The present study aims to identify the dimensions and components of strategic discipline in investment holding companies. This research is applied in terms of its purpose, qualitative in terms of the type of data, and descriptive-survey in terms of its nature and research method. In order to identify the factors of strategic discipline, a qualitative method (theme analysis strategy) was used. For this purpose, 14 academic and investment holding experts were purposefully selected and semi-structured interviews were conducted in the research. The results showed that five main dimensions are effective in strategic discipline in investment holdings. The first dimension, "financial discipline", includes the components of capital adequacy, risk forecasting, and budgeting; the second dimension, "operational discipline", includes the three components of market regulation, export acceleration, and digitalization; The third dimension, entitled "Legal Discipline", includes two components: collection of claims and formation of contractual transactions; the fourth dimension, "Ownership Discipline", includes strategic shareholders, joint ventures, and diplomacy; and finally, the fifth dimension, "Management Discipline", includes the components of managers' cognitive map, strategic alertness, and special inspection. This research concludes by providing insights into the implementation of the identified pattern in investment holdings.
Introduction
The success of companies depends on the strategic choices they make. Most previous research has focused on observable strategic choices rather than invisible and unexecuted strategies [55]. Growing companies revise their strategies to enhance sustainability and establish order and discipline within their organizational structure, aligning with their business model. Sustainability and the creation of strategic discipline in business enable companies to avoid strategic pitfalls compared to other competitors in the market [39]. Strategic discipline in companies is a tool used by senior managers to communicate with employees and customers, encouraging them to change their behavior towards the organization’s strategic goals. It is prevalent as an effort to increase awareness and willingness to adhere to all company rules, regulations, and common social issues [41, 2]. In holding (parent) companies, investment, through the proper use of complementary resources and capabilities on one hand, and leveraging synergistic capacities to form multi-business companies, has highlighted the importance of discipline in such companies towards the organization’s strategic goals [44]. Senior managers of holding companies, to create discipline in the work environment, tend to communicate with the CEOs of subsidiary units, increase awareness of strategic goals, and observe regulations and responsibilities in performing company duties [43]. "In none of the strategic management and planning models has the issue of discipline been seriously considered; however, by creating a new approach, the position of discipline in the strategy formulation process must be explained. Holding companies, in various processes for strategic decision-making, require structural discipline in their subsidiary units. For strategy formulation in holding companies, fundamental questions arise that form the basis of the organization’s strategies: 1. In which sectors (subsidiary units) is investment made, and how is it managed? 2. How does the parent company add value to the units? Corporate-level strategy formulation should be carried out in such a way that, firstly, it has a strong theoretical basis, and secondly, it can be applied at the strategic and operational levels of the company, and thirdly, it considers the creation and destruction of value in the parent company. The lack of discipline in the strategic decisions of holding companies leads to the non-fulfillment of actual goals in the two mentioned cases. Therefore, the main issue of the research is considered as follows: What challenges does structural discipline face in holding companies? Can a comprehensive framework be provided and proposed for identifying the components of discipline related to their strategy?
Following this research, after reviewing the theoretical foundations, the thematic analysis approach will be used. The comprehensive framework of the presented model will be drawn using Max QDA software.


Research Method
The present research was conducted with an exploratory approach and using the qualitative method of thematic analysis. The thematic analysis method is an efficient and effective technique for identifying and reporting existing patterns in the qualitative data of the research. To collect the qualitative data for the research, the method of qualitative and semi-structured interviews was used in the research process. The study population of the research consisted of 3 academic experts in Business Management and Strategy, and 11 senior managers of Holding Companies of the National Pension Fund (Atieh Saba Holding, Saba Jahad, Saba Omran, Saba Energy, and the Financial Group). Participants were selected using purposive sampling in the holding companies. In purposive sampling, the researcher seeks a way to access initial ideas regarding a topic that has not been previously studied, which is why the researcher themselves selects the participants.
Research findings
“Following semi-structured interviews with experts, thematic analysis technique was used, and data coding was performed to extract categories, utilizing basic and organizing themes. The coding process conducted in the research included open coding, axial coding, and selective coding.” The first dimension, “Financial Discipline,” includes the components of capital adequacy, risk forecasting, and budgeting; the second dimension, “Operational Discipline,” encompasses three components: market regulation, export acceleration, and digitalization; the third dimension, titled “Legal Discipline,” consists of two components: receivables collection and contract formation; the fourth dimension, “Ownership Discipline,” includes strategic shareholders, joint ventures, and diplomacy; and finally, the fifth dimension, “Managerial Discipline,” includes the components of managers’ cognitive mapping, strategic awareness, and special inspection.
Conclusion
One of the most important aspects of achieving goals in investment companies is paying attention to strategic discipline and focusing on the allocation of future resources and facilities. Strategic discipline leads to accountability and continuous improvement of the company’s set goals. Furthermore, attention to strategic discipline is particularly important for financial managers in investment holdings who are themselves responsible for allocating financial resources to subsidiary companies. In a company or during team activities, order and discipline are necessary. Companies are managed based on teamwork; strategic discipline is the backbone of structure and order.