2.4. Cronyism
The word cronyism comes from the word ‘crony’ which means long-term
close friends used by Cambridge University students in arguments among
themselves in the 1660s (Khatrive Tsang, 2003, p. 290). Cronyism is a
type of favoritism which is made by taking into consideration criteria
such as spouse, friend and fellow countryman without considering the
equality principle in the recruitment process of public officials and
some private sector employees (Aktan, 2001:57). The concept of
organizational cronyism perceived in organizations in working life is
“any privileged preferred treatment based on certain criteria (personal
relationships, personal loyalty, etc.) regardless of the performance
criteria of employees or formal procedures by employees (Turhan, M.,
2014:15). Cronyism is characterized as ’an equal trade exchange where
one gathering shows support to another dependent on their mutual
participation in an informal organization to the detriment of outgroup
individuals who have an equivalent or better guarantee than the esteemed
asset’ (Khatri, Tsang and Begley 2006, 62). If there is a tendency to
favor people from the same tribe or community, this is called tribalism
(Loewe et al., 2007: 21; Pope, 2000: 197). It is referred to as
solidarity networks that emerge among employees from the same province,
district or region. Other ties, such as relatives and friends, are used
as descriptors to help people identify their closeness (Dubetsky, 1976:
445). Where simple membership is obstructed, citizenship runs to the
rescue as a solution-generating form of belonging. As a result of this,
it is possible to perceive the relations of citizenship as guardianship
(Köse, 2008: 230).