Özet:

Abstract Academic cheating proves to be a concern in the professional education of students. In this context, the culture of the individuals (self-interest) and the environment (ethical climate) that meet may explain such behaviors. This study aimed to analyze the influence of ethical climate on academic cheating conduct mediated by self-interest among accounting students. The study is characterized as descriptive, quantitative, and of the survey type. The sample included 158 responses from accounting students from public and private universities located in southern Brazil. Exploratory factorial analysis was used for analyzing the data, and the partial least squares Structural Equation Modeling for testing the hypotheses. The results point out that the ethical climate perceived by the students influences self-interest and academic cheating conduct negatively, and that self-interest positively influences academic cheating conduct. It was also observed that self-interest acts as a mediator variable in the relationship between ethical climate and academic cheating conduct. The findings demonstrate that the cheating conduct may be motivated by the defense of student self-interest, besides being minimized by the ethical climate present in the university environment. In this sense, the study contributed to the accounting education literature by emphasizing the importance of rules and social responsibility in the conduct of undergraduate students. Also, by demonstrating that both personal and academic environment aspects may mold student behavior. From the exposed, greater dissemination and monitoring of programs that encourage good conduct is suggested, with the goal of propagating ethically accepted practices to avoid an environment conducive to cheating.

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