Article: Silent strategies: navigating the complex web of quiet firing and quiet quitting with social capital mediation Journal: International Journal of Business Information Systems (IJBIS) 2026 Vol.53 No.5 pp.1 - 25 Abstract: The workplace is expected to foster a shared sense of common objectives and direction among employees in order to encourage emotional bonding and promote high levels of engagement, rather than engaging in covert tit-for-tat strategies between employers and employees. This study aims to examine the effects of quiet firing on quiet quitting as covert workplace tactics. The results indicate that quiet firing exerts a significant positive influence on quiet quitting, and that social capital functions as a negative mediator in the relationship between quiet firing and quiet quitting. This study extends the emerging literature by providing an empirical examination of the relationship between quiet firing and quiet quitting, while identifying the mediating role of social capital. Thereby, it advances understanding of the mechanisms through which organisational practices influence employee withdrawal behaviours and offers evidence from the underexplored context of the Iranian oil, gas, and petroleum industry. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Silent strategies: navigating the complex web of quiet firing and quiet quitting with social capital mediation

Authors: Ebrahim Rajabpour; Hazratgul Mohammadi; Azadeh Amoozegar; Mohammad Falahat; Sedigheh ‎Shakib; Mahdi Mohamed Omar

Addresses: School of Business and Economics, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran ' School of Business and Economics, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran ' Faculty of Education and Liberal Arts, INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Putra Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia ' Strategic Research Institute (SRI), Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), Technology Park Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' ELTEM Research and Development, Central Asian University Tashkent, Uzbekistan ' Faculty of Economics and Management, Jamhuriya University of Science and Technology, Mogadishu, Somalia

Abstract: The workplace is expected to foster a shared sense of common objectives and direction among employees in order to encourage emotional bonding and promote high levels of engagement, rather than engaging in covert tit-for-tat strategies between employers and employees. This study aims to examine the effects of quiet firing on quiet quitting as covert workplace tactics. The results indicate that quiet firing exerts a significant positive influence on quiet quitting, and that social capital functions as a negative mediator in the relationship between quiet firing and quiet quitting. This study extends the emerging literature by providing an empirical examination of the relationship between quiet firing and quiet quitting, while identifying the mediating role of social capital. Thereby, it advances understanding of the mechanisms through which organisational practices influence employee withdrawal behaviours and offers evidence from the underexplored context of the Iranian oil, gas, and petroleum industry.

Keywords: economic growth; social capital; quiet firing; developing countries; gas and petroleum industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2026.156549

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2026 Vol.53 No.5, pp.1 - 25

Published online: 28 Sep 2026 *

Title: Silent strategies: navigating the complex web of quiet firing and quiet quitting with social capital mediation

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