A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING INVESTIGATION OF THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR APPLIED TO ACCOUNTING PROFESSORS' FORMAL ENFORCEMENT OF CHEATING RULES

Abstract

This study investigates factors that influence
accounting professors’ formal enforcement of
academic misconduct rules using the Theory of
Planned Behavior (“TPB”) as a theoretical
framework. Obtaining a better understanding of
formal enforcement will inform efforts to improve
it. We emailed survey requests to 8,663 accounting
faculty in 35 countries and received a reasonably
representative sample of 1,207 (13.9% response
rate) complete surveys from 23 countries—
exceeding sample-size requirements for structural
equation modeling to test our TPB model, which
explains 43.3% of the variance in Formal
Enforcement Behavior and 52.4% of Intention,
consistent with past TPB studies. Results indicate
that of the direct antecedents to Intention, Formal
Enforcement Attitude is most important in explaining and predicting professors’ Formal
Enforcement Behavior, followed by Perceived
Behavioral Control and Subjective Norm. Model-fit
results are unsurprisingly mixed but appear
adequate in light of theory. Model estimates and
model-fit statistics are robust to sensitivity checks,
including analysis of only domestic respondents.