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This paper aims to review corporate fraud, as a concept, and the emerging research trends in corporate fraud research from 1957 to 2022 using bibliometric analysis techniques.

A total of 7,750 publications from the Scopus database were first assessed using performance analysis to explore the descriptive nature of the bibliographic data, and subsequently, citation, co-citation, co-occurrence and bibliographic coupling analyses were conducted using the VOSviewer software.

The results indicate there has been increasing growth in fraud research over the years, especially since the global corporate scandals of 2008. Although fraud is a global issue, the results suggest that most extant studies originate from developed economies, with a high level of collaboration amongst scholars in these countries. In addition, the co-occurrence analysis indicates that research into corporate fraud has largely focused on its determinants and corruption. The determinants identified are further clustered in the paper as individual, organizational and national-level factors.

The findings should inform practitioners and policymakers of the state of knowledge on corporate fraud which could be useful in developing strategies and policies to mitigate its occurrence.

The study points to the need for research collaborations among scholars in developing economies to increase investigations into the occurrences of fraud.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to holistically assess the intellectual structure of corporate fraud studies from its inception and the trends over time.

This paper aims to investigate the views of employees on the motives behind frequently reported fraudulent activities at the workplace. Using the fraud triangle theory (FTT) as the theoretical lens, the study examines the effect of pressure, opportunity and rationalization on fraudulent acts by employees at the workplace.

The study follows a correlational quantitative approach using questionnaires as the main data collection tool. A total of 243 valid responses from employees working in different state-owned enterprises in Ghana were used in the empirical analysis. The hypothesized relationships of the study were tested using the partial least square-structural equation modelling technique.

The results from the structural analysis showed that pressure, rationalization and opportunity are important in explaining why employees engage in fraudulent activities at the workplace.

The findings do not only provide empirical support for the applicability of the FTT in the Ghanaian context but most importantly offer some useful insights into the fraud discourse from the public sector workers’ perspective.

The purpose of this study is to examine citizens’ perceptions of government performance and its impact on their willingness to pay taxes.

Data from the Afrobarometer round eight surveys, with a substantial 39,624 observations across 34 African countries, was analysed using ordinary least squares.

The authors uncover compelling evidence that although Africans generally have a positive attitude towards paying taxes, their decision to pay taxes is influenced by their perceptions of the government’s performance. Specifically, they find that perceptions of how the government handles economic management, provides basic health needs and protects the rights of people with disabilities significantly influence individuals’ willingness to pay taxes. Surprisingly, the authors find that although Africans rate their governments as high performers in resolving conflicts, that demotivates them from paying taxes.

These findings emphasise that citizens’ tax compliance goes beyond simple willingness; they also expect governments’ performance to meet their expectations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to examine individual taxpayers’ perceptions of their government’s performance and its role in enhancing tax compliance across Africa.

This paper aims to investigate the prevalence of asset misappropriation at the workplace and examines the dominant factors that influence individuals to misappropriate assets at the workplace. Relying on the most recent theory on fraud (the stimulus/pressure, capability, opportunity, rationalization and ego (S.C.O.R.E. model) as the theoretical basis, the study examines the effect of pressure, rationalization, capability, opportunity/strength of internal control system and ego on asset misappropriation at the workplace while controlling for the effect of ethical values.

A total of 883 valid responses from individuals working in various organizations in Ghana were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. The hypothesized relationships of the study were tested by means of a structural model analysis using the partial least square based structural equation modelling technique.

Results from the structural model analysis demonstrate that individuals misappropriate assets at their workplace due to pressures they face, their ability to rationalize their actions as not wrong, their capabilities and their egos. The results, however, indicate that the extent to which an individual will misappropriate asset depends, to a large extent, on the person’s perception of the strength of internal control mechanisms at the workplace. The findings of the study make significant contributions to the fraud discourse.

Theoretically, the study is among the first to provide empirical support for the applicability of the S.C.O.R.E. model in the fraud literature. Again, this study extends knowledge on occupational fraud literature by examining an area that has received the least research attention: asset misappropriation. The study also highlights the important role of internal controls in reducing the occurrence of asset misappropriation at the workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the propensity of business students to engage in unethical behaviour in the field of work. The study further examines the effect of temptation on the propensity of an individual to engage in an unethical conduct.

A survey method of research was used, and a set of questionnaires was developed and administered to the respondents. Data were collected from 551 undergraduate students from University of Ghana Business School and the partial least square structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse the data.

The results indicate that the likelihood of students engaging in an unethical conduct is high when tempted. Students who are desirous of getting rich, who lack self-control and whose way of thinking are affected when found in tempting situations have high propensity to engage in unethical conduct.

The findings of this study provide some useful insights to the corporate world on the behavioural intentions of future graduates in tempting situations.

This study highlights the effect of temptations on an individual’s propensity to engage in an unethical conduct.

This paper aims to explore the relationship among personality traits, tax morale and tax evasion intention of students. Using the five-factor model of personality ratings, this study hypothesizes that agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion and neuroticism are good predictors of both tax morale and tax evasion intentions of individuals. Further, this paper argues that tax morale correlates negatively with tax evasion intention.

A survey method was adopted and questionnaires were developed to elicit responses for the study. The study hypotheses were tested structurally using the partial least square-structural equation modelling technique.

The results of the study demonstrate the existence of a positive and statistically significant relationship between three dimensions of the personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience) and tax morale. Consistent with the expectation, the study also finds tax morale to be significant and negatively associated with tax evasion intention.

This study concludes from the findings that improving the tax morale of individuals could be an important way by which tax authorities can improve voluntary tax compliance and reduce the incidence of tax evasion by individuals.

The study uses all the dimensions of the five-factor model to examine the tax evasion intention of individuals. It also contributes to the theoretical literature by highlighting the mediating role of tax morale in the relationship between personality traits and tax evasion intention from an African perspective.

This paper investigates the determinants of compulsive buying behaviour (CBB) and ascertains the effect of CBB on the propensity of an individual to be dependent on loans and fall into financial trouble. The study additionally examines the moderating effect of financial management on the hypothesized relationships.

The survey method of research was adopted using questionnaires as the principal means of data collection. The predicted relationships of the study were tested using the partial least square structural equation modelling technique.

The authors’ results suggest materialism, socioeconomic status and financial management skills of an individual are significant predictors of CBB. The authors also find CBB to be positively associated with loan dependence and the authors’ analysis suggests financial management skills moderate the hypothesized relationships.

Findings of this study suggest buying compulsively increases the risks of over-dependence on loans and can be indirectly associated with the risk of individuals falling into financial trouble.

The findings highlight the adverse effects of CBB on loan dependence and financial trouble and the moderating effect of financial management on the dominant factors that influence CBB.