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While existing research explores the impact of audit market competition on audit fees and audit quality, there is limited investigation into how competition in the audit market influences auditors' writing style. This study examines the relationship between audit market competition and the readability of audit reports in Iran, where competition is particularly intense, especially among private audit firms.

The sample comprises 1,050 firm-year observations in Iran from 2012 to 2018. Readability measures, including the Fog index, Flesch-Reading-Ease (FRE) and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), are employed to assess the readability of auditors' reports. The Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) is utilized to measure audit market competition, with lower index values indicating higher auditor competition. The concentration measure is multiplied by −1 to obtain the competition measure (AudComp). Alternative readability measures, such as the Flesch–Kincaid (FK) and Automated Readability Index (ARI) are used in additional robustness tests. Data on textual features of audit reports, auditor characteristics and other control variables are manually collected from annual reports of firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

The regression analysis results indicate a significant and positive association between audit market competition and audit report readability. Furthermore, a stronger positive and significant association is observed among private audit firms, where competition is more intense compared to state audit firms. These findings remain robust when using alternative readability measures and other sensitivity checks. Additional analysis reveals that the positive effect of competition on audit report readability is more pronounced in situations where the auditor remains unchanged and the audit market size is small.

This paper expands the existing literature by examining the impact of audit market competition on audit report readability. It focuses on a unique audit market (Iran), where competition among audit firms is more intense than in developed countries due to the liberalization of the Iranian audit market in 2001 and the establishment of numerous private audit firms.

We present an approach for pricing American put options with a regime-switching volatility. Our method reveals that the option price can be expressed as the sum of two components: the price of a European put option and the premium associated with the early exercise privilege. Our analysis demonstrates that, under these conditions, the perpetual put option consistently commands a higher price during periods of high volatility compared to those of low volatility. Moreover, we establish that the optimal exercise boundary is lower in high-volatility regimes than in low-volatility regimes. Additionally, we develop an analytical framework to describe American puts with an Erlang-distributed random-time horizon, which allows us to propose a numerical technique for approximating the value of American puts with finite expiry. We also show that a combined approach involving randomization and Richardson extrapolation can be a robust numerical algorithm for estimating American put prices with finite expiry.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors that enable and inhibit WhatsApp users' discontinuance intention (DI) following the change in WhatsApp's privacy policy.

Using the enabler-inhibitor model as a framework, a research model consisting of discontinuation enabler distrust (DT) and the DT's antecedents [(negative electronic word of mouth (NEWOM), negative offline word of mouth (NOWOM) and privacy invasion (PI)], discontinuation inhibitor inertia (INR) and INR's antecedents (affective commitment, switching cost and use habit) and moderator structural assurance was proposed and tested with data from 624 WhatsApp users using partial least square structure equational modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results show that DT created due to NEWOM and a sense of PI significantly impact DI. However, INR has no significant impact on DI. Structural assurance significantly moderates the relationship between DT and DI.

The paper collected data when many WhatsApp users switched to other platforms due to the change in WhatsApp's terms of service. The timing of data collection allowed for collecting the real impact of the sense of PI compared to other studies where the effect is hypothetically induced. Further, the authors acknowledge social media providers' efforts to address privacy criticism and regain users’ trust, an area that has received little attention in prior literature.

Switching power converters for photovoltaic (PV) applications with high gain are rapidly expanding. To obtain better voltage gain, low switch stress, low ripple and cost-effective converters, researchers are developing several topologies.

It was decided to use the particle swarm optimization approach for this system in order to compute the precise PI controller gain parameters under steady state and dynamic changing circumstances. A high-gain q- ZS boost converter is used as an intermittent converter between a PV and brushless direct current (BLDC) motor to attain maximum power point tracking, which also reduces the torque ripples. A MATLAB/Simulink environment has been used to build and test the positive output quadratic boost high gain converters (PQBHGC)-1, PQBHGC-8, PQBHGC-4 and PQBHGC-3 topologies to analyse their effectiveness in PV-driven BLDC motor applications. The simulation results show that the PQBHGC-3 topology is effective in comparison with other HG cell DC–DC converters in terms of efficiency, reduced ripples, etc. which is most suitable for PV-driven BLDC applications.

The simulation results have showed that the PQBHGC-3 gives better performance with minimum voltage ripple of 2V and current ripple of 0.4A which eventually reduces the ripples in the torque in a BLDC motor. Also, the efficiency for the suggested PQBHGC-3 for PV-based BLDC applications is the best with 99%.

This study is the first of its kind comparing the different topologies of PQBHGC-1, PQBHGC-8, PQBHGC-4 and PQBHGC-3 topologies to analyse their effectiveness in PV-driven BLDC motor applications. This study suggests that the PQBHGC-3 topology is most suitable in PV-driven BLDC applications.

This study aims to identify the propensity for clients (legal and natural persons) to adopt peer-to-peer (P2P) short-term insurance policies as opposed to traditional and/or centralized short-term.

In this paper data was collected through a survey of 102 sampled short-term insurance clients using convenience sampling. The TAM2 questionnaire was adapted to evaluate the intention to adopt a P2P insurance policy.

The findings of this study shed light on the factors influencing the adoption and (dis)continuation of short-term insurance products, both traditional and digital, among South African consumers. The results demonstrate that perceived usefulness, ease of use, trust, risk perception and subjective norm play crucial roles in individuals' intention to use or (dis)continue the use of these insurance products.

The study's findings provide actionable insights for practitioners in the short-term insurance sector, with a focus on marketers and e-commerce professionals. These insights emphasize the need to prioritize user-friendly design and trust-building measures in the development of P2P insurance systems. Additionally, practitioners should consider harnessing the power of social influence and carefully balancing innovative features with familiarity in their marketing efforts. These strategies are poised to enhance the adoption and competitive positioning of P2P insurance solutions amidst the evolving landscape of digital transformation.

This study makes a substantial contribution by employing the technology acceptance model (TAM) in a novel and unconventional manner. It not only explicates the intricate dynamics governing the adoption and discontinuation of short-term insurance products, encompassing both conventional and digital alternatives, within the South African consumer milieu but also extends its purview to infer the reasons behind the limited widespread adoption of the digital counterpart, despite its superior value proposition compared to the traditional offering. The findings elucidate the critical determinants shaping individuals' decisions in this dynamic market segment. This research enhances the global discourse on insurance adoption with a unique South African perspective and furnishes insurers and marketers with empirically grounded insights to optimize their strategies and cultivate substantive connections with their target demographic.

This study evaluates the moderating role of work-based social supports (i.e. supervisor support and co-worker support) in the relationship between job insecurity and job burnout among hospitality employees in Malaysia. Besides, the direct effect between job insecurity and job burnout is examined.

The cross-sectional data of this study were based on a total of 220 self-administered questionnaires that have been completed by hospitality employees from three different states in Malaysia. Respondents were recruited based on a snowball sampling approach. The data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was from October 2020 to January 2021.

Partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was performed via SmartPLS software. The finding confirmed that job insecurity significantly intensifies employees' job burnout. Supervisor support and co-worker support were found to moderate the link between job insecurity and burnout. As anticipated, the relationship between job insecurity and job burnout increased when supervisor support is low. But high co-worker support was found to strengthen the impact of job insecurity on job burnout instead of the reverse.

This study supplements the existing literature by clarifying which sources of work-based social support (i.e. co-worker support or supervisor) is more salient in alleviating the adverse impact of job insecurity on job burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic among hospitality employees in Malaysia.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the appropriateness of equal weights estimation (sumscores) and the application of the composite equivalence index (CEI) vis-à-vis differentiated indicator weights produced by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The authors rely on prior literature as well as empirical illustrations and a simulation study to assess the efficacy of equal weights estimation and the CEI.

The results show that the CEI lacks discriminatory power, and its use can lead to major differences in structural model estimates, conceals measurement model issues and almost always leads to inferior out-of-sample predictive accuracy compared to differentiated weights produced by PLS-SEM.

In light of its manifold conceptual and empirical limitations, the authors advise against the use of the CEI. Its adoption and the routine use of equal weights estimation could adversely affect the validity of measurement and structural model results and understate structural model predictive accuracy. Although this study shows that the CEI is an unsuitable metric to decide between equal weights and differentiated weights, it does not propose another means for such a comparison.

The results suggest that researchers and practitioners should prefer differentiated indicator weights such as those produced by PLS-SEM over equal weights.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of the CEI’s usefulness. The results provide guidance for researchers considering using equal indicator weights instead of PLS-SEM-based weighted indicators.

This study aims to investigate the different attributes of electronic commerce (e-commerce) that determine perceived value and electronic loyalty (e-loyalty) among consumers of online food delivery applications (OFDAs). In this globalized world and competitive environment, e-commerce demands have increased and organizations are giving special attention to web development, website design and functions to hold the current consumers with sustainable performance in the globalized and competitive environment. Almost every industry has been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and changed the way of operational work in many industries. Similarly, the food industry is facing serious challenges and now restaurants started heavily depending on OFDAs.

The study was quantitative and data were collected from 509 consumers of the district of Rawalpindi, Punjab Pakistan by using a convenience sampling technique who was the users of OFDAs to evaluate the proposed research model. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the validity of the constructs, and structural equation modeling was employed to test the model through Smart-PLS.

Our findings revealed that perceived value has a substantial positive impact on electronic loyalty (e-loyalty). Moreover, results confirmed that perceived value mediates the relationship of electronic privacy (e-privacy), electronic security (e-security), electronic payment (e-payment), usability and electronic innovativeness (e-innovativeness) with e-loyalty.

This study added to the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and technology acceptance model (TAM) by exploring consumers’ intentions for using OFDAs in the framework of e-commerce attributes, perceived value and e-loyalty. Similarly, the study enabled the author to learn more about how people would use the information system after successfully applying the UTAUT.

This study has significant implications for web developers, application designers, food delivery companies, restaurants and other businesses. Subsequently, it indicates the importance of the incredible attractiveness of OFDAs in boosting users’ intentions to keep using the application.

This research contributes substantially to OFDAs efforts to continuously increase its meal service platform and improve client satisfaction which resulted in repurchase intent. In addition, the research facilitates OFDA firms to enhance the features of their applications according to clients.

This study delves into the psychological processes underlying sport fans' post-purchase innovativeness behaviour. This exploratory research aims to establish a theoretical framework that elucidates the formation of sport fans' word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviours, particularly emphasising the structural relationship between motivated consumer innovativeness and satisfaction in using AR live-streaming services.

Utilising an online survey and convenience sampling, the study garnered a total of 243 usable responses from three online baseball fan communities in South Korea. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess the psychometric properties of the constructs. Subsequently, a structural equation model was used to probe the influence of motivated consumer innovativeness on WOM, with a particular focus on the mediating role of satisfaction.

Three dimensions of motivated sport fans innovativeness – functional, hedonic and cognitive – showed a positive association with WOM, partly mediated by satisfaction. In contrast, socially motivated sport fans innovativeness did not directly lead to WOM but influenced it solely through satisfaction. The full mediating role of satisfaction in the relationship between socially motivated fans innovativeness and WOM was found.

This research stands out as one of the scant studies exploring motivated sport fans innovativeness in the context of AR live sport streaming. The findings not only corroborate but also augment the extant literature by empirically confirming that three dimensions of motivated fans innovativeness, coupled with satisfaction, are pivotal antecedents to WOM intention.

This study aims to examine the impact of the gameful experience on behavioural outcomes. Drawing from stimulus–organism–response theory, it proposes and tests a new model that investigates the relationship between the gameful experience, brand loyalty and intention to use gamified branded applications in the sports context. In addition, it explores the mediating role of customer–brand engagement (CBE) and the moderating role of self-image congruity (SIC).

A sample of 436 active users of sport-related branded gamified applications was used to test the model. Data was collected from online sports forums, brands’ Facebook communities and during sporting events.

Results indicate that the gameful experience positively and directly impacts behavioural intentions but does not directly influence brand loyalty. This relationship becomes partially significant when mediated by CBE. In addition, results show that users with high levels of SIC are more likely to continue using the gamified application, whereas users with low levels are more likely to engage with the brand.

This study expands the gamification literature in the sports sector by revealing the importance of the gameful experience in driving loyalty, behavioural intentions and CBE. It proposes a new model that sheds light on the emotional aspect of the interaction between a user and a gamified system and the importance of exploring the effects of moderators, such as SIC, in these relationships.