Keywords: corruption, decision-making, thinking style, ethical leadership

"Thinking about corrupt thinking- Exploring the Decision-Making Process of Corruption"

This thesis explored the decision-making process underlying corruption and some factors that contribute to that process. This dissertation found that the form of corruption and ethical leadership could affect the decision-making process underlying corruption. The findings revealed that each form of corruption could affect different aspects of the decision-making process. Furthermore, ethical leaders can reduce followers’ corruption by changing their thinking style and leading them to intuitively engage less in corruption. However, the effectiveness of ethical leadership in reducing followers’ corruption could depend on followers’ trait Machiavellianism, which is characterized by a willingness to manipulate and exploit others, a lack of empathy, low affect, an unconventional moral view, and a focus on personal goals. Ethical leadership is less effective in reducing followers’ corruption when the Machiavellianism trait of followers is high.

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Language: English