An Exploratory Study on Corruption in Ghana: A Cultural Perspective

Abstract

Debates on culture and corruption have gained global attention among policymakers, development agencies, and scholars over the years due to their overwhelming and enduring effects on the fortunes and growth prospects of many developing countries. Despite extensive discourse on corruption, its precise definition remains contentious. Recent efforts to accurately measure corruption have increasingly focused on understanding the social contexts in which it occurs, with culture emerging as a strong explanatory variable. This research explores the cultural dimensions of corruption in Ghana, critically examining how attributes of Ghanaian culture influence perceptions of corruption and developing a measurement scale to assess these perceptions. Utilizing the GLOBE framework, the study identifies the dominant cultural dimensions of Ghanaians that influence corruption. The study establishes the correlation between culture and corruption, providing theoretical and empirical evidence for a deeper understanding and potential resolutions. Employing a sequential exploratory mixed-method approach grounded in a pragmatic philosophical orientation, the research integrates both qualitative and quantitative methods during data collection. The target population comprised Ghanaian citizens, with qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews and quantitative data obtained using purposive and multistage random sampling methods. Data analysis involved both thematic and parametric techniques. Themes from the qualitative results were used to develop and validate a corruption scale, incorporating the adopted GLOBE Cultural dimensions. The study identified specific traits and attributes that entrench corruption behaviours according to Ghanaian understanding. Additionally, corruption was examined through five distinct lenses, providing a nuanced view supported by cultural relativity theory and social network theory, thereby contributing to existing literature on culture and corruption. Given that Ghanaian culture is shown to significantly influence the understanding of corruption, the study recommends that stakeholders implement culturally sensitive and context-specific interventions as part of anti-corruption strategies. It also advocates for the reinforcement of legal and institutional frameworks to combat corruption and proposes a measurement scale for policy creation and adoption