Document Type : Exploratory

Authors

• Ali Parvin ¹
• Behzad Souki ²
• Tohfeh GHobadi Lamooki ³
• Kambiz Hamidi ⁴

¹ Ph.D. Candidate in Management, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan .C, Hamedan.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Kangavar .C, Kangavar.

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan .C, Hamedan

⁴ Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan .C, Hamedan.

Abstract

Objective: Purpose: Political appointments in Iran’s public sector produce not only reduced organizational performance but also a systematic erosion of human capital. Existing, variable-oriented literature, however, lacks a human-centred, processual account of how such organizational events translate into a multidimensional, individual-level harm process. This study fills that gap by designing and empirically validating a processual psychosocial–biological pathology model.
Design/methodology/approach: The research employs a two-stage, exploratory-interpretive narrative qualitative design. In the first stage (exploration and model generation), narrative data from 13 in-depth interviews with employees were analysed using reflective thematic analysis to develop a conceptually grounded model based on participants’ experiences, meanings and sense-making. In the second stage (validation and refinement), the emergent model was pragmatically assessed for content validity and practical applicability through a Delphi procedure to achieve consensus among 10 executive experts.
Findings: The thematic analysis produced an initial narrative of themes, which the Delphi rounds subsequently refined and integrated into a final 12-component model. The resulting model indicates that the pathology typically begins with perceptions of injustice and emotional, attitudinal and motivational reactions (psychological dimension); spreads to the erosion of trust, shared norms and organizational values and of social networks (social dimension); and culminates in the embodiment of stress and burnout (biological dimension).
Originality/value: By adopting a human-centred narrative approach while preserving interpretive depth, this study offers a novel, empirically-anchored explanatory framework and an expert-validated model of employee pathology arising from political appointments. The model provides a scientific basis for designing preventive interventions aimed at preserving human capital.

Keywords

• Political appointments
• Employee pathology
• Human-centred process model
• Reflexive thematic analysis

Main Subjects

• Pathology