Compliance Attitudes Research Articles

This Side of the Law: Evaluating Citizens' Attitudes Toward Legal Compliance

A fundamental concern of government is getting citizens to comply with its laws. Yet, citizen beliefs on the importance of following the law have received relatively little attention in political science scholarship. People's feelings regarding legal compliance are driven by a dynamic and nuanced set of influences. In this study we explore the degree to which people are committed to the rule of law and the importance of legal obedience. We employ a structural equation modeling approach to assaying the factors that influence citizens' beliefs regarding the importance of following the law. We find that citizens' perceptions on the legitimacy of legal institutions and justice system scandals, among other considerations, can impact the importance citizens' attach to obeying the law. Some factors also wield indirect effects on compliance attitudes by influencing citizens' views regarding the legitimacy of courts. Our paper provides novel insights on this core aspect of government-citizen dynamics.

Deterrence and punishment experience impacts on ISP compliance attitudes

PurposeThe paper aims to examine the inconclusive impacts of sanction-related deterrence on employee information security policy (ISP) compliance from the extant literature. It proposes that the disparate findings can be partially explained by two factors: investigating the mediating impact of attitudes on sanction effects instead of directly on behavioral intentions and examining employees with and without previous punishment experiences separately.Design/methodology/approachThe paper relied upon survey data from 239 employees of a large governmental organization with a robust ISP and security education and training awareness program.FindingsThe paper provides empirical evidence that the rational estimation of sanction effects impacts the cognitive component of attitudes to develop a positive or negative attitude toward performing the ISP directed behavior. Furthermore, this attitudinal effect (created by sanction threats) will be biased depending on whether the employee has experienced, personally or vicariously, any previous punishment for violating the ISP.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the chosen research approach (self-reported survey data) and context (single hierarchical organization and a very specific security threat), the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further in different organizational and threat contexts.Practical implicationsOrganizations should have a thorough understanding of how their employees’ perceive sanctions in relationship to their prior experiences before implementing such policies.Originality/valueThe paper addresses previous research calls for examining possible mediation variables for deterrence effects and impacts of punishment experiences on employee ISP compliance.

Compliance Scorecard on Financial Risk Management Disclosure (IFRS 7): Evidences among Publicly-Listed Banks in the Philippines

This paper determines the compliance rate of financial institutions listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on the financial risk management disclosure requirement as specified under the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 7). Specifically, it aimed to establish the relationship between the level of compliance to company characteristics as indicated by age, asset size and profitability rate. The study employed descriptive-correlation design and Cramer’s V model to achieve the objectives of the study. Through purposive sampling technique, 15 annual reports for the year 2012 of selected listed banks in the Philippines were downloaded from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) website. Findings of the study revealed that while financial risk management disclosure was generally high and manifested from this set of respondents, no significant relationship had been observed when the compliance level was analyzed according to profile. This suggests that company age, size and profitability cannot predict or influence adherence to IFRS 7. Further, it implies that the compliance attitude of banks towards reporting standards are driven by and can be explained by other variables or factors apart from plain demographics.

Relevance of Tax Audit and Tax Investigation in Nigeria

Compliance attitude of tax payers in Nigeria is not encouraging the relevant tax authorities. The reasons for non-compliance usually premised on tax injustice in Nigeria. An obligation to pay taxes is a constitutional issue and it is without a return for benefit or direct returns from the government. This study aimed at investigating the relevant of tax audit and tax investigation in revenue generation in Nigeria. Contents analysis was employed in discussion and concluding this study. The place of tax audit and tax investigation in tax revenue generation in Nigeria cannot be underestimated. The skills involve is a must learnt for the relevant staff of tax authorities.

Career stage and truck drivers’ regulatory attitudes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether or not early, mid, late career stage truck drivers view the safety regulations differently and how drivers’ regulatory attitudes influence their compliance attitudes and intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis survey study is designed to evaluate the differences in truck drivers’ attitudes toward safety regulations across career stages. Moreover, the study applies ordinary least squares path analysis to determine the influence of drivers’ regulatory attitudes on compliance attitudes and intentions.FindingsResults revealed that drivers in early and late career stages harbor different perceptions of the burden safety regulations place on driving operations, the effectiveness of driver-focused safety regulations in maintaining road safety, and the acceptability of certain unsafe acts. Moreover, drivers’ attitudes toward regulations directly and indirectly influenced compliance attitudes and intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThe participant sample was taken from employees of four large motor carriers operating refrigerated and dry box trailers over the road in interstate commerce. While the sample is roughly representative of this segment, the authors recommend caution in generalizing the findings across the diverse US trucking industry as a whole.Practical implicationsFindings suggest that motor carrier management should tailor safety and regulatory familiarization training across career stages. Moreover, carriers should provide targeted communication regarding the effectiveness of regulations and impact of regulations on driving operations in order to alleviate drivers’ negative attitudes toward regulations where possible.Originality/valueThis study marks the first application of career stage theory to the motor carrier safety context. This study also provides further evidence as to the efficacy of drivers’ attitudes toward safety regulations in predicting drivers’ compliance attitudes and intentions. A better understanding of these phenomena may lead to improved compliance and safety.

The Roles of Awareness, Sanctions, and Ethics in Software Compliance

ABSTRACTMonitoring agencies continue to express concern over the use of unlicensed business software in organizations because of the ethical, legal, and financial implications of noncompliance. We constructed a multiple mediation model based on protection motivation theory in order to examine the threat and coping evaluation processes of employees regarding software license compliance. The responses of 138 organizational employees were used to empirically test the research model. The research model helps explain why compliance awareness influences compliance attitudes and behavior. The empirical findings indicate that compliance attitudes result from both consequence and coping appraisals with ethical beliefs having a stronger influence on compliance attitudes compared to the threat of sanctions. Furthermore, awareness drives the formation of threat and coping beliefs and directly influences attitude. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings that will enable organizations to meet the compliance challenge.

Good Europeans? How European identity and costs interact to explain politician attitudes towards compliance with European Union law

ABSTRACTDoes European identity increase politicians’ support for compliance with European Union (EU) law? Adopting a political psychology approach, this study for the first time examines the effect of European identity on politicians’ attitudes toward compliance with EU law. I offer a cognitive-interactionist theory and argue that European identity, compliance costs and the interaction between identity and costs shape actors’ support for compliance. Using an original survey of German parliamentarians, I show that European identity and the level of compliance costs are both important predictors of compliance attitudes, and European identity moderates the effect of costs on support for compliance. This study facilitates a new research agenda by bringing the individual politician to the study of compliance with EU law, and builds a bridge between instrumental and normative models of compliance.

Effect of Education Intervention on Prevention of Bloodborne Infections for Health Care Workers in Family Medicine Centers , Suez Canal University in Ismailia City , Egypt

Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at particular risk for occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Objective: to assess the effect of education intervention on knowledge, attitude and practice of (compliance with) preventive measures of bloodborne infections (BBIs) by health care workers. Methods: The study was a pre-post quasi- experimental intervention. It was conducted between June and October 2015 in 3 family medicine centers with affliation to Suez Canal University in Ismailia city. Sample was convenient; it included all 82 healthcare workers (family physicians, laboratory technicians, nurses and janitors). Knowledge and attitude were evaluated by a questionnaire. Practice was assessed by observation. Educational training intervention was designed and conducted by the researchers about the common BBIs and standard precautions (SPs) based on guidelines. Results: Statistically significant difference was found between pre and post intervention in means of knowledge, attitude, practice and overall KAP scores of all HCWs (P < 0.001) with large effect size Cohen's d more than .8. The highest median scores of all SPs in pre intervention were for no needle recapping (Mdn=100) with significant difference between pre and post intervention (P <0.001). Conclusions: Continuous periodic education on standard precautions is recommended to cover areas for improvements in knowledge such as alcohol rubbing, that is not the required action on exposure to body fluids and the recommended time of hand washing (40-60 seconds); attitude towards revising guidelines and ensuring availability of infection control supplies; and ensure compliance with hand hygiene, sharps handling, decontamination of spills and wearing gowns.

“Paying tax is part of life”: Social norms and social influence in tax communications

A number of studies on taxpayer interaction, from large-scale surveys to field experiments, reveal that people's tax compliance attitudes and behavior change after they discuss tax with other taxpayers. However, we know very little about the content of these communications and the processes by which they produce changes in tax compliance. To address this knowledge gap, we employed an in-depth analysis of naturally-occurring online discussions about income tax among software developers. Using a discourse analytic framework, we report an empirical analysis of 120 online interactions between taxpayers, providing a categorization of these interactions. Interactions ranged from asking for information about tax regulations and receiving such information, to a variety of interactions aimed at persuading defiant individuals to comply with tax laws. These persuasion techniques varied from stating the benefits of compliance, to threats of severe economic and reputational consequences. Overall, this study is the first in-depth empirical investigation of social influence processes in taxpayer communication. We discuss how the results inform research into social norms and tax compliance, tax communication in social networks, and persuasive messaging in tax compliance campaigns.

Cloud Investigations by European Data Protection Authorities

This deliverable presents the qualitative empirical findings of T:D-4.1 of Work Package 44 of the Cloud Accountability Project. This exploratory deliverable draws on qualitative interviews, documentary analysis and observation data to analyse how and why European data protection authorities (‘EU DPAs’) exercise one of their statutory enforcement powers, namely, investigations more frequently to determine the compliance of cloud providers with the relevant data protection laws. This deliverable presents four arguments. Firstly, regulating Cloud Providers through investigations is a complex process which involves different relationships of co-operation between various actors, such as DPAs operating under distinct data protection laws. In practice, manifold interactions and practices, such as facilitative instruments, are deployed to form and perform such collaborative tasks which are significant to ensure the consistent application and enforcement of common data protection principles (derived from distinct in an increasingly globalised context. Moreover, complexity can also manifest itself through several factors, such as budgetary constraints and pressures from stakeholders including the press, which impact on key aspects of Cloud Investigations. How such complexities are resolved during Cloud Investigations can often involve intricate and context-specific strategies, such as delegating action to a third-party. Secondly, regulation through Cloud Investigation is dynamic as it is a process which involves constant activities from multiple actors. In particular, Cloud Investigations can involve constantly evolving regulatory styles (e.g. from soft to hard to soft) and compliance attitudes which mean that the regulatory encounters between Cloud Providers and EU DPAs during an investigation often involve ceaseless change. Thirdly, Cloud Investigations can, at times, be contested as EU DPAs and Cloud Providers attempt to resist each other's attempts to direct the investigation in particular ways. Finally, we argue that many reasons including the benefits of rapport-building, and relocation of some of the operations of multinational Cloud Providers to Europe, can account for why Cloud Investigations are growing in frequency in Europe. Here we also underline how the construction of specific realities during some Cloud Investigations (e.g. compliance attitudes) can hamper the effectiveness of Cloud Investigations as regulatory tools in the sense of enforcing all the relevant data protection laws.

Small Business Owners' Attitudes Toward GST Compliance: A Preliminary Study

A significant body of research both internationally and in New Zealand has been devoted to understanding the factors that influence compliance with tax law. Early studies on compliance were primarily focused on individuals and income tax. Recent comprehensive reviews of the literature indicate that groups of taxpayers, such as small businesses, and compliance with other tax types, such as consumption taxes, remain under-explored.To contribute to the extant literature, this preliminary study extends prior work on the compliance attitudes or behaviour of small business owners (SBOs) by focusing on their tax attitudes toward New Zealand’s goods and services tax (GST) system. In particular, their perceptions of deterrence (eg chance of being audited or penalised), tax morale, social norms (eg other business taxpayer’s compliance attitudes), perception of the tax system (eg fairness, complexity, tax burden), and tax administration (eg trust in authority) are examined.The results show some evidence of “mental accounting” which is in line with Adams and Webley’s study. Not all SBOs perceived the GST system as being reasonably simple or easy to understand. Many owners also indicated that they relied on accounting software packages for recording their GST transactions and they appeared to assume their tax practitioners would pick up any errors they make. The results further indicate that tax penalty and tax audit are salient in the minds of SBOs. The majority of SBOs always tried to file a correct and timely tax return in view of the potential cost of incurring penalties for not doing so. Although the tax system was perceived as being reasonably simple, issues relating to internet transactions and GST on imports, and the burden of compliance cost of GST were particularly frustrating to SBOs. They also had different personal experiences in their dealings with Inland Revenue and different perceptions of Inland Revenue’s fairness. The SBOs’ GST morale with regards to proper invoicing and classification of goods and services was found to be positive. The majority would not feel good in falsifying invoices or misclassifying goods or services, although some suspected others did engage in such activities. Many are also aware of customers’ preference to pay cash to business owners to avoid GST and one-third of the sampled owners even admitted doing so themselves. These insights have several implications for tax authorities.

The influence of religiosity on taxpayers’ compliance attitudes

Purpose– This paper aims to explore the role of religiosity in determining taxpayers’ attitudes towards tax compliance and discusses likely explanations for the findings in the context of the literature.Design/methodology/approach– A sequential exploratory mixed-methods research design was used in this study. Data were collected using a self-administered survey which involved approximately 300 individual taxpayers in Malaysia, followed by face-to-face interviews with 14 individual taxpayers. Majority of the respondents in both survey and interviews were salaried taxpayers, and the remaining were self-employed taxpayers.Findings– Religiosity is found to have a minimal but statistically significant positive impact on voluntary tax compliance. This probably can be explained by the strong religious values held by many Malaysians, as well as the concept of giving which has been emphasised in almost all religions.Research limitations/implications– Because this study did not differentiate between religious values and moral values in measuring the source of respondents’ internal values, there was a possibility that their internal values may be derived from both sources. Hence, comparing the impact of individuals’ religious values with individuals’ moral values that have no influence from religion on tax compliance is suggested for future research.Practical implications– A new mechanism is suggested to the Malaysian tax authority in regards to the treatment of religious payment to reduce the sense of inequality among citizens and taxpayers.Originality/value– This study enriches the limited literature of tax compliance from the perspective of developing countries, particularly Malaysia, and adds to the limited literature internationally from a religiosity perspective.

Patient Satisfaction as a Possible Indicator of Quality Surgical Care—Reply

Importance In 2010, national payers announced they would begin using patient satisfaction scores to adjust reimbursements for surgical care. Objective To determine whether patient satisfaction is independent from surgical process measures and hospital safety. Design We compared the performance of hospitals that participated in the Patient Satisfaction Survey, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Surgical Care Improvement Program, and the employee Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. Setting Thirty-one US hospitals. Participants Patients and hospital employees. Interventions There were no interventions for this study. Main Outcomes and Measures Hospital patient satisfaction scores were compared with hospital Surgical Care Improvement Program compliance and hospital employee safety attitudes (safety culture) scores during a 2-year period (2009-2010). Secondary outcomes were individual domains of the safety culture survey. Results Patient satisfaction was not associated with performance on process measures (antibiotic prophylaxis, R = −0.216 [P = .24]; appropriate hair removal, R = −0.012 [P = .95]; Foley catheter removal, R = −0.089 [P = .63]; deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, R = 0.101 [P = .59]). In addition, patient satisfaction was not associated with a hospital's overall safety culture score (R = 0.295 [P = .11]). We found no association between patient satisfaction and the individual culture domains of job satisfaction (R = 0.327 [P = .07]), working conditions (R = 0.191 [P = .30]), or perceptions of management (R = 0.223 [P = .23]); however, patient satisfaction was associated with the individual culture domains of employee teamwork climate (R = 0.439 [P = .01]), safety climate (R = 0.395 [P = .03]), and stress recognition (R = −0.462 [P = .008]). Conclusions and Relevance Patient satisfaction was independent of hospital compliance with surgical processes of quality care and with overall hospital employee safety culture, although a few individual domains of culture were associated. Patient satisfaction may provide information about a hospital's ability to provide good service as a part of the patient experience; however, further study is needed before it is applied widely to surgeons as a quality indicator.

Over‐the‐counter vs. prescription medications: are consumer perceptions of the consequences of drug instruction non‐compliance different?

AbstractOver‐the‐counter (OTC) medications are widely available and are extensively used by consumers to treat a range of health maladies. These medications are viewed as both safe and effective when used appropriately. However, the US Food and Drug Administration cautions that very serious adverse reactions frequently result from overdose of common OTC medications. The frequency and severity of these adverse reactions stemming from non‐compliance with OTC usage suggest that these medications may not be treated with the same level of care by consumers as those afforded to prescription drugs. Consequently, the purpose of the present research is to investigate the different perceptions consumers may have regarding the importance of complying with the drug instructions for prescription vs. OTC medications. Results suggest that when considering compliance attitudes and intentions towards the usage instructions of a new and unfamiliar medication, subjects do not perceive there to be an initial difference in the consequences of non‐compliance with drug instructions across the two classification conditions. However, when thinking about OTC and prescription drug instructions in general, subjects tend to take the prescription drug instructions more seriously. While further studies are obviously needed, these preliminary results provide insight into consumer perception of non‐compliance with different classes of medications.

An Effect of Organizational Security Climate on Individual's Opportunistic Security Behavior: An Empirical Study

Drawing upon Griffin and Neal's safety climate and performance model, this study developed an information security climate model. Research model is composed of three research variables that include information security climate, information security compliance attitude, and opportunistic security behavior. Results of the study strongly support the fundamental proposition that the organizational security climate has significant positive influence on the individual's opportunistic security behavior. However, the study also reveals that the organizational climate may not directly associate with the reduction of opportunistic security behavior. Rather the organizational security climate nurtures the favorable attitude of the employee towards the compliance of information security, which in turn discourages opportunistic security behavior.

Firm size and compliance costs asymmetries in the investment services

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find out how effectively implemented are measuring approaches to compliance and whether there is a correlation between the measures implementation, financial specialisation and international activity. The authors evaluate if the regulatory framework implies a measure cost asymmetry, depending both on the proportionality principle and on the existence of different supervisors with an heterogeneous set of enforcement rules.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on a survey involving 84 financial firms (banks, investment companies and insurance companies). Two criteria have been used to interpret the results: the prevailing workability within international and domestic intermediaries; the intermediary typology, creating a distinction between banks other financial intermediaries (FIs) and insurance companies.FindingsItalian financial firms are sensitive to minimise sanctions, but the reputational impact is becoming more important. International firms are more sophisticated than domestic ones for their ability to measure both the probability of non‐compliance events and their severity. Banks show the highest attitude to adopt insurance or financial contracts to minimise the negative impact of non‐compliant behaviours. Small FIs are late in measuring the exposure and losses due to non‐compliance actions.Originality/valueFour years after the Basel Document on compliance, a large percentage of firms is still managing the process within a function with different purposes; nevertheless, reputational impact has become more important. Small intermediaries show a lower attitude to implement a risk management approach, with a capital management sensitivity. This finding addresses the question about the existence of size effect which could reduce the compliance attitude.

Motivational postures and compliance with environmental law in Australian agriculture

Motivational posture theory is applied and extended to the context of Australian agriculture and environmental regulation. Regulatory failure in this area has been observed but little was known of the compliance attitudes and behaviours of farmers prior to this study. Agriculture covers over 60% of Australia’s land surface so this information is vital if environmental sustainability is to be achieved. A mail survey of 5235 farmers across Australia was conducted to examine motivational postures and attitudes to government, environmental problems, environmental laws and regulations and farm management behaviours. Four postures are empirically derived: one associated with compliance, here labelled “Aligned”, and three associated with non- or creative compliance: one Disengaged, one Game playing and one Resistant. Analysis of the characteristics of each group demonstrates that motivational postures are related to place, jurisdiction and degree of regulatory alignment: the degree of agreement between regulatees and regulators on the latter’s role and on the content, process and aims of regulatory interventions. Game players eschew a role for government. The Aligned support both government and regulations. Postures were predictive of beyond compliance behaviour. The Aligned were more likely to undertake beyond compliance behaviours and Game players least likely. Fiscal limitations were identified as restricting beyond compliance behaviours by many farmers. Environmental regulations are often contentious and therefore these findings may be helpful to authorities to more effectively engender compliance so that on-ground outcomes may be secured.

The Fels Effect

As chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Professor Allan Fels blasted his way into popular consciousness by aggressively using the media to promote no- holds-barred enforcement against businesses that breached competition and consumer protection laws. Opinions were sharply divided on the desirability and effectiveness of Allan Fels’ media approach during his chairmanship of the ACCC. This article argues that opinions of the ‘Fels effect’ were based on two opposed, mono-dimensional theories as to how a regulator should behave: one based on conflict and deterrence and the other on cooperation and voluntary compliance. Responsive regulation theory, however, suggests that regulators should be evaluated on multiple dimensions, including whether they are both tough and fair, strategic and sophisticated. This paper reports and analyses survey evidence as to how large businesses do in fact perceive the ACCC across multiple dimensions. We find that Australian businesses may be divided into three groups: those that see the ACCC as threatening; those that see the ACCC as unthreatening; and those that see the ACCC as a professional or responsive regulator. The article goes on to test what impact such differences in opinions have on businesses’ compliance attitudes and compliance management behaviours. Seeing the ACCC as a deterrent threat has some influence on compliance management behaviour. However, when businesses see the ACCC as both strong and fair, this improves both compliance management behaviour and attitudes towards compliance. These findings support responsive regulation theory, but only a minority of businesses in fact saw the ACCC as a responsive regulator.

Planning Small Regions in a Larger Europe: Spatial Planning as a Learning Process for Sustainable Local Development

An enlarged Europe is addressing the challenge of territorial cohesion on the basis of a disciplinary and operative framework formed by a number of evolving documents and provisions to be applied and developed at different administrative and planning levels. Rapid and profound changes have occurred in previous decades as far as institutional framework, the role of actors and issues to be tackled are concerned, within a re-scaling process of territorial governance. In this context, small territories can take advantage of European funds, but experience a hard confrontation with the market economy and supra-local visions, use of resources and infrastructure projects. A decisive role, in many countries, has been gained by regional authorities, which must mediate among various territorial levels, institutions and actors involved in a multilevel governance process. The paper focuses on spatial and regional/territorial planning processes among the European dimension, Member States and regions, on the basis of a case study conducted in Northern Italy. The aim is to determine the role of European spatial planning as a “learning machine” [Faludi, A. (2008) European Territorial Cooperation and Learning, disP 172, (1/2008), pp. 3–10.] able to support processes of mutual learning and cooperation, overcoming the attitude of compliance to upper level schemes and financial programmes rather than innovating usual procedures and territorial planning.

The role of fairness in tax compliance

The purpose of this paper is to study the relation between fairness considerations and tax compliance attitudes and intentions. Data from a large panel survey among small business owners in the Netherlands were analysed. Besides a number of background and control variables the questionnaire contained measures of personal norms, procedural and distributive justice, tax compliance attitudes and intentions to comply with tax rules. Results support the hypothesis that personal norms and justice concerns are related to tax compliance attitudes. Moreover, analyses confirm the hypothesis that distributive fairness positively affects both tax compliance attitudes and intentions to comply among entrepreneurs with relatively low personal norms, while distributive justice has no significant effect among entrepreneurs with high personal norms. Implications of these results for research on tax compliance and for tax policy are discussed. (Netherlands Journal of Psychology, 65, 136-145).