Presenting a Structural Model for Explaining Organizational Health: Transitioning from Organizational Terrorism Syndrome with an Emphasis on Ethical Leadership (Case Study: Mostazafan Foundation)
Keywords:
Exit Model, Syndrome, Organizational Terrorism, Mostazafan FoundationAbstract
The present study aimed to develop a structural model for explaining organizational health through transitioning from organizational terrorism syndrome with an emphasis on ethical leadership within the Mostazafan Foundation. This study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach (qualitative–quantitative) with a sequential exploratory design. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 senior managers of the Mostazafan Foundation, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Based on the findings, 12 major themes related to organizational terrorism syndrome were identified, including fear-based governance, suppression of dissenting voices, a culture of silence, corruption, weakening of meritocracy, and erosion of human capital, and an initial model was subsequently developed. In the quantitative phase, the resulting model was tested using a researcher-developed questionnaire consisting of 38 items administered to 203 employees of the Mostazafan Foundation. Quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings indicated that the proposed model demonstrated an acceptable fit. Path analysis revealed significant causal relationships among the model variables. The development of ethical leadership capabilities, as the cornerstone of the model, had a strong and direct effect on the establishment of transparent governance systems, the creation of psychological safety, and the institutionalization of meritocracy. These mediating variables, in turn, contributed to strengthening social capital and trust, supporting critical voice, enhancing organizational resilience, and increasing human and organizational capital. Ultimately, the three pathways of enhancing organizational resilience, increasing human capital, and strengthening social capital and trust directly and significantly contributed to weakening organizational terrorism syndrome. Model fit indices (e.g., SRMR = 0.081) confirmed the satisfactory quality of the model. Consequently, the final research model demonstrates that overcoming organizational terrorism syndrome is a systematic, multilayered, and sequential process whose core foundation lies in leadership transformation and the establishment of ethical and transparent governance. This model can serve as a practical roadmap for managers, consultants, and policymakers in identifying, preventing, and confronting this destructive phenomenon in Iranian organizations, particularly large and complex institutions. The findings emphasize the necessity of adopting an integrated and reinforcing approach in which leadership, structural, procedural, and cultural reforms are pursued simultaneously and in alignment.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Seyyed Mohammad Reza Parhizkar Azbari , Serajedin Mohebi, Mashalah Valikhani Dehaghani, Zahra Saeidi Mobarakeh (Author)
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