests of shareholders and investors. Shareholders are considered a necessary part of the social platforms that are companies and regulatory institutions in the capital market; beyond being obligated to protect their material and intellectual rights, they are responsible for developing norms and facilitating investment values and gaining trust through mutual interactions based on respect for their interests. The purpose of this paper is to perform interactive qualitative analysis of the requirements for protecting the rights of citizens of capital market shareholders.

The methodology of the research is mixed, so that in the qualitative part, through content screening, the dimensions related to the protection of the citizen rights of the capital market shareholders were identified through a systematic review of 10 research in the period of 2017–2022. Then, the reliability of the specified dimensions was examined through Delphi analysis; in the quantitative part of the research, the criteria identified through the pairwise comparison matrix were first determined by the level of their relationships to determine based on the pattern of systemic representation of drivers and the consequences of requirements to protect the rights of citizens of capital market shareholders.

The research results in the qualitative part indicated the existence of 12 primary themes; during the two stages of Delphi analysis, three themes were removed, and a total of nine themes entered the quantitative phase. The results in a quantitative part indicate the creation of specialized and active committees of the board of directors as the primary driver and the reliability and timely disclosure of information in the long term as a systemic consequence.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research that presents the new concept of citizen shareholders to strengthen the requirements of protecting the rights of shareholders in the capital market while developing new theoretical literature.

This study aims to investigate the impact of market competitiveness on investment efficiency, and the moderating role of ownership and regulatory structures.

In this study, the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), Lerner Index (LI) and industry-adjusted Lerner Index (LIIA) were used to measure market competitiveness. The research population consisted of companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). Using a systematic elimination, 199 companies were selected within eight years during 2014–2021.

The results showed that market competitiveness (based on the LI, LIIA and HHI) positively affected investment efficiency. Moreover, institutional ownership and managerial ownership affected the relationship between market competitiveness (based on all proxies of market competitiveness) and investment efficiency. Blockholders’ ownership also moderated the relationship between market competitiveness (based on LIIA and HHI) and investment efficiency. The hypothesis testing had robustness based on additional analyses.

In recent years, competitive environment and the ownership structure of companies have changed to a certain degree, paving the way for the private sector to enter many areas of activity especially in emerging Asian markets. Moreover, investment drivers and investment efficiency in developed markets may not be generalized to emerging Asian markets. Therefore, the present findings can show the significance of this research to fill the existing gap in the literature and provide insights into ownership and regulatory structures as a governance mechanism in market competitiveness and investment efficiency.

Enterprise information systems (EISs) are intricate technological artifacts with wide user base within organizations. While much is known about the adoption and implementation of EISs, little is known about what subsequently follows them, i.e. the assimilation of EISs. This article aims to examine the assimilation of the EISs which is consequential to realizing any benefits from such enterprise technology.

The author conceptually draws on the insights from the expectation confirmation theory, theory of reasoned action, equity theory, and prospect theory to examine the assimilation of the EISs. In doing so, the author generates competing testable hypotheses regarding the relationship between individual users' psychological and social influences through expectation (dis)confirmation and the users' intention to assimilate the EISs.

By conceptually articulating the individual users' psychological and social influences through expectation (dis)confirmation, the author offers a more complete account of the assimilation of EISs, and provide several avenues for future empirical and theoretical research on enterprise technology assimilation.

The extant research that there is on the assimilation of the EISs focuses more on the organizational – as opposed to individual – level determinants of EISs assimilation and largely considers the functional – rather than psychological and social – drivers. This article addresses these important, yet understudied, factors to offer a more nuanced account of EISs assimilation.

Notable energy losses and voltage deviation issues in low-voltage radial distribution systems are a major concern for power planners and utility companies because of the integration of electric vehicles (EVs). Electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) are the key components in the network where the EVs are equipped to energize their battery. The purpose of this paper is coordinating the EVCS and distributed generation (DG) so as to place them optimally using swarm-based elephant herding optimization techniques by considering energy losses, voltage sensitivity and branch current as key indices. The placement and sizing of the EVCS and DG were found in steps.

The IEEE 33-bus test feeder and 52-bus Indian practical radial networks were used as the test system for the network characteristic analysis. To enhance the system performance, the radial network is divided into zones for the placement of charging stations and dispersed generation units. Balanced coordination is discussed with three defined situations for the EVCS and DG.

The proposed analysis shows that DG collaboration with EVCS with suitable size and location in the network improves the performance in terms of stability and losses.

Stability and loss indices are handled with equal weight factor to find the best solution.

The proposed method is coordinating EVCS and DG in the existing system; the EV integration in the low-voltage side can be incorporated suitably. So, it has societal impact.

In this study, the proposed method shows improved results in terms EVCS and DG integration in the system with minimum losses and voltage sensitivity. The results have been compared with another population-based particle swarm optimization method (PSO). There is an improvement of 18% in terms of total power losses and 9% better result in minimum node voltage as compared to the PSO technique. Also, there is an enhancement of 33% in the defined voltage stability index which shows the proficiency of the proposed analysis.

Golestan province in the northern part of Iran has been affected by devastating floods. There has been a significant change in the pattern of rainfall in Golestan province based on an analysis of the seven heaviest rainfall events in recent decades. Climate change appears to be a significant contributing factor to destructive floods. Thus, this paper aims to assess the susceptibility of this area to flash floods in case of heavy downpours.

This paper uses a variety of computational approaches. Following the collection of data, spatial analyses have been conducted and validated. The layers of information are then weighted, and a final risk map is created. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, geographic information system and frequency ratio have been used for data analysis. In the final step, a flood risk map is prepared and discussed.

Due to the complex interaction between thermal fluctuations and precipitation, the situation in the area is further complicated by climate change and the variations in its patterns and intensities. According to the study results, coastal areas of the Caspian Sea, the Gorganrood Basin and the southern regions of the province are predicted to experience flash floods in the future. The research criteria are generalizable and can be used for decision-making in areas exposed to flash flood risk.

The unique feature of this paper is that it evaluates flash flood risks and predicts flood-prone areas in the northern part of Iran. Furthermore, some interventions (e.g. remapping land use and urban zoning) are provided based on the socioeconomic characteristics of the region to reduce flood risk. Based on the generated risk map, a practical suggestion would be to install and operate an integrated rapid flood warning system in high-risk zones.

The importance of champion leaders including tech-savvy leaders to digital government has been highlighted in the literature. Meanwhile, what was in the authors’ interest to explore was the role of business-savvy leaders or non-governmental digital champions as units of analysis, those who mobilized people's interest in digitalization and bypassed governmental barriers through this popular mobilization. They could be considered policy entrepreneurs for understanding policy change in the digitalization of the health sector. This study sought to shed light on the barriers and drivers of digital health in Iran.

The researchers conducted interviews with actors of digital health businesses in Iran, including the Health Information Technology Center affiliated to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) administrative body and authorities, private companies active in digital health and health service providers. The purposive sampling method was applied, and 15 experts with relevant and valuable experiences as well as maximum variation to obtain representativeness and rich data were interviewed. Trustworthiness criteria were also used to assure the quality of the results. The data were analyzed based on directed content analysis using the MAXQDA10 software.

It was found out how popular diffusion was effective to overcome barriers to health digitalization. Access to the internet and diffusion of information technology helped the net-enabled businesses to connect directly to people and provide services to them. Diffusion of these services forced the public sector to adjust itself, and thus MOHME banned digital consultation services because of the so-called “insecure and unknown physicians”, following the increased popularity of digital services diffusion, but they were not able to resist popular diffusion of new technology. Hence, it was allowed to work. The main barriers to telemedicine spreading in Iran have been divided into five main categories including government incapacity for digital health governance, conflict of interest, professional obligations for information transparency, protection of patients' rights and data security and privacy.

As a game changer in digital health governance in Iran, popular diffusion will determine the future of digital health. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first ones to explore digital health governance in relation to the private digital health business in Iran with a public policy approach.