Development and Validation of an Ethical Organizational Behavior Management Model in Islamic Azad Universities of Mazandaran Province
Keywords:
Ethical Organizational Behavior Management, University Social Responsibility, Social Networks, Thematic Analysis, Structural Equation Modeling, Islamic Azad UniversityAbstract
The present study aimed to design and validate an ethical organizational behavior management model with an emphasis on social responsibility and the role of social networks in Islamic Azad Universities of Mazandaran Province. This study employed an exploratory–descriptive mixed-method design conducted in two qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 university experts selected via purposive snowball sampling and analyzed using thematic analysis and three-stage coding. In the quantitative phase, the proposed model was tested using a researcher-made questionnaire administered to 316 participants from Islamic Azad Universities of Mazandaran Province. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) via PLS software. The results indicated that all structural paths were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level, with t-values exceeding 1.96. Reliability indices (Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability) for all constructs were above 0.7, confirming model reliability and validity. The findings further revealed that ethical professionalism in organizational behavior management had the strongest effect, followed by university social responsibility and the role of social networks. The proposed model demonstrates strong empirical and theoretical validity and can serve as a practical framework for enhancing ethical organizational behavior, strengthening social responsibility, and effectively managing social network interactions in universities.
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