Presenting a Model of Determinant Factors of Financial Corruption in Companies Listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange

Abstract

Financial corruption is one of the most fundamental challenges facing the Iranian economy and other developing countries, which, by undermining transparency and accountability mechanisms in companies and organizations, fosters widespread public distrust and leads to large-scale misallocation of financial resources. This study, aiming to identify and extract a model of the determinant factors of financial corruption in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange and applying grounded theory, seeks to explain a network of influencing conditions, strategies, and consequences of financial corruption through reliance on in-depth field data. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 12 financial experts during the period from 2019 to 2024, and the analysis was conducted through open, axial, and selective coding. The research findings indicated that more than 80 initial codes were structured around main components such as causal conditions (e.g., weakness in the value system, ineffectiveness of internal controls, personal motivations, economic pressure); contexts (including inefficiency of information technology infrastructure, organizational cultural environment, absence of codified counteractive policies); intervening conditions (such as conflict of interest, weak oversight of managers, political influence); core category (corporate financial corruption); strategies (control processes, professional ethics training, transparency-enhancing technologies); and consequences (disruption of organizational performance, capital flight, reduction of social capital). In addition to analyzing the causal and contextual relationships of these components, the present study offers recommendations in legal-judicial, managerial, and cultural domains for controlling financial corruption in publicly listed companies.