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Introduction Academic cheating remains a persistent ethical concern within accounting education, with implications for professional integrity and public trust. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study examines the extent to which attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control predict cheating behaviour among accounting students in Ghanaian higher education institutions. Methods Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 404 accounting students at a higher education institution in Ghana. The proposed hypotheses were tested using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM). Results The findings reveal that, among the TPB constructs, only subjective norms exerted a statistically significant positive effect on cheating behaviour. Discussion The study's results highlight the relative importance of social influence in shaping unethical academic behaviour and underscore the relevance of TPB in explaining cheating behaviour within accounting education, particularly in socially driven academic contexts. The study recommended that institutions use clear codes of conduct, consistent communication about integrity, and peer-led initiatives to promote collective responsibility and reduce the normalisation of cheating.
Kwarteng et al. (Thu,) studied this question.