Introducing a Model of Dark Sides of the Organization Based on the Theory of Social Interactionism in the Higher Education System

Dark sides of the organization are integral parts of any organization and encompass all aspects of the organization. The theory of social interactionism also examines the behaviors and interactions of human beings in social life. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to present a model of the dark sides of the organization in the higher education system based on the theory of social interaction.

This research is applied in terms of type, developmental in terms of purpose, descriptive-exploratory in terms of implementation method, and qualitative in terms of data type. The sample of participants in the study included 15 scientific experts in the field of higher education management in Fars Province who were selected by purposive sampling. Data were collected using interview tools. The interviews continued until the theoretical saturation stage was reached after 12 interviews. Data were analyzed using the foundation data theorizing approach in three stages of open, axial, and selective coding.

118 concepts of open source interviews were classified into 24 sub-categories and 12 main categories, which were placed in a paradigm model in the form of six main categories: causal conditions (organizational causes and individual causes), background (internal and external environment), interventionist (employee characteristics and managerial characteristics), central phenomenon (dark sides of organization), strategies (individual development strategies and organizational level strategies) and consequences (individual, organizational, and social consequences). The model deeply describes the dark sides of the organization in the higher education system based on the theory of social interaction.

Understanding the influential factors, strategies, and consequences of the dark sides of the organization in the higher education system using the proposed model can help policy makers, planners, and agents of the higher education system to manage this phenomenon.