Exploring the impact of organizational investment on occupational fraud: mediating effects of ethical culture and monitoring control

There has been no clear evidence about whether organizational investment works for countering occupational fraud, and where to focus the investment if it works. In this regard, the present study explored the mediating roles of ethical culture and monitoring control in the ‘organizational investment-occupational fraud’ linkage. Using a sample of 392 Korean banking employees, a series of structural equation models were estimated. The results showed that the perception of increased investment in anti-occupational fraud enhanced two mediating variables, ethical culture and monitoring control. However, only the perception of an improved ethical culture was negatively related to the perceived frequency of occupational fraud with statistical significance. These findings imply that investing in ethical culture is more effective in preventing occupational fraud.