The moderating role of moral identity in the effect of croniysm on positive psychological capital

At the core of human nature lies the need for a sense of belonging to a particular place. Therefore, individuals tend to feel a stronger sense of belonging in communities where they share common cultural elements such as heritage, religion, and language. Through various reasons and methods, cronyism has continued to exist in all spheres. Based on a literature review, it is believed that employees' perceptions of cronyism can influence their levels of positive psychological capital, and this effect is likely contingent upon their ethical identity behaviors. However, there is a limited number of studies that examine the role of ethical identity in the impact of perceptions of cronyism on positive psychological capital. The aim of this study, conducted to address this gap in the literature, is to determine the effect of cronyism on positive psychological capital and to identify the moderating role of ethical identity in this relationship. The survey method was employed for data collection in the study, and the research sample consisted of bank employees operating in the city of Kayseri (n=321). The findings obtained through surveys were analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS data analysis programs. According to the results of the structural equation modeling (SEM), it was observed that cronyism had a negative and insignificant effect on psychological capital. However, it was also concluded that ethical identity played a moderating role in the relationship between cronyism and positive psychological capital.