The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian Companies

Corporate ethics and corruption have garnered academic attention in recent decades. This study aims to gain insight into the relationship between ethical commitment and corruption and examine the moderating effect of Shariah compliance on this relationship. This study used 453 Malaysian companies fr...

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Main Authors: Siti Nurain Muhmad, Ahmad Firdhauz Zainul Abidin, Siti Nasuha Muhmad, Ahmad Fadhli Mat Sidik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy 2025-06-01
Series:East Asian Economic Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.11644/KIEP.EAER.2025.29.2.448
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author Siti Nurain Muhmad
Ahmad Firdhauz Zainul Abidin
Siti Nasuha Muhmad
Ahmad Fadhli Mat Sidik
author_facet Siti Nurain Muhmad
Ahmad Firdhauz Zainul Abidin
Siti Nasuha Muhmad
Ahmad Fadhli Mat Sidik
author_sort Siti Nurain Muhmad
collection DOAJ
description Corporate ethics and corruption have garnered academic attention in recent decades. This study aims to gain insight into the relationship between ethical commitment and corruption and examine the moderating effect of Shariah compliance on this relationship. This study used 453 Malaysian companies from 2012 to 2021. The results indicate that strong ethical commitment helps prevent management and employees from engaging in unethical behaviors that can lead to corruption within the company. However, the effect of ethical commitment on reducing corruption remains consistent, irrespective of a company’s Shariah-compliant status. For the separating samples based on the pre- and post-Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2017, the result shows no differences in the relationship between ethical commitment and corruption. However, Shariah compliance companies were found to reduce corruption in the post-MCCG 2017 period. This implies that improving the corporate governance structure seems to better influence corruption levels in Shariah compliance companies. This study contributes to the growing literature on corporate ethics and corruption by empirically examining the role of ethical commitment in mitigating corruption within the context of Malaysian companies. It provides novel evidence on how Shariah compliance influences this relationship, particularly in light of recent regulatory changes brought about by the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2017.
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spelling doaj-art-e5ee52652b864d278fbeee6b22c583a92025-08-20T03:32:40ZengKorea Institute for International Economic PolicyEast Asian Economic Review2508-16402508-16672025-06-0129220124110.11644/KIEP.EAER.2025.29.2.448The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian CompaniesSiti Nurain Muhmad0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8690-9263Ahmad Firdhauz Zainul Abidin1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5371-5291Siti Nasuha Muhmad2https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5319-4166Ahmad Fadhli Mat Sidik3https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0038-4653Universiti Malaysia TerengganuUniversiti Malaysia TerengganuUniversiti Teknologi Mara Cawangan TerengganuKaneka Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.Corporate ethics and corruption have garnered academic attention in recent decades. This study aims to gain insight into the relationship between ethical commitment and corruption and examine the moderating effect of Shariah compliance on this relationship. This study used 453 Malaysian companies from 2012 to 2021. The results indicate that strong ethical commitment helps prevent management and employees from engaging in unethical behaviors that can lead to corruption within the company. However, the effect of ethical commitment on reducing corruption remains consistent, irrespective of a company’s Shariah-compliant status. For the separating samples based on the pre- and post-Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2017, the result shows no differences in the relationship between ethical commitment and corruption. However, Shariah compliance companies were found to reduce corruption in the post-MCCG 2017 period. This implies that improving the corporate governance structure seems to better influence corruption levels in Shariah compliance companies. This study contributes to the growing literature on corporate ethics and corruption by empirically examining the role of ethical commitment in mitigating corruption within the context of Malaysian companies. It provides novel evidence on how Shariah compliance influences this relationship, particularly in light of recent regulatory changes brought about by the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2017.https://dx.doi.org/10.11644/KIEP.EAER.2025.29.2.448ethical commitmentshariah-compliancecorruption
spellingShingle Siti Nurain Muhmad
Ahmad Firdhauz Zainul Abidin
Siti Nasuha Muhmad
Ahmad Fadhli Mat Sidik
The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian Companies
East Asian Economic Review
ethical commitment
shariah-compliance
corruption
title The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian Companies
title_full The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian Companies
title_fullStr The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian Companies
title_full_unstemmed The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian Companies
title_short The Moderating Role of Shariah Compliance on the Relationship between Ethical Commitment and Corruption in Malaysian Companies
title_sort moderating role of shariah compliance on the relationship between ethical commitment and corruption in malaysian companies
topic ethical commitment
shariah-compliance
corruption
url https://dx.doi.org/10.11644/KIEP.EAER.2025.29.2.448
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