Advancing the Informal Networks Practice Lens: Tie Dynamics, Moral–Ethical Tensions, and Contextual Realities

Wasta, a deeply ingrained social practice in Arab societies, is undergoing significant evolution in response to the pressures of modern managerial practices. Historically  central to decision-making processes, particularly in HRM, wasta has often been portrayed as a context-specific phenomenon, with limited exploration of the dynamics driving its adaptation or evolution, and has been constrained by binary ethical framings. We adopt the informal practice lens, build on informal networks theory and incorporate a contextual perspective grounded in institutional theory to examine how wasta evolves and adapts within HRM in Jordan’s unique position as a transitioning economy. We employ a qualitative approach and draw on data from 40 semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders in Jordan. The findings provide a nuanced understanding of wasta as an evolving informal practice shaped by network ties, ethical reasoning and contextual realities and pressures. First, wasta operates as a heterogeneous and evolving informal practice through two distinct forms of ties: bonding and bridging. This distinction reflects the intra-construct variation within wasta, which varies by ethnic background and sector, highlighting its capacity to adapt to different institutional pressures and organizational contexts. Second, we find that wasta is ethically negotiated rather than universally accepted or rejected, within contradictory institutional context, by engaging in ethical pluralism—drawing on multiple coexisting moral reference points—and managing paradoxical moral logics through reflexive balancing of values, thus moving beyond binary moral assessments. Finally, institutional pressures interact in complex ways, and wasta persists not merely as a workaround to bureaucratic inefficiencies but as an institutionalized practice embedded in both formal and informal organizational structures.