Theory of Planned Behavior

Breakdown of reporting detected misstatements can cause serious problems because it reflects poor audit quality and can lead audit firm to failures. Due to the magnitude of the quality of auditors’ work, many studies have attempted to identify influencing factors on auditors’ intention to act ethically. This study ascertains how external auditors decide to report the detected misstatements in terms of their individual characteristics, ethical culture and team norms according to the theory of planned behavior. Data are collected using 257 survey questionnaires which are distributed among audit seniors. Statistical analyses indicate that ethical culture and team norm moderate the influence of individual factors on auditors’ intention of reporting misstatements. In fact, the association between locus of control, personality type and auditors’ work quality moderate by audit firm ethical culture and team norms.   

This study aims to explore the attitudes and practices of Iraqi EFL teachers regarding formative assessment (FA). A total of 102 teachers from primary school to university filled in the Arabic version of Teachers' Conceptions and Practices of Formative Assessment Questionnaire. The questionnaire was translated from English into Arabic first and was validated using confirmatory factor analysis (Hazim Jawad, 2020). Findings showed that a 7-factor model had acceptable fit indices (GFI=0.90, CFI=0.91, RMSEA=0.05). Descriptive statistics were used to explain Iraqi EFL teachers’ attitudes and intentions regarding FA. Findings showed that the majority of Iraqi teachers believe that formative assessment is a useful procedure for measuring students’ learning and is helpful in their education. They also indicated that they have a positive attitude towards FA and are willing to use it. Correlational analysis showed that Affective Attitude, Instrumental Attitude, Subjective Norm, Controllability, and Self-Efficacy were strong predictors of intentions to use formative assessment. However, only Instrumental Attitude had a small significant correlation with the Behavior Scale. In other words, those teachers who believe that FA is useful in improving students learning tend to actually employ FA in their teaching. Findings also showed that female teachers have more positive attitudes towards FA and tend to use it more in their teaching. Implications of the findings for improving English language teaching are discussed.

Purpose- Since the development of entrepreneurial activities in rural areas reduces many initial costs, and because the agricultural production is centered in rural areas, agricultural graduates can make closer and easier relationships with beneficiaries. Therefore, the current research was conducted aimed at analyzing the rural entrepreneurial intentions of agricultural students of Hamadan University based on the extended theory of planned behavior. Design/methodology/implications- The population of the study were all senior agricultural students of Bu Ali Sina University, Hamadan (N = 420). The simple random sampling method and Krejcie and Morgan table were used respectively to sample the research population and to determine the sample size (n = 200). A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. To verify the reliability of the research tool, a pilot study and the calculation of the ordinal theta coefficient were also conducted. Findings- The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the indicators used to measure the latent attributes studied in this research are consistent with the factor structure and the theoretical basis of the research. The results showed that three main components of TPB (attitude, perceived behavioral control and social norms) had a positive and significant effect on rural entrepreneurial intentions of students, which predicts 51% of the variance of rural entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, adding six entrepreneurial skills to the model, the predictive power of TPB increased by 19%. Research limitations/implications- One of the most important limitations was the accurate assessment of the entrepreneurial skills. Practical implications- Considering the interaction of motivational and skill components, it can be inferred that students’ confidence in their entrepreneurial abilities and skills in order to launch and manage a new business gives them the power to have creative intentions and decisions to start a new activity. Originality/value- This study contributed to integrate skills and behavioral components for improving the rural entrepreneurial intentions of agricultural students. The results contribute to enriching the literature on rural entrepreneurial intention. This study documents the entrepreneurial intention and skills as important precursors to students’ decision to create new agricultural business.

This research aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of e-commerce in small and medium-sized companies using the push-pull framework and with a practical approach in companies that produce and sell building stones in Iran. This research is a descriptive survey correlation in terms of its practical purpose and method. The statistical population of this research is made up of all sellers and producers of construction stone in Tehran province, and with the help of G*Power software, a minimum sample size of 216 people was estimated; But for more certainty, 220 people were selected as samples. The partial least squares technique and Smart Pls software have been used to test research hypotheses. The results of the research show that pull and push variables have an effect on changing the behavior of the company from traditional retail to e-commerce. Perceived time savings by using e-commerce and perceived cost savings by using e-commerce affect supporting customers' information-seeking behavior. Understanding that small and medium-sized companies in the stone industry can provide better service quality and lower prices with the presence of e-commerce has an impact on the perceived value of e-commerce for small and medium-sized companies that produce and sell stones in the stone industry. An increase in sales due to expansion of market access, improvement of external market communication, quality of e-commerce site services, and customer support system on the website also affect understanding the attractiveness of e-commerce adoption for the company.