Introduction
Organizations rely heavily on human capital to improve performance and maintain their competitive advantage. Therefore, human capital management is essential; meaning that the right people must be placed in the right positions to achieve organizational goals. Achieving this goal requires establishing a merit-based selection system in the organization. In meritocratic systems, hiring and promotion are based on merit; whereas in organizations where political relations prevail, appointments are made by influential people based on their expediency. Merit-phobia is an abnormal and purposeful fear and concern about the realization of meritocratic selection. In fact, Merit-phobia is the hidden and unspoken resistance of individuals or groups who see their position and interests in the organization as being threatened by a potentially more competent individual or group who may jeopardize their position at any moment, making the organization susceptible to the Merit-phobia condition. Given the destructive and harmful effects that the phenomenon of Merit-phobia has on organizations, today the issue of Merit-phobia has received more attention than in the past; the direct and indirect impact of Merit-phobia on the fundamental components of organizational activities has led to increased attention to issues related to this issue.


Methodology
The present study is applied in terms of purpose and exploratory in nature. In this study, thematic analysis approach was used to identify the antecedents and consequences of Merit-phobia in the workplace. The field of the present study was the managers and directors of Baspar Shimi Sepidan Company in Isfahan Province and academic experts, and purposive (theoretical) sampling method was used. If the purpose of the interview is to explore and describe the opinions and attitudes of the participants, depending on the time and resources available, 10 to 25 participants can be used to conduct the interview. In this study, interviews were conducted with 14 academic and executive experts, who were selected using the snowball technique.
In this study, 14 academic and executive experts were interviewed, who were selected using the snowball technique. The interview process was conducted between the winter of 1403 and the spring of 1404. Individual semi-structured interviews were used to collect the required data, and each interview lasted between 40 and 60 minutes. During the interview process, questions were asked in two main dimensions, and in order to preserve all data, the interviews were recorded after ensuring the confidentiality of the discussions and obtaining their consent. In order to determine the number of participants, the theoretical saturation rule of data was taken into account; in this way, the interviews continued until they contained repetitive data and conducting new interviews did not provide the researcher with new data. In this process, theoretical saturation was achieved after 12 interviews; however, for greater certainty, the interview process continued and a total of 14 people were interviewed.
Conclusion
The main achievement of this research, titled determining the antecedents and consequences of Merit-phobia in the Workplace, addresses this central question: What are the antecedents and consequences of Merit-phobia in the workplace? The results of this research indicate that the antecedents of the concept of Merit-phobia in the workplace can be categorized into three categories: individual, organizational, and environmental.


Discussion
The results of this study indicate that the antecedents of Merit-phobia can be examined at three levels: individual, organizational, and environmental. Individual antecedents include low self-confidence and self-esteem of managers; fear of losing position; perfectionism of managers; previous negative experiences of managers, and a scarcity mentality (win-lose) of managers. Organizational antecedents include high concentration of power, reduced risk-taking of managers, Lack of meritocracy; closed space and lack of knowledge; lack of visibility of lower levels; relationships instead of criteria; unhealthy competition; deficiencies in performance evaluation; unrealistic expectations of the organization; bus management; ineffective reward system; ineffective management and leadership style; destructive organizational culture and atmosphere; non-professional factors in promotion; organizational culture is based on hierarchy and conservative organizational culture. Environmental antecedents include a high-pressure competitive environment and culture; gender and racial differences; a society with a Merit-phobia climate; and a perfectionist family culture.
The consequences of Merit-phobia can also be examined at three levels: individual; organizational; and environmental. Individual consequences include decreased job enthusiasm; Reluctance to share knowledge; increased frustration; increased burnout; decreased performance efficiency; increased distrust in the organization and jeopardizing physical and mental health. Organizational consequences include decreased organizational belonging; decreased organizational citizenship behavior; increased turnover; lack of organizational progress; increased organizational silence; decreased organizational productivity; decreased innovation and creativity; decreased organizational agility; increased organizational indifference; deviant behavior in the workplace; increased self-censorship; loss of transformational leadership style; creation of toxic forces in the organization; creation of unhealthy culture and relationships; loss of training costs; decreased organizational profits; weakening of feedback culture; decreased competitive advantage and increased organizational tension. Environmental consequences also include elite flight, a sense of not belonging to society, erosion of social capital, and a decrease in the attractiveness of the employer brand.