purpose: Dark networking refers to a set of informal, invisible, and sometimes unethical interactions in which some employees or managers gain unfair influence in decision-making processes, resource allocation, or organizational appointments by using special relationships. These types of networks often operate outside of transparent and legal mechanisms and can disrupt the healthy functioning of the organization. Therefore, given the importance of this phenomenon, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying and analyzing the factors and consequences of dark networking in organizations using the FCM method and the Gaffey software.

Method: The present study is applied in terms of its purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of its data collection method. The statistical population of the study, in both qualitative and quantitative sections, is managers and employees of government organizations in Lorestan province (Water and Sewage Department, Lorestan University), 21 of whom were selected using purposive sampling method and based on the theoretical saturation principle. The data collection tool in the qualitative part is an interview, the validity and reliability of which was confirmed using content validity and theoretical validity, and the method of intra-coder and inter-coder reliability. Also, the data collection tool in the quantitative part is a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which was confirmed using content validity and test-retest reliability. For data analysis in the qualitative part, the content analysis approach and coding method using MaxQDA software were used, and in the quantitative part, the fuzzy cognitive map method was used.Findings: The research findings show