Institutionalizing Ethics, Encountering Misconduct: A Case From Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT This study examines the emergence of ethically problematic research practices during the establishment of an Institutional Research Ethics Committee (IREC) at a newly founded, research‐intensive university in Kazakhstan. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with faculty members, IREC members, and institutional leaders involved in the university's formative years, the study explores how institutional, individual, and contextual factors shaped engagement with research ethics governance. The findings identify practices such as bypassing ethics review, retrospective protocol submissions, limited ethics training among IREC members, and passive participation in review processes. While these practices do not always align with narrow definitions of research misconduct (e.g., fabrication, falsification, plagiarism), they represent significant deviations from core research ethics principles, including accountability, protection of human subjects, professional competence, and adherence to institutional regulations. The study interprets these findings through research ethics frameworks and organizational justice theory, highlighting how institutional uncertainty, diverse academic backgrounds, and perceived procedural and interactional injustice contributed to inconsistent compliance with ethics governance structures. By situating these dynamics within the context of a accelerated university and transition economy system, the study demonstrates how ethics governance may be unevenly institutionalized in accelerated universities. The paper contributes to a more context‐sensitive understanding of unethical research practices beyond conventional misconduct typologies and offers implications for strengthening institutional capacity and ethical oversight in emerging higher education systems.