WASTA and the perception of inequity in the Arab Middle Eastern public sector

Recently the study of the social networks and connections in the workplace that came to be known as "Wasta" in Arab countries has become an intriguing topic of research in the field of HRM. The ever increasing interest in understanding this phenomenon is due to its widespread in most Arab countries, and the crucial role that it plays in various aspects of a professional career. Thus the main purpose of this article is to investigate the concept of Wasta by modeling it as an institution itself rather than some form of illegitimate behavior, in order to shed a light on both the concept and the consequences of this phenomenon. Furthermore this paper aims to propose one hypothesis regarding the potential outcome of using Wasta on the image and reputation of its users using the Jordanian public sector as a case study. The results obtained through 27 semi-structure interviews indicate that government employees who get employed through Wasta are perceived by their colleagues as incompetent, they are also stigmatized with an irreversibly bad image regardless of their real qualifications and performance. Our findings also suggest that Wasta indeed has harmful effects on the performance of public organizations.