Effect of workplace favoritism on counterproductive work behavior: A moderated mediation model of organizational cynicism, organizational silence, and self-efficacy
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DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.24(3).2026.16
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Article InfoVolume 24 2026, Issue #3, pp. 223–234
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Type of the article: Research Article
Abstract
Drawing on social exchange theory, the study aims to explore the influence of workplace favoritism on counterproductive work behavior (CWB), with the mediating role of organizational cynicism and organizational silence and the moderating role of self-efficacy. A modified two-stage questionnaire was used to collect data in 2025 from 487 full-time employees from the private services sector in Iraq using non-probability convenience sampling. Hierarchical multiple regression and bootstrapping analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses, using SPSS 21.0 and Mplus 6.0. This study extends the literature on workplace favoritism as a prominent predictor of CWB (β = 0.31, p < 0.01). The study also highlighted the mediating role of both organizational cynicism (β = 0.48, p < 0.001) and silence (β = 0.56, p < 0.001). Furthermore, we extend prior research by exploring the moderating role of self-efficacy, as its interaction with workplace favoritism reduced the positive impact between workplace favoritism and both organizational cynicism (β = –0.19, p < 0.05) and silence (β = –0.21, p < 0.05) and reduced their indirect impact on CWB. The study recommends that organizational management should promote awareness of the harmful effects of favoritism and highlight the dangers of negative behaviors stemming from it, specifically organizational cynicism and silence, as these are prominent intermediate indicators of CWB. In addition, this study could provide useful guidance for reducing CWB by focusing on self-efficacy as a moderating variable that decreases the impact of favoritism on cynicism and organizational silence.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the University of Mosul, College of Administration and Economics, for providing facilities, which helped to improve the quality of this paper.
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JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)D23, M54, J24
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References50
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Tables4
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Figures2
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- Figure 1. Hypothesized model
- Figure 2. Self-efficacy as a moderator
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- Table 1. Confirmatory factor analysis
- Table 2. Discriminant validity and correlational analysis
- Table 3. Hypotheses testing through structural model
- Table 4. Moderated mediation results
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