<span lang="EN">A Practical Roadmap for Mitigating the Destructive Effects of Favoritism in Organizations: Thematic Analysis and Prioritization of Strategies

Purpose: Favoritism, as a destructive organizational phenomenon, negatively affects opportunity allocation, recruitment, promotion, and employees' perceptions of justice. The existing literature predominantly focuses on consequences and fails to provide an integrated, prioritized picture of countermeasures. This study aims to identify, integrate, and prioritize strategies for mitigating the destructive effects of favoritism in organizations and to develop a practical roadmap.Methodology: This study is applied in purpose and employs a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, ۱۴۷ articles published between ۲۰۱۵ and ۲۰۲۶ were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's (۲۰۰۶) thematic analysis. In the quantitative phase, the extracted themes were evaluated through a ranking Delphi procedure involving ۱۴ experts and ranked based on importance, feasibility, and effectiveness. Expert consensus was assessed using Kendall's coefficient of concordance.Findings: Eight final themes were organized under the overarching theme of "Establishing Anti-Favoritism Organizational Governance." The top priority was "Establishing a Meritocratic System and Ensuring Equal Opportunity" (mean rank = ۱.۴۳), followed by "Managing Conflicts of Interest" (۲.۶۴), "Transparency and Traceability of HR Decisions" (۲.۹۳), and "Reducing Discretionary Authority" (۳.۲۹). Kendall's coefficient of concordance (۰.۲۸۹; χ² = ۲۸.۳۳; p < ۰.۰۰۱) was statistically significant.Conclusion: Sustainable counteraction against favoritism requires reforming the organizational decision-making architecture rather than merely adopting reactive measures. Meritocracy, conflict-of-interest management, transparency, and the reduction of discretionary authority should be positioned at the core of reforms, while ethical leadership, oversight, reporting mechanisms, and technology function as supporting layers.

کلیدواژه ها:

Favoritism ، Nepotism ، Cronyism ، meritocracy ، Anti-Favoritism Organizational GovernanceThis response is AI-generated ، for reference only