A Structural Model for Predicting the Consequences of Strategic Influence-Accumulation Behavior in the Education System

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and test a structural model for predicting the consequences of strategic influence-accumulation behavior in the education system of Sistan and Baluchestan Province. This applied study employed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design. In the qualitative phase, 20 experts in educational management, university faculty members, and experienced educational administrators and specialists were recruited through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed according to systematic grounded theory using open, axial, and selective coding. In the quantitative phase, the statistical population comprised 6,354 administrators, deputies, and experts working in the provincial education system. Based on Cochran’s formula, 383 participants were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed 77-item questionnaire scored on a five-point Likert scale. Face and content validity were established through expert judgment, construct validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability was verified by Cronbach’s alpha. Quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Contextual conditions had a significant positive direct effect on strategies (β=0.25, t=3.13), causal conditions on the central phenomenon (β=0.37, t=4.71), intervening conditions on strategies (β=0.28, t=3.62), the central phenomenon on strategies (β=0.41, t=5.37), and strategies on consequences (β=0.38, t=4.88). Significant indirect effects were also observed for contextual conditions on consequences (β=0.09), causal conditions on strategies (β=0.15) and consequences (β=0.06), intervening conditions on consequences (β=0.11), and the central phenomenon on consequences (β=0.16; p<0.01). The goodness-of-fit indices confirmed the adequacy of the proposed structural model. The consequences of strategic influence-accumulation behavior emerge through the interaction of causal, contextual, and intervening conditions and the mediating roles of the central phenomenon and organizational strategies. Transparent appointment procedures, merit-based human resource practices, objective performance evaluation, and participative management may reduce deviant behavior, occupational burnout, and productivity loss while promoting organizational health.