Organizational Favoritism and Employees' Withdrawal Behaviors: Clarifying the Mediating Role of Social Capital in Government Organizations

Document Type : Research/Original/Regular

Author

Department of Management, Faculty of Management and Economics, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of organizational favoritism on employees' withdrawal behaviors with the mediating role of social capital in government organizations in Lorestan province. This study utilizes an applied approach and employs a descriptive-causal research framework.. The statistical population of the study was 1,350 employees of general staff of Lorestan province based in Khorramabad city. Following Morgan table, a sample size of 300 was selected by stratified random sampling. To measure the variables of the research, Arasli and Tumer’s organizational nepotism and cronyism questionnaire (2008), Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s social capital (1998), and the withdrawal behaviors of Lehman and Simpson's (1992) were used. The reliability of the questionnaires was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the research data. The research results showed that organizational nepotism and cronyism have a positive and significant effect on employees' withdrawal behaviors and a negative and significant effect on social capital. Social capital has also a negative and significant effect on employees' withdrawal behaviors. Additionally, organizational nepotism and cronyism, mediated by social capital, have a positive and significant effect on employees' withdrawal behaviors in government organizations in Lorestan province.

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Main Subjects

References

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Social Capital Management
Volume 13, Issue 1
April 2026
Pages 57-70

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