TITLE:
Ascertaining Ghana’s Dominant Cultural Dimensions Using the Globe Cultural Framework and Examining Its Relationship with the Identifiable Traits of Corruption
AUTHORS:
Abubakari Mohammed Gali, Dominik Heil
KEYWORDS:
Corruption, Culture, GLOBE Framework, Ghana
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.4,
June
4,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study explores the intersection between national culture and corruption in Ghana by applying the GLOBE cultural framework to examine how dominant cultural dimensions influence perceptions of corrupt practices. In this study, corruption perception is conceptualized as the socially and culturally shaped understanding of what constitutes corruption, including how individuals interpret, evaluate, and morally judge actions such as bribery, nepotism, and abuse of public office. This goes beyond measuring perceived prevalence or tolerance, focusing instead on how corruption is defined within a given cultural context. Drawing on a sequential mixed-methods approach, the research first identified core corruption traits through qualitative inquiry and then validated them quantitatively within a large sample of public-sector workers (N = 632). The qualitative findings revealed that Ghanaians conceptualize corruption as the misuse of public office for personal or familial gain, with bribery, nepotism, and abuse of power emerging as recurring themes. These insights informed the construction of a culturally grounded corruption scale comprising five dimensions: public betrayal-based, inducement-based, abuse-of-power-based, public rule violation-based, and unethical secrecy-based corruption. Quantitative analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) demonstrated that Ghana’s cultural profile is most strongly characterized by future orientation and in-group collectivism. The results further showed that cultural dimensions significantly shape corruption perception. In-group collectivism and power distance were positively linked to greater acceptance of favoritism and nepotism, while performance orientation was inversely related to corruption perception. The findings confirm that corruption in Ghana is not only a governance issue but also a culturally embedded and socially constructed phenomenon.