As one of the most serious frauds in many public sector institutions, corruption has been viewed as the 'public enemy’ for the last two decades in Indonesia. Many anti-fraud programs have been attempted to counter these corrupt activities. However, to what extent the programs are successful to bring the Indonesian public sectors to become ‘a clean institution’, has not been known yet. Therefore, by applying the OECD Integrity Management System as a framework and semi-structured interviews, this study provides an empirical studyat a strategic public institution. This study also attempts to analyse some factors that have become challenges in many anti-fraud programs for public sector in many developing countries like Indonesia.
PurposeThis study investigates the impact of political interference on the capacity to combat corruption within Indonesian public sector institutions. It analyses the troubling impact of politicians in strategic leadership positions in public institutions and the impact this has on its ethical leadership credibility.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multi-method approach was followed. Firstly, media publications were analysed to describe typical cases of corruption by political and public leaders and to evaluate the current state of the country. Secondly, the authors studied the selection and appointment processes for strategic leadership in two types of leading Indonesian public sector institutions based on laws and regulations and critical (media) publications to assess the problem of political interference. Lastly, the authors used insights from 42 face-to-face interviews within one leading public institution to understand the problem of political interference and its impact on ethical leadership credibility in Indonesia.FindingsWhen politicians are appointed in strategic leadership positions of public institutions, including CEOs, the board of directors and commissioners, the downside is that such political support causes a conflict of interest that seriously threatens the independent functioning of public institutions and the ethical reputation of the public sector as a whole. The influence of specific Indonesian cultural values and norms only reinforces these ethical challenges in building public sector integrity.Originality/valueMost empirical studies on ethical leadership focus on middle managers and the impact of ethical leadership on organisational outcomes. In addition, little is yet known about the effectiveness of ethical leadership in developing countries. This study attempts to address this gap and analyses the troubling role of politicians in strategic leadership positions in Indonesia's public institutions and the impact this has on its ethical leadership credibility.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.