Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• mostafa omidnezhad ¹
• Maneshdavi Elahe ²

¹ PhD student in Public Administration, Organizational Behavior, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Lorestan, Iran.

² PhD student in public administration, Human Resources major, Lorestan University

Abstract

Purpose: The existence of a healthy, capable, and committed human resource is one of the important indicators of organizational success; therefore, human resources are of increasing importance for any organization. In this context, the special attention of managers and leaders of organizations to human resources as one of the most important factors in improving productivity is particularly important, and any factor that causes minimal effort and indifference among employees toward the organization's goals and mission must be quickly identified and corrected. Favoritism is one of the obstacles to professional management in government organizations, potentially leaving negative consequences for the organizational environment. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the antecedents and consequences of organizational favoritism in government organizations in Lorestan.
Design/methodology/approach: This research is applied in terms of purpose and survey, exploratory in data collection, and has a deductive-inductive research philosophy. The statistical population of the study is experts, including senior managers and human resources managers of government organizations, and the sample was selected using purposive sampling based on the principle of theoretical saturation: 20 senior managers and human resources managers of government organizations in Lorestan province. The data collection tool in the qualitative part is an interview, and in the quantitative part is a questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the tools were analyzed using content validity and intra-coder and inter-coder reliability for the interview and content validity and test-retest reliability for the questionnaire, respectively. In this research, content analysis and coding were used to analyze qualitative data, and the fuzzy cognitive map method was used in the quantitative part. Also, MaxQDA software was used to analyze the qualitative data.
Research Findings: In this study, the qualitative findings identify the antecedents and consequences of organizational exceptionalism, and the quantitative findings focus on prioritizing these factors. The antecedents of organizational exceptionalism are traditional culture, lack of social maturity, lack of breadth of vision, lack of foresight, opaque procedures, weak rule of law, overvaluing loyalty over competence, closed human resource structure, lack of elite rotation, preference for emotional relationships over professional relationships in the workplace, and weakness in a fair and transparent incentive system. Also, its consequences include decreased job satisfaction, decreased loyalty, increased turnover intention, emotional exhaustion, interpersonal conflict, lack of control over key employees, lack of adaptability, reduced motivation and organizational coordination, exhaustion of human capital, decreased organizational commitment, and finally, divisiveness.
Limitations & Consequences: Among the most important limitations of this research are its novelty and the lack of studies on this subject in the country, which posed significant limitations for researchers in this field. Also, given the purpose and type of research, experts had to be used, which limited the number of samples.
Practical Consequences: Identifying the antecedents (primary causes and factors) and consequences (final results) of organizational exceptionalism in government organizations in Lorestan province helps better understand the factors that drive exceptional, innovative, or, in some cases, inconsistent behaviors with official policies and processes. The practical implications of this identification are the results and effects obtained from recognizing these factors, which can be effective in improving performance, reducing unnecessary exceptions, and advancing organizational development.
Innovation or value of the Article: This article, with a new look at the subject under study, attempts to fill the gap in the research literature and, by presenting a different perspective or method, expands the field for future studies. The innovation of this article is a new step in analyzing one of the least studied phenomena in human resource management. The value of this research lies in explaining the underlying factors and consequences of favoritism in a specific local and cultural context, and providing the basis for formulating management strategies to control and reduce this phenomenon in government organizations.
Paper Type: Original Paper
 

Keywords

• Organizational Favoritism
• Cronyism
• Nepotism
• Public Organization