Covert behaviors commonly known as backstabbing are those actions taken in the absence of a target person in order to destroy his reputation or create some difficulties for him. Given the adverse consequences of backstabbing behaviors for the individual, organization, and society, the present study attempts to identify the causes of these behaviors in public organizations of Mashhad City. The research was of interpretive nature, its approach was qualitative, and its strategy was emergent-based grounded theory. The statistical population included public organizations` managers in Mashhad City. Amongst them, 19 were selected based on purposeful sampling to achieve theoretical saturation. The data gathering tool was semi-structured interview. The results of the interviews were analyzed by theoretical and actual coding which revealed that the causes of backstabbing behaviors can be classified into three categories: individual, managerial, and organizational. Understanding these factors can provide a context through which we can prevent the spread of these behaviors in organizations.