Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.
Abstract
Purpose: Silent change is a process in which employees gradually change their attitudes, values, motivation, and work behavior without the organization having formally decided to change. Given the hidden nature of this phenomenon, failure to recognize and manage it in a timely manner can lead to a decline in performance, reduced productivity, and the emergence of organizational crises, especially in government organizations. However, the formation and interaction of factors affecting this phenomenon have not been studied in a coherent manner in the form of a structural model. Therefore, the main goal of the present study is to identify the root factors that underlie silent change and understand how these factors relate to and influence each other in government organizations in Lorestan province. To achieve this goal, the fuzzy interpretive structural modeling method has been used to design a model of this phenomenon.
Methodology: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and has been conducted with a mixed approach (qualitative-quantitative). In the qualitative part of the research, the factors and drivers of silent change were identified through a systematic review of the literature and interviews with experts, and in the quantitative part of the research, the internal relationships and leveling of these factors were analyzed using the Fuzzy Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) method. The statistical population of the present study was experts, consisting of senior managers of government organizations along with university professors in the field of human resource management and organizational behavior, of whom 25 were selected as sample members using a purposive sampling method and based on the theoretical saturation principle. The data collection tool in the qualitative part was an interview and in the quantitative part was a questionnaire. In this study, content analysis and coding with the software MaxQDA were used to analyze the data in the qualitative part. The fuzzy interpretive structural modeling method was used to analyze the data in the quantitative part. In this study, to examine the validity and reliability of the data collection tool in the qualitative part, the content method and theoretical validity and intra-coder and inter-coder reliability were used. Also, to examine the validity and reliability of the data collection tool in the quantitative part, content validity and test-retest reliability were used.
Findings: The findings of this research include factors affecting the formation of the silent change phenomenon and presenting its model in government organizations in Lorestan province.
Results: The results of this study include presenting a model of the phenomenon of silent employee change in four axes: formation contexts, intervening and correlated factors in the formation, dimensions and consequences of the phenomenon of silent change. The formation contexts of the phenomenon of silent change include; the occurrence of invisible inequalities and discriminatory behaviors, lack of access to growth and development opportunities in the organization, ignoring human values and dignity, and lack of organizational commitment. Also, intervening and correlated factors in the formation of the phenomenon of silent change include; the manager having a narcissistic personality type, the occurrence of the phenomenon of the humanistic effect, and eliminationism instead of interactionism in the organization. In addition, the dimensions of the formation of this phenomenon include; a decrease in job engagement and a decrease in extra-role effort, organizational alienation and psychosocial withdrawal, and defensive silence. The consequences of this phenomenon include; a decrease in the efficiency and productivity of the organization, the emergence of destructive behaviors in the organization, poverty in producing original and innovative ideas, and a decrease in the performance of organizational citizenship.
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