Revisiting corruption and culture – are there really cultures more prone to corruption?

Ivan A.  Valdovinos; Mike  Szymanski; Karina  Grabowska

doi:10.23762/FSO_VOL7_NO1_7

Published : 2019-01-22

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2019)

Revisiting corruption and culture – are there really cultures more prone to corruption?

Ivan A. Valdovinos

Mike Szymanski

Karina Grabowska

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23762/FSO_VOL7_NO1_7

Abstract

Corruption, i.e. an abuse of power by a person in a position of authority in exchange for personal benefits, is a major challenge in international business. It increases the cost of doing business and discourages foreign direct investment (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2006). Due to its importance to international business, corruption has been the subject of numerous theoretical and empirical studies which aim to ascertain its antecedents and predictors. National culture (or certain dimensions thereof, in particular) has been found to be a strong predictor of high corruption levels. In this study, we revisit Husted’s (1999) and Seleim and Bontis (2009) seminal articles on the relationship between the dimensions of national culture and the perception of corruption. We retest their hypotheses using newly available measures of culture (the GLOBE Project) and a larger data set (1120 country-year observations) and go on to develop and test a follow-up hypothesis about the role of future orientation as an important predictor of the level of corruption. We juxtapose our results to the original ones and other key studies in the literature on corruption and culture.

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Valdovinos, I. A. ., Szymanski, M. ., & Grabowska, K. . (2019). Revisiting corruption and culture – are there really cultures more prone to corruption?. Forum Scientiae Oeconomia, 7(1), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.23762/FSO_VOL7_NO1_7

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Ivan A. Valdovinos

ivaldovinos@tec.mx

Affiliation:

EGADE Business School

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Dr. Ivan A. Valdovinos – Associate Professor of Finance at EGADE Business School of Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Manchester and a Master’s degree
from Tecnologico de Monterrey. His research interests include administrative and financial accounting, as well as institutional and cultural differences around the world.

Mike Szymanski

mikeszym@tec.mx

Affiliation:

EGADE Business School, Tecnologico de Monterrey

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Dr. Mike Szymanski – Assistant Professor of International Business at EGADE Business School of Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. He holds a Ph.D. in International Management from the Gustavson Business School at the University of Victoria, Canada, and a Master’s degree in strategic management from the Warsaw School of Economics, Poland. His research interests include global leadership skills, multiculturalism, and diversity-
related challenges in organizations.

Karina Grabowska

kar.grabowska@gmail.com

Affiliation:

Uniwersytet Łódzki

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Karina Grabowska – Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Economics and Sociology at the University of Łódz, Poland. She also holds a Master’s degree in international economics. Her research interests include the history and mechanisms of financial crises.