The study aims to investigate the influence of critical socio-cultural factors common in developing countries on the ethical behaviour of professional accountants and the extent to which their self-control strengthens or weakens the relationships.
This paper relied on the quantitative approach to collect data from 366 professional accountants and used the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique to test hypotheses in the study.
This paper established that susceptibility to positive peer influence, materialism and political trust influence the ethical behaviour of professional accountants. Also, self-control moderates the relationship between susceptibility to positive peer influence and ethical behaviour of professional accountants. However, self-control does not moderate the relationships between materialism and ethical behaviour as well as political trust and ethical behaviour of professional accountants.
The regulatory institutions should review the existing ethical codes and standards to clarify the guidelines on conflicts of interest, financial temptations, materialistic influence and other related matters. Further, training programs must integrate self-control lessons. These programs should focus on enhancing self-control skills, particularly in situations where peer influence and political mistrust are entrenched.
This paper demonstrates the novelty in how critical socio-cultural factors could be contingent on individual circumstances and personal idiosyncrasies in influencing ethical behaviour.
