ATTITUDES TO CHEATING AS A PREDICTOR OF ACTUAL CHEATING BEHAVIOUR: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS OF MASTERS PROGRAMMES IN BUSINESS IN SLOVAKIA AND CROATIA

The aim of this study was to gain an insight into the attitudes of students of masters programmes in business towards cheating in exams and how to prevent this and instigate behavioural change. This was done by measuring the actual incidence of cheating, as well as the relationship between attitudes towards cheating and actual behaviour, in order to predict the willingness to cheat. The practical problem was solved by means of selected scientific theories and approaches to attitude and behavioural change in universities and business organisations. The results of the research presented are based on a questionnaire survey conducted among students of masters programmes in business in Slovakia (N=241) and in Croatia (N=156). The questionnaire examined the ethical attitude towards cheating (N=5 items) and the methods applied to cheat in exams (N=10 items). The survey revealed that 83.4% of Slovak and 93% of Croat students of masters programmes in business engaged in some form of cheating behaviour and that the attitude of Slovaks and Croats to cheating statistically significantly differed. A positive attitude towards cheating was found to be held by 17% of Slovak students and 18.6% of Croat students (statistically insignificant difference), a neutral attitude by 47.3% of Slovak students and 30.1% of Croat students (statistically significant difference), and a negative attitude by 34.4% of Slovak students and 51.3% of Croat students (statistically significant difference). The lowest level of cheating behaviour was among those students with a negative attitude to cheating (Slovak sample 19.1% or N=16 hypocritical students; Croatian sample 44.3% or N=35 hypocritical students). Having a positive or neutral attitude to cheating was an excellent predictor of cheating behaviour; a negative attitude proving much weaker. The obtained results have strong implications for the reputations and credibility of universities, as well as have a major impact on organisational behaviour/human resources management (OB/HRM) in business organisations. For universities, the implementation of the Ajzen theory of planned behaviour is proposed. For cheating behaviour in business organisations, preventive and reactive OB/HRM measures are proposed.