The Role of Moral Disengagement and Perceived Ethical Climate in Match-Fixing Susceptibility Amongst Athletes

Match-fixing represents a major threat to sports integrity. However, evidence on mechanisms underlying the psychological processes 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, Mage = 22.07, SD = 5.64, 83.4% males) competed measures of match-fixing susceptibility, moral disengagement and perceptions of the ethical climate in their team. The results indicated a positive relationship between moral disengagement and match-fixing susceptibility. Perceived 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 levels of perceived team ethical climate. The findings of the study provide valuable information on the interplay of moral disengagement and perceptions of team ethical climate in predicting susceptibility to engage into match-fixing.