Digital Tax Socialization Based on Trust, Interaction, and Persuasion among Generation Z: A Grounded Theory Approach
Keywords:
Tax socialization, digital media, Generation Z, grounded theory, voluntary tax compliance.Abstract
Traditional approaches to tax socialization have lost much of their effectiveness due to transformations in communication patterns and the emergence of Generation Z as a digitally oriented, participatory, and transparency- and justice-sensitive generation. The present study aimed to develop a model for the effectiveness of tax socialization through digital media, with a particular focus on Generation Z in Iran. This study employed a qualitative approach using the systematic grounded theory methodology. Participants consisted of 25 experts from five specialized domains, including tax policymaking, digital communications, financial education, digital activism, and generational studies, who were selected through a combination of theoretical and purposive snowball sampling. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using MAXQDA software through three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. The findings led to the identification of 11 main categories and 42 subcategories organized within a paradigmatic model, including causal conditions (ineffectiveness of traditional methods, necessity of voluntary tax compliance, transformation of communication patterns, and requirements of fiscal governance), contextual conditions (Generation Z characteristics, financial literacy, perceived justice, institutional transparency, digital infrastructure, and general tax culture), intervening conditions (institutional distrust, message complexity, institutional inconsistency, negative user experience, media distrust, and cultural resistance), action/interaction strategies (media-related, educational, interactive, and platform management strategies), and four groups of consequences (cognitive, attitudinal, behavioral, and social outcomes). The core category identified was “digital tax socialization based on trust, interaction, and persuasion among Generation Z.” The findings indicate that effective digital tax socialization for Generation Z requires a transition from coercion-oriented approaches toward interactive approaches grounded in the three pillars of trust, interaction, and persuasion. Practical recommendations were proposed across five dimensions: strategic, content-related, technical–infrastructural, institutional–structural, and monitoring–evaluation levels.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Fatemeh Hosseini (Author); Malektaj Maleki Oskouei (Corresponding author); Seyedeh Atefeh Hosseini, Ehsan Rahmaninia (Author)
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