The present thesis describes 11 studies that investigate: (1) What people construe as nepotism, (2) the consequences of perceived nepotism in organizational and political contexts, and (3) why... Show moreThe present thesis describes 11 studies that investigate: (1) What people construe as nepotism, (2) the consequences of perceived nepotism in organizational and political contexts, and (3) why nepotism remains common practice, despite the negative connotations attached to it. I provide answers to these questions using a ‘procedural fairness perspective’ of nepotism as an alternative to the more common ‘meritocracy perspective’ of nepotism. The eleven studies revealed several important points. First, people view nepotism as the hiring, promotion, or favorable treatment of family members, regardless of competence. Second, people view nepotism as more unfair than cronyism. Third, perceived nepotism can be deleterious in business organizations and the political arena. In business organizations, nepotism may lead to a negative organizational climate. In politics, nepotism can increase cynicism and decrease people’s willingness to be politically active. Fourth, people use known traits or qualifications of benefactors to infer the traits or qualifications of beneficiaries, and this may result in support for nepotism, particularly among people who believe in the merit of nepotism. Show less
