Developing a Model of Financial Flexibility in Companies Listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange in Response to Environmental Drivers

Seyedeh Reyhaneh Faghih; Ruhollah Tavakolizadeh; Hojjat Babaei; Alireza Peyvand

Authors

Seyedeh Reyhaneh Faghih PhD student, Industrial-Finance Management, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8775-272X
Ruhollah Tavakolizadeh Department of Accounting, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9431-7302
Hojjat Babaei Department of Mathematics, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1814-8842
Alireza Peyvand Department of Psychology, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2989-5090

Keywords:

financial flexibility, environmental drivers, listed companies, thematic analysis, fuzzy cognitive mapping

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and analyze the factors affecting the financial flexibility of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange in response to environmental drivers. The importance of this issue stems from the fact that listed companies are exposed to severe economic fluctuations, regulatory changes, and capital-market pressures and therefore require flexible financial structures to ensure survival and sustainable growth. The study employed an exploratory mixed-methods design and was conducted in two qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 financial experts, including senior managers, faculty members, and capital-market specialists. Thematic analysis revealed 41 basic themes, which were classified into six organizing themes: macroeconomic and political environmental pressures, economic and legal instability and risks, regulatory challenges and transparency requirements, short-term capital-market expectation pressures, financial-technology opportunities and barriers, and the role of risk management and supportive policies. In the quantitative phase, these organizing themes were entered as key variables into fuzzy cognitive mapping analysis. Data for this phase were collected through a specialized questionnaire administered to 20 financial managers and experts. The results indicated that the network of relationships among the identified factors was highly dynamic and characterized by feedback effects, with a total of 271 relationships among the 41 factors. Furthermore, all factors were classified as Ordinary, indicating that they simultaneously exert influence on and are influenced by other factors. Macroeconomic and political environmental pressures and legal instability exhibited the highest levels of influence, whereas financial technology and risk management played predominantly responsive and moderating roles.

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