INTENTION FOR BRIBERY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PERSONAL NORMS

Abstract

Bribery and corruption are serious issues in Malaysia as reflected by its Corruption Perception Index which is at 53 points and the country was ranked 61 out of 180 countries surveyed. Bribery and corruption have long been seen as a significant impediment to socio-economic growth. This study investigates the quantitative relationship between the components of the Theory of Planned Behavior and the intention to commit bribery practices. Centered upon a literature review, a research framework was developed positing that attitude and subjective norms contribute positively to the intention to commit bribery practices while perceived behavioral control has a negative relation. Personal norms are considered as mediators to further strengthen the relationship. There have been limited studies examining the intention to commit bribery practices among students in Malaysia, as most studies tend to focus on the existing workforce. People do not realize the importance of identifying intentions to commit bribery practices of our future workforce in the hope of eradicating the culture of bribe giving and receiving. The questionnaire was distributed to 302 students currently enrolled in a Malaysian institution of higher learning. The results of the study have shown that a link exists between social norms and perceived behavioral control with intent to commit bribery practices. However, the connection between attitude and the intention to commit bribery practices was discovered to be insignificant. As for the mediating role of personal norms, it was discovered that personal norms only strengthen the link connecting perceived behavioral control and intention to commit bribery practices. These findings would be useful in the efforts to curb bribery practices within Malaysia by providing insights as to what the elements are that predict an individual’s intention to commit bribery practices and therefore ethics programs and courses can be specifically tailored to address these elements.