Organizational Behaviour Studies Quarterly

Organizational Behaviour Studies Quarterly

Identifying the Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Cronyism in Government Organizations Using the FCM Method

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Seyed Mohammad Moghimi 1
Shabnam Zarjou 2
Mehdi fathi 3
1 Professor, Department of Policy Making and Public Administration, School of Public Administration and Organizational Sciences, School of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 PhD student in Human Resource Management, Department of Leadership and Human Capital, Faculty of Public Administration and Organizational Sciences, Faculties of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 PhD student in Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran
10.22034/obs.2026.2078164.3640
Abstract
Research Background: Today, in organizations and the country's administrative system, one of the most important obstacles to the correct selection of employees, which is increasingly manifested in recruitment and job interviews, is a phenomenon known as "organizational cronyism." Organizational cronyism refers to the unfair exploitation of organizational power and resources to grant benefits and privileges to relatives, friends, and like-minded individuals, without regard to merit-based criteria.
Research Objective: The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying and prioritizing the antecedents and consequences of organizational cronyism in government organizations.
Research Methodology: This research is applied in terms of purpose and exploratory in terms of data collection, which was executed using a mixed-methods approach (qualitative-quantitative) based on an inductive-deductive philosophy. In the qualitative phase, 25 experts were interviewed using purposive sampling, and the data were analyzed through content analysis using specialized software. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire based on the qualitative findings was designed, and the causal relationships and the degree of influence of the components were calculated using the fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) method.
Research Findings: The findings revealed that "organizational culture," "administrative profiteering," "inefficient administrative system," and "lack of control and monitoring systems" are, respectively, the most important antecedents of organizational cronyism. Furthermore, "violation of psychological contracts," "reduced work performance," "tendency toward laziness and procrastination," and "deviant employee behavior" were identified as its key consequences.
Conclusion: Organizational cronyism is a multi-causal phenomenon with devastating consequences for human capital and the productivity of government organizations. The most important strategy to combat it is to reform organizational culture and strengthen monitoring systems and meritocracy.
Innovation and Originality: This research, for the first time, employs the fuzzy cognitive mapping approach to simultaneously identify the antecedents and consequences of cronyism in Iranian government organizations and, by presenting a causal model, provides a comprehensive framework for the systemic analysis of this phenomenon. The value and applicability of the research findings are of great importance for human resource managers and organizational planners in designing preventive policies and improving the administrative environment.
Keywords
Organizational Cronyism
Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping Method
Government Organizations.
Subjects
منابع
دیهیم‌پور، مهدی (1403)، جنبه‌های تاریک (منفی) سرمایه اجتماعی و کرونیسم سازمانی: تحلیل اثر تعدیل‌گری شفافیت سازمانی، مطالعات مدیریت بهبود و تحول، دوره33 شماره114: 251-219.
سپهوند، رضا؛ سپهوند، مسعود؛ حکاک، محمد و نظرپوری، امیرهوشنگ (1401)، طراحی و تبیین مدل شکل‌گیری کرونیسم در سازمان، فرایند مدیریت و توسعه، دوره 35، شماره4: 34-54.
شریعت‌نژاد، علی و صفری احمدوند، زینب (1401)، فهم تأثیر رفاقت سالاری و خویشاوندسالاری سازمانی بر سرمایة اجتماعی سازمان؛ تبیین نقش میانجی عدالت سازمانی ادراک‌شده (موردمطالعه: سازمان‌های دولتی استان لرستان)، سرمایه اجتماعی (12)1: 18-37.
طاهری‌نیا، مسعود؛ شریعت‌نژاد، علی و فتحی چگینی،  فریبرز (1403)، خویشاوند‌سالاری و بی‌تفاوتی سازمانی کارکنان: تحلیل نقش میانجی سرمایه اجتماعی، مدیریت سرمایه اجتماعی، د11، ش1 :51-61. 
فتحی چگنی، فریبرز (1401)، ﮐﺮوﻧﯿﺴﻢ ﺳﺎزﻣﺎﻧﯽ و ﻧﺎﻣﺮﺋﯽ‌ﺷﺪن ﮐﺎرﮐﻨﺎن: ﺗﺒﯿﯿﻦ ﻧﻘﺶ ﻣﯿﺎﻧﺠﯽ ﻧﻘﺾ ﻗﺮارداد روان‌شناختی در سازمان‌های دولتی، نشریه توسعه مدیریت منابع انسانی و پشتیبانی، دوره17، شماره64 : 133-160.
موسوی، سیدنجم‌الدین؛ سپهوند، رضا و فتحی چگینی، فریبرز (1402)، کرونیسم سازمانی و اهمال‌کاری: تحلیل اثر  بازدارندگی سرمایه اجتماعی در سازمان‌های دولتی، مدیریت سرمایه اجتماعی، د10، ش1: 31-45. 
References
Arasli, H., & Tumer, M. (2008). Nepotism, Favoritism and Cronyism: A S tudy of Their Effects on Job S tress and Job Satisfaction in the Banking Indus try of North Cyprus. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 36(9), 1237-1250.
Anokhin, S., & Schulze, W. S. (2009). Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Corruption. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(5), 465-476
Bilal, A. R., Fatima, T., & Akoorie, M. (2017). Cronyism as a Cons traint in Social Capital Development: Inves tigating Dark Side of Social Relation. Paper Presented at the Academy of Management
Chu, J., & et al. (2021). Defuzzification Methods for Fuzzy Numbers: A Comparative Study. Applied Soft Computing, 102, 107-123.
De Clercq, D., Fatima, T., & Jahanzeb, S. (2022). Cronies, Procras tinators, and Leaders: A Conservation of Resources Perspective on Employees’ Responses to Organizational Cronyism. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 31(1), 77-88.
  Dobrowolski, Z. Sułkowski, Ł. Przytuła, S. & Rašticová, M. (2022). Do nepotism and cronyism have payoff boundaries? a cross-country investigation. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 20(2).2022.19
Fatima, T., Bilal, A. R., Imran, M. K., Sarwar, A., & Shabeer, S. (2025). The hidden cost of cronyism! A nexus of knowledge hiding, moral disengagement and egoistic climate in higher educational institutions. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 17(4), 1225-1242.DOI: 10.1108/JARHE-05-2022-0182
Jawahar, I. M. Bilal, A. R. Fatima, T. & Mohammed, Z. J. (2021). Does organizational cronyism undermine social capital? Testing the mediating role of workplace ostracism and the moderating role of workplace incivility. Career Development International.
Khraim, H. (2025). The impact of perceived organizational cronyism on decision-making: The moderating role of ethical organizational culture. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 23(1), 313-324. DOI: 10.21511/ppm.23(1).2025.23
Khatri, N. (2016). Definitions of Cronyism, Corruption, and Crony Capitalism. Crony Capitalism in India: Establishing Robust t Counteractive Ins situational Frameworks, 3-7.
 Khatri, N., Tsang, E. W., & Beg-ley, T. M. (2003). Cronyism: The Downside of Social Networking. Paper Presented at the Academy of Management Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2003.13792813
 Khatri, N., Tsang, E. W., & Beg ley, T. M. (2006). Cronyism: A Cross- Cultural Analysis. Journal of International Business S tudies, 37(1), 61-75.
Kosko, B. (2020). Fuzzy Thinking: The New Science of Fuzzy Logic. Hyperion.
Lapointe, E., Vandenberghe, C., & Boudrias, J. S. (2013). Psychological Contract Breach, Affective Commitment to Organization and Supervisor, and Newcomer Adjustment: A Three-wave Moderated Mediation Model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 528-538.
Mohammadi, J., Bagheri, M. S., Safarian, S., & Alavi Borazjani, S. A. (2016). The Role of Nepotism in Job Satisfaction and Job Performance Organizational Resources Management Researchs, 6(1), 237-257.
 Ngo Quynh, A., & Tran Huy, P. (2026). Quiet quitting in the context of high performance work practices: the nexus of perceive organizational exploitation, organizational cronyism and employee moonlighting. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 39(3), 701–722. DOI: 10.1108/JOCM-09-2025-0786
Ochieng, O. J. (2020). A Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping Approach for Understanding the Dynamics of Urban Sprawl. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(5), 1-18.
Pearce, J., & Huang, L. (2014). Workplace Favoritism: Why It Damages Trus t and Persis ts. The Merage School of Business Working Paper. Irvine, CA: University of California              
Hosseinverdi, F., & Doroodian, M. (2020). The Relationship among Job Rotation, Musculoskeletal Disorders and Human Resource Productivity: The Case of Iran Carton Company. The Journal of Productivity Management, 14(2), 141-161. [In Farsi]
Hassanzadeh Pasikhani, M. S., Bina, T., & Hassanzade Samarin, T. (2025). The impact of Organization cronism on social capital: Investigating the mediating role of organizational ostracism and the moderating role of workplace incivility. Management Studies in Development and Evolution (Articles in Press). DOI: 10.22054/jmsd.2025.83207.4556
Saleem, M. A., Yaseen, A., & Zahra, S. (2018). Predictors of Organizational
 Commitment in Public Sector Hospitals of Pakis tanModerated Mediation S tudy. Journal of Health Management, 20(2), 206-225.
Shaheen, S., Abrar, M., Saleem, S., Shabbir, R., & Zulfiqar, S. (2021). Linking  Organizational Cronyism to Deviant Workplace Behavior: Tes ting the Mediating Role of Employee Negligence in Pakis tani Higher Education Ins titutions. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 1-23.
Shaheen, S., Bari, M. W., Hameed, F., & Anwar, M. M. (2019). Organizational Cronyism as an Antecedent of Ingratiation: Mediating Role of  Relational Psychological Contract. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1609.
Shaheen, S., Bashir, S., & Khan, A. K. (2017). Examining Organizational  Cronyism as an Antecedent of Workplace Deviance in Public Sector  Organizations. Public Personnel Management, 46(3), 308-323.
Shaheen, S., Zulfiqar, S., Saleem, S., & Shehazadi, G. (2020). Does Organizational Cronyism Lead to Lower Employee Performance? Examining the Mediating Role of Employee Engagement and Moderating Role of Islamic Work Ethics. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 579560
Shafique Khan,M.A. Du,J. Fatima.T. Waqas.M & Jin.M(2023).A Resource-based Perspective between Organizational Cronyism and Innovative Work Behaviour. Academy of Management   100 Summit Lake Drive, Suite 110  Valhalla, NY 10595, USA. Published Online:24Jul2023.
Sischka, P. E., Melzer, A., Schmidt, A. F., & S teffgen, G. (2021). Psychological Contract Violation or Basic Need Frus tration? Psychological Mechanisms behind the Effects of Workplace Bullying. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(1), 627968.
Turhan, M. (2014). Organizational Cronyism: A Scale Development and Validation from the Perspective of Teachers. Journal of Business Ethics, 123(1), 295-308.
 Turka, A. (2024). Perceived Organisational Cronyism, Psychological Contract Breach and Deviant Workplace Behaviour: A Study of Select Banks in Northern India [Doctoral dissertation, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India].
Wang, J. J., & Lalwani, A. K. (2019). The Dis tinct Influence of Power Dis tance Perception and Power Dis tance Values on Cus tomer Satisfaction in Response to Loyalty Programs. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 36(4), 580-596.
Wang, C., & et al. (2018). A Fuzzy-based Decision Support System for Evaluating Human Resource Performance. Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 35(4), 4159-4170.