The overall outlook of favoritism in organizations: a literature review

It is a fact that favoritism has become an important subject matter as corporations and both governmental and non-governmental organizations become more concerned with ethical issues. However, the relevant literature seems to be rivened with many overlapping and vague concepts such as nepotism, cronyism, clientelism, patronage etc. We are aware of the fact that redefining concepts already in currency is a difficult, if not snobbish, task. Therefore, we attempt to review the literature and point out their appropriate definitions for organizational theory. In doing so we also developed a more complete picture by placing the relevant concepts in a customized X-Y axis. We hope that researchers and students of organizational behavior and ethics will find it useful in clarifying their steps when dealing with these concepts.

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Favoritism ,

Nepotism ,

Cronyism ,