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This study aims to examine the cheating behaviour among accounting students in terms of the extent of neutralization of cheating and the effectiveness of deterrents to cheating of cheaters and non-cheaters. It also aims to examine the differences in the cheating behaviour between males and females of cheaters and non-cheaters groups.

Using a questionnaire survey on academic dishonesty developed by Haines et al. (1986) which was administered to accounting students, 435 usable responses were obtained and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. In achieving the objectives, mean score, standard deviation and independent sample t-tests were performed.

The results on the extent of cheating neutralization revealed that cheaters have significantly greater excuses to cheat than the non-cheaters. In addition, males have greater neutralization for cheating than females. In terms of the effectiveness of the deterrent to cheating measures, there were significant differences between cheaters and non-cheaters on the effectiveness of two deterrents to cheating measures. The comparison between males and females reveals significant differences between the two genders for cheating neutralization as well as the three cheating deterrents for both cheaters and non-cheaters groups.

The present study does not only investigate the differences in the cheating behaviour between cheaters and non-cheaters in terms of neutralization and deterrents to cheating but also provides evidence on the cheating attitude based on gender.

The worst scandals of the world's top companies have turned the attention of researchers towards the function of academic institutions in ethical training of future business leaders because the issue of dishonest behaviour of students becomes very severe, when they exercise the same practice at their place of work. Therefore, the understanding of the factors that affect student's decisions to engage in academic dishonesty is important for academic institutions, in order to reduce its occurrence. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of individual factors, situational factors and ethical factors on academic dishonesty behaviour of students in Pakistan.

A questionnaire‐based field survey was conducted with 500 students across four universities in Pakistan.

It has been found that individual, situational and ethical factors affect on rationalisation of academic dishonesty and this rationalisation shapes actual conduct of academic dishonesty. Moreover, lack of well‐defined policies of the academic dishonesty in higher education is a major determinant of academic dishonesty among students.

The results provide a strong implication for academics. By discouraging such behaviour, academic institutions can help ensure the integrity of the degrees they offer, and help to level the fair grade competition among students.

The research provides a profound investigation of individual, situational and ethical factors as predictors of students’ academic dishonesty. The study is pioneering in its nature to explore two common forms of academic dishonesty, i.e. plagiarism and dual submission among university students. Furthermore, the study used rationalisation of academic dishonesty as a determinant of the actual act of academic dishonesty.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the concept of honesty can shed light on misreporting issues in projects. Research on honesty can be useful for practitioners and researchers in project management, in order to understand and counter the withholding and distortion of relevant information from projects. In moral psychology, dishonesty is often explained as a result of moral neutralization. The paper provides an account of how neutralization can lead to dishonesty in projects.

The current study is based on a literature review of research on misreporting and dishonesty in projects, and of relevant generic studies of honesty.

The author concludes that the phenomenon of moral neutralization can explain dishonesty and misreporting in projects. Honesty can be encouraged by identifying attempts at moral neutralization, and rendering them unacceptable. At the core of this position is the view that the level of honesty amongst project members is most adequately understood and explained from a circumstance rather than a character approach.

The paper is based on a literature review, and needs to be supported by further empirical studies within project management.

The suggested primacy of a circumstance approach to honesty implies that project practitioners should be aware of the phenomenon of moral neutralization. Even people of good moral character can become involved in neutralization, in order to render misreporting acceptable. The central practical challenge can thus be to recognize tendencies of neutralization in one's own and other people's moral reasoning.

The main contribution of this paper is to introduce the concept of honesty in general, and the concept of moral neutralization in particular, to project management research and practice. The paper also suggests concrete ways to redirect attention from character to circumstances, based on more general research findings in social and moral psychology.

This study examines how neutralization strategies affect the efficacy of information system security policies. This paper proposes that neutralization strategies used to rationalize security policy noncompliance range across ethical orientations, extending from those helping the greatest number of people (ethics of care) to those damaging the fewest (ethics of justice). The results show how noncompliance differs between genders based on those ethical orientations.

A survey was used to measure information system security policy noncompliance intentions across six different hypothetical scenarios involving neutralization techniques used to justify noncompliance. Data was gathered from students at a mid-western, comprehensive university in the United States.

The empirical analysis suggests that gender does play a role in information system security policy noncompliance. However, its significance is dependent upon the underlying neutralization method used to justify noncompliance. The role of reward and punishment is contingent on the situation-specific ethical orientation (SSEO) which in turn is a combination of internal ethical positioning based on one's gender and external ethical reasoning based on neutralization technique.

This study extends ethical decision-making theory by examining how the use of punishments and rewards might be more effective in security policy compliance based upon gender. Importantly, the study emphasizes the interplay between ethics, gender and neutralization techniques, as different ethical perspectives appeal differently based on gender.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of perceived risk, ethical judgement, value consciousness, susceptibility to social influence and neutralisation on counterfeit clothes and accessories purchase intention in Egypt.

A single cross-sectional survey was conducted. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 361 counterfeit buyers in Egypt. To test the hypotheses, partial least squares-structural equation model was applied.

The results indicate that neutralisation, perceived risk and susceptibility to social influence significantly impact attitudes towards counterfeiting and purchase intentions, whereas value consciousness impacts counterfeit purchase intention. In addition, attitudes mediate the effects of perceived risk, susceptibility to social influence and neutralisation on purchase intention.

Brand producers/retailers and the government need to adhere to a number of practices to curb counterfeit demand, mainly by tackling the neutralisation’s impacts, demonstrating various risks of counterfeiting and developing a collective attitude against counterfeiting.

This study contributes to the ethical decision-making literature by empirically testing and quantifying the impact of neutralisation on shaping counterfeit buyers’ attitudes and purchase intention.

Deviant consumer behavior (DCB) has serious negative effects on organizations, employees and other customers. While research to date has largely focused on understanding why consumers engage in deviant behaviors, less focus has been placed on exploring how to deter them. This paper aims to shift the conversation from research exploring why consumers engage in deviant behaviors to understanding how DCB could be deterred.

In this conceptual paper, a research agenda of deterrence tactics is provided with associated propositions to guide future research in the field of DCB.

A deterrence–neutralization–behavior (DNB) framework is proposed to underpin the seven deterrence tactics outlined in this research agenda. The DNB framework illustrates the positive relationship between neutralization techniques and engagement in DCB, because the techniques reduce the level of cognitive dissonance associated with performing a deviant act beyond an individual’s deviance threshold. The framework adds a new proposed moderating role of deterrence tactics. Deterrence tactics are mechanisms that will reintroduce cognitive dissonance, previously reduced through a neutralization technique, by presenting the consumer with a competing piece of information that challenges their attitudes, beliefs or behavior. Therefore, the authors propose that certain deterrence tactics could diminish the positive effect of different neutralization techniques on DCB if the tactics challenge the justifications consumers are using to excuse their actions – subsequently reintroducing cognitive dissonance.

Practically, this paper is the next step in an effort to provide evidence-based solutions for managers seeking to reduce the negative impact that deviance has on the organization.

To date, research has focused on understanding why DCB occurs with limited attention on how it can be deterred. The value in this paper is in proposing a series of deterrence tactics that are theoretically matched to established antecedents and neutralization techniques associated with DCB. Overall, this paper provides a future research agenda with propositions to build knowledge on effective deterrence tactics for curbing instances of DCB.

The equation of unified knowledge says that S = f (A,P) which means that the practical solution to a given problem is a function of the existing, empirical, actual realities and the future, potential, best possible conditions of general stable equilibrium which both pure and practical reason, exhaustive in the Kantian sense, show as being within the realm of potential realities beyond any doubt. The first classical revolution in economic thinking, included in factor “P” of the equation, conceived the economic and financial problems in terms of a model of ideal conditions of stable equilibrium but neglected the full consideration of the existing, actual conditions. That is the main reason why, in the end, it failed. The second modern revolution, included in factor “A” of the equation, conceived the economic and financial problems in terms of the existing, actual conditions, usually in disequilibrium or unstable equilibrium (in case of stagnation) and neglected the sense of right direction expressed in factor “P” or the realization of general, stable equilibrium. That is the main reason why the modern revolution failed in the past and is failing in front of our eyes in the present. The equation of unified knowledge, perceived as a sui generis synthesis between classical and modern thinking has been applied rigorously and systematically in writing the enclosed American‐British economic, monetary, financial and social stabilization plans. In the final analysis, a new economic philosophy, based on a synthesis between classical and modern thinking, called here the new economics of unified knowledge, is applied to solve the malaise of the twentieth century which resulted from a confusion between thinking in terms of stable equilibrium on the one hand and disequilibrium or unstable equilibrium on the other.

Despite the prominence of ethics in mainstream marketing and sales literature, studies on the role of unethical sales practices remain sparse. As a result, we sought to fill this void by reviewing and integrating the available research on unethical sales practices.

A systematic methodology is used to review the literature. The data study covered peer-reviewed journal publications from 2008 through 2020.

Our investigation uncovered patterns (situational ethical behavior, ethical sales organizational culture, ethical leadership of salespeople, and unethical behavior). We suggest promising avenues for further research by concluding our methodological and theoretical contribution.

Today’s sales profession is continually evolving, putting increased demand on salespeople to adapt to new norms. Salespeople may be enticed to engage in unethical sales tactics in these situations, endangering not just themselves, but also their organizations and clients. This research contributes to the unique nature of ethics among sales people.

This study aims to scrutinize the modus operandi of global financial frauds in Islamic financial institutions and assesses whether those frauds can be prevented using High Standards of Shariah Governance.

A qualitative research methodology is deployed to conduct this study by analyzing and scrutinizing academic journals, reports, regulatory guidelines and articles.

The findings in this study show that the modus operandi ranges from bribery, forged documents, unlawful profiteering, credit limit allowance ignorance, Ponzi scheme, culprit collaboration from inside and outside the banks. This paper also argues that the centralized and high-standard Shariah governance framework better prevents fraud by providing better Shariah supervision and risk management measures.

The observations in this study are limited to financial fraud at Islamic financial institutions that happened in the 21st century with more than $100m in financial loss or penalty.

This study may contribute significantly by providing insight for regulators to strengthen the Shariah governance framework in their respective countries. It also benefits Islamic financial institutions by enhancing their capacity to anticipate future financial fraud.