Favoritism in Seafarer’s Management Perspective of Maritime Industry: A Scale Development and Validation Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of favoritism in ship management. The most important determinant of quality and safety in ship management is human resources. Personnel turnover rate, job satisfaction level of seafarers, organizational commitment, high level and individual well-being of the employees have an important role in ensuring quality and safety. In many investigor studies, it is seen in the results of research that favoritism increases job stress, personnel turnover rate and decreases job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation and teamwork. Design/methodology/approach – Favoritism has a negative impact on safe and quality management of ships. Based on this importance, seafarers’ perceptions were measured, and it was aimed to develop a valid and reliable favoritism scale. The scale questions, which were prepared on the basis of semi-structured interviews and favoritism studies, were applied with 252 different seafarers. Findings – As a result of the factor analyses conducted in SPSS 23, a 22-item favoritism scale consisting of three factors related to demographic and personal characteristics, social rights and opportunities and operational processes was developed. The reliability and validity studies of the scale were conducted, and it was observed that the scale has high reliability. Confirmation was carried out on the AMOS 21 software. According to the model fit indices, the items 31 and 32 were removed, and it was seen that the scale had values accepted by structural equation modelling. Originality/value – In the light of the findings that were obtained, it may be stated that the measurement instrument that was developed within the scope of this study will fill a significant gap in the relevant literature. Nevertheless, organizational behavior issues in ship crew management have been influential in recent years and therefore, it has the quality of being a measurement instrument that could be utilized in future studies.
