Organizational Cronyism: A Scale Development and Validation from the Perspective of Teachers

Abstract

Organizational cronyism refers to favoring some employees within an organization based on non-performance-related factors. Although it is highly likely to encounter many attitudes and behaviors meeting this description within public and private institutions, there are limited studies on this issue. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to assess the perception of cronyism among organizational members. To this end, an item pool was formed based on current literature as well the views of teachers and expert recommendations. The validity-reliability of the scale was tested via two sample groups. As a result of the study, a scale with 3 dimensions and 15 items as well as psychometric qualities was developed to assess employee perceptions of cronyism. The scale dimensions comprise: in-group bias, paternal cronyism, and reciprocal exchange of favor in accordance with the way the method was addressed in the literature. The analyses of nomological validity of the scale showed that perception of cronyism is an important predictor of trust in managers.