The role of moral disengagement and ethical climate in match-fixing susceptibility amongst athletes.

Abstract

Match-fixing represents a major threat to the integrity of sport. However, the existing evidence on the mechanisms underlying the psychological processes and contextual influences related to the decision to engage in match-fixing is limited. To address this gap, the present study was designed to investigate the interplay between moral disengagement and ethical climate on match-fixing susceptibility. Competitive athletes from three countries (N = 406, M_age = 22.07, SD = 5.64, 83.4% males) competed measures of match-fixing susceptibility, moral disengagement and team ethical climate. The results indicated a positive relationship between moral disengagement and susceptibility to match-fixing, suggesting that those with higher scores on moral disengagement were more likely to be susceptible to match-fixing. In addition, team internal ethical climate moderated the relationship between moral disengagement and match-fixing susceptibility. A stronger positive relationship emerged between moral disengagement and match-fixing susceptibility in participants with higher than average (+1SD) levels of team ethical climate. Willingness to report violations did not moderate this relationship. The findings of the study provide valuable information on the interplay of moral disengagement and team ethical climate in predicting susceptibility to engage into match-fixing.