Journal of Iranian Social Studies

Zombie Leadership and Organizational Anomie: The Moderating Role of Job Desertification

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Mohammad Jalali

Ph.D in Public Administration - Organizational Behavior, Faculty of Economics and Management, Lorestan University, Khorram Abad, Lorestan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/jss.2026.2092201.1956
Abstract
Background and aim: The proliferation of destructive leadership patterns and declining work environment quality have become serious threats to normative cohesion and organizational social health in contemporary institutions; threats that are exacerbated in erosive work settings. In such conditions, “zombie leadership,” as a form of passive leadership, can facilitate the emergence of organizational anomie. Accordingly, this study aimed to explain the impact of zombie leadership on organizational anomie and examine the moderating role of job desertification within social service organizations.
Data and method: This study employed a quantitative approach with a descriptive-explanatory design. The statistical population comprised employees of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation and the State Welfare Organization in Kurdistan province, of which 203 individuals were selected using proportional random sampling. Data were collected via a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS software. The validity and reliability of the research instrument were assessed and confirmed using standard criteria.
Findings: The results indicated that zombie leadership has a positive and significant effect on organizational anomie (β=0.296, t=4.229). Furthermore, job desertification significantly strengthens this relationship (β=0.308, t=5.596), indicating that the erosion of norms and organizational cohesion is exacerbated in depleting work environments.
Conclusion: In summary, the persistence of passive leadership, coupled with a scarcity of resources and job support, can facilitate the spread of normlessness, distrust, and reduced organizational commitment. Therefore, enhancing leadership quality and enriching the work environment are considered strategic imperatives for maintaining organizational health.

Keywords

Zombie Leadership
Job Desertification
Organizational Anomie
Imam Khomeini(RA) Relief Foundation
Welfare Organization
Akinyele, A. I., & Chen, Z. (2025). Dark clouds of leadership: causes and consequences of toxic leadership. International Studies of Management & Organization, 55(4), 476-503. https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.2024.2442185
Alvesson, M. (2019). Waiting for Godot: Eight major problems in the odd field of leadership studies. Leadership, 15(1), 27–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742715017736707
Alvesson, M., & Einola, K. (2019). Warning for excessive positivity: Authentic leadership and other traps in leadership studies. Academy of Management Perspectives, 33(4), 383–402. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0164
Bakker, A., & Demerouti, E. (2013). Job demands-resources model. Revista de Psicologia del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 29(3), 107-115. https://doi.org/10.5093/tr2013a16
Berkery, E; Morley, M. J; Tiernan, S., & Peretz, H. (2020). From start to finish: Flexi-time as a social exchange and its impact on organizational outcomes. European Management Journal, 38(4), 591-601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.02.003
Cabaços, C.; Macedo, A.; Carneiro, M.; Brito, M. J.; Amaral, A. P.; Araújo, A., & Pereira, A. T. (2023). The mediating role of self-compassion and repetitive negative thinking in the relationship between perfectionism and burnout in health-field students: A prospective study. Personality and Individual Differences, 213, 112314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112314
Cao W, Liu H, Zhou J, Jiang X (2026), "How does perceived job stress induce authoritarian leadership behavior? The role of recovery level and proactive personality". Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 41 No. 1 pp. 74–86, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-08-2024-0629
Cheung, G. W.; Cooper-Thomas, H. D.; Lau, R. S., & So, L. C. (2024). Reporting reliability, convergent and discriminant validity with structural equation modeling: A review and best-practice recommendations. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 41(2), 745–783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09871-y
Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 31(6), 874–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602
Durrah, O., Alkhalaf, T., & Sharbatji, O. (2024). Toxic leadership as a predictor of physical and psychological withdrawal behaviours in the healthcare sector. The Journal of Social Psychology, 164(6), 1159–1177. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2023.2272034
Einarsen, S., Aasland, M. S., & Skogstad, A. (2007). Destructive leadership behaviour: A definition and conceptual model. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(3), 207-216. 10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.03.002
Gray, T. W.; Zabinski, A. M.; Fu, S., & Darden, T. R. (2025). That's Not What I Was Promised! Psychological Contracts and Quiet Quitting. Human Resource Management, 64(6), 1833-1863. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.70011 
Hair, J.F.; Risher, J.J.; Sarstedt M., & Ringle CM (2019), "When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM". European Business Review, Vol. 31 No. 1 pp. 2–24, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Haji Zade Meimandi, M., & Dadvar, R. (2019). The Relationship Between Job Alienation and Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Social Health of Government Employees. Journal of Iranian Social Studies, 13(3), 34-56. https://doi.org/10.22034/jss.2019.43305 [in persian]
Haslam, S. A.; Alvesson, M., & Reicher, S. D. (2024). Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(3), 101770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2023.101770
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
Jung, H. S., & Yoon, H. H. (2019). The effects of social undermining on employee voice and silence and on organizational deviant behaviors in the hotel industry. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 29(2), 213-231. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-06-2018-0131
Korkosz-Gębska, J. (2024). ORGANIZATIONAL ANOMIE AS A CAUSE OF COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WORK BEHAVIOR IN THE ORGANIZATION. Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization & Management/Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej. Seria Organizacji i Zarzadzanie, (209). https://doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2024.209.12
Lawshe, C. H. (1975). A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel psychology, 28(4), 563. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1975.tb01393.x
Li, P.; Yin, K.; Shi, J.; Damen, T. G., & Taris, T. W. (2024). Are bad leaders indeed bad for employees? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies between destructive leadership and employee outcomes. Journal of Business Ethics, 191(2), 399–413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-023-05449-2
Liu, F.; Li, J.; Lan, J., & Gong, Y. (2024). Linking perceived overqualification to work withdrawal, employee silence, and pro-job unethical behavior in a Chinese context: the mediating roles of shame and anger. Review of Managerial Science, 18(3), 711-737. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-023-00619-y
Liu, J.; Carminati, L., & Wilderom, C. (2025). Work alienation through the dialectical lens. Applied Psychology, 74(1), e12600. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12600
Liu, L.; Chen S., & Yang, X. (2022) Analysis of the anomie behavior and external motivation of college students in sports: A cross-sectional study among gender. Front. Psychol. 13:988557. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.988557
Manakkattil, M. S., & Jasim, K. M. (2025). Perceived anomie, organizational silence, compulsory organization citizenship behavior, and workplace alienation as antecedents of knowledge hiding. Knowledge and Process Management, 32(4), 174-189. https://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.70001
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2006). The content validity index: are you sure you know what's being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in nursing & health, 29(5), 489-497. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20147
Shyaa, H. H., & Abbas, A. A. (2023). Job desertification as a modified variable in the relationship between the cognitive biases of the leader and the organizational anomie. Production Engineering Archives, 29(4), 356–368.  https://doi.org/10.30657/pea.2023.29.41
Stolz, S. A. (2023). Narrative, zombie academic leadership, and the contemporary university. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44(6), 873-887. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2023.2196055
Story, J. S., & Neves, P. (2024). Curbing unethical pro-organizational behavior with high-performance work systems: Test of an uncertainty reduction mechanism. European Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2024.07.002
Tamartash, A. A.; Saberi, A., & Khosravi, A. (2021). The Examination of the Organizational Inertia on Organizational Laziness and Organizational Anomie in the University of Tehran. Organizational Culture Management, 19(4), 609-630. https://doi.org/10.22059/jomc.2021.286767.1007928 [in persian]
Vahdati, H., & jalali, M. (2025). The effect of zombie leadership on organizational silence; with the mediating role of the glass cliff. Organizational Behaviour Studies Quarterly, 14(2), 161-202. https://doi.org/10.22034/obs.2025.2062305.3559 [in persian]
Wu, Y.; Groth, M.; Zhang, K., & Minbashian, A. (2023). A meta-analysis of the impact of customer mistreatment on service employees' affective, attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Journal of Service Management, 34(5), 896-940 https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-08-2022-0262 .
Yarım, M. A.; Akan, D., & Morkop, S. (2021). A Scale Development Study: Reliability and Validity Study of the Organizational Anomie Scale. Is Ahlakı Dergisi, 14(2), 411-421. https://doi.org/10.12711/tjbe.2021.14.2.2633
Journal of Iranian Social Studies
Volume 20, Issue 2
Summer 2026
Pages 98-72

  • Receive Date 21 June 2026
  • Accept Date 23 October 2026
  • First Publish Date 23 October 2026
  • Publish Date 22 June 2026

Home

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us