Investigating the Relationship Between Fraud and Selfishness:The Mediating Role of Moral Justification in the Accounting Profession

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the relationship between fraud and selfishness and the mediating role of moral justification in the accounting profession.

Methodology: Using data from 366 samples and employing the SmartPLS statistical software, the relationships among variables and the testing of research hypotheses were examined through structural equation modeling using the partial least squares approach.

Findings: The findings indicate that selfishness, through attitudes and social norms, can strengthen fraudulent decisions in ineffective organizational ethical contexts or under high structural pressures. The mediating role of organizational ethical context and moral values in explaining fraudulent behavioral intention is prominent. Although selfishness plays a decisive role in increasing the intention to commit fraud and leads to the formation of moral justifications, moral justification alone is not a determining factor in the occurrence of fraudulent intention. This suggests that the process of developing unethical behaviors is more complex than can be explained solely through cognitive justifications, and other individual and situational factors must also be considered.

Originality/Value: This study aims to present a general structural framework for examining the role of organizational ethical context as a mediating factor, with an emphasis on practical application in education and management.