Who is Corrupt? Heterogeneity in Moral Preferences and Corruptive Behavior

Abstract

Corruption is ubiquitous in practice and has severe negative consequences for organizations and societies at large. This paper focuses on an issue largely neglected in research on corruption: Who is more likely to resist corruption and why? Drawing on a laboratory experiment, we propose that individuals high in moral commitment are less likely to engage in corrupt behaviors and forego financial benefits. Specifically, we posit that individuals refrain from corruption (i) the more they endorse integrity as a protected value and (ii) the higher their level of Honesty-Humility. The results of a two-step experiment largely support our expectation: people who treat compromises to integrity as unacceptable were less willing to accept bribes, and Honesty-Humility decreased bribe-giving. The findings are robust to demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, cultural background) and additional personal characteristics (e.g., risk tolerance, dispositional greed) and have important implications for ongoing theory-building efforts and business practice.