The effect of culture and organisational culture on administrative corruption

Abstract

There is extensive literature on corruption, such as political and corporate corruption, some of which examines factors influencing administrative corruption. However, to the best of our knowledge, the multivariate influences of culture and organisational culture on administrative corruption have not been tested using an integrative approach. This paper attempts to fill the gap by building and testing a comprehensive model. We test a sample of 677 responses that reflect the prospective view of the public in Basra, Iraq, using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. Our study finds that corrupt culture and weak organisational culture have direct effects on administrative corruption, while corrupt culture leads to weak organisational culture. The latter mediates the impact of corrupt culture on administrative corruption. The higher level of social class, the lower the impact of corrupt culture on administrative corruption.