The mechanism of control of corruption and the rule of law: Mediating the effect of culture on terrorism financing

Abstract

Purpose

In this study, the authors aim to investigate the control of corruption (COC) mechanism and the rule of law (ROL) in mediating the effect of culture on terrorism financing. Thus, whether the COC and the ROL can mediate the effect of culture on terrorism financing across 78 countries has been examined. This study can provide additional evidence about the importance of having good institutional quality to hinder any deviant behavior like terrorism financing.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling is used to test the mechanism of the ROL and COC in mediating the effect of culture on terrorist financing (TF). This research tries to investigate the indirect path of culture in TF through COC and ROL and to examine the role of institutions in motivating or demotivating the deviant behaviors.

Findings

The results revealed that COC and ROL completely mediate the relation between culture and TF. This supports the postulation that there is an indirect relationship between culture and TF. Also, the results indicate that ROL is more powerful than COC, as a governmental tool, in controlling TF.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the fact that, according to authors’ research, this is the first study, to the best of their knowledge, that tests the mechanism of the ROL and COC in mediating the effect of culture on TF actions and money laundry.

Citation

Al Qudah, A., Bani-Mustafa, A. and Yamen, A. (2019), "The mechanism of control of corruption and the rule of law: Mediating the effect of culture on terrorism financing", Journal of Money Laundering Control, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 498-514. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-11-2018-0066