Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Understanding Rate Evasion Behavior in Local Governance: Application of an Extended Version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

  • Published:
Public Organization Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The development potentials of decentralised local governance notwithstanding, subnational structures remain fiscally challenged. Given revenue indispensability, local citizens’ apathy, and fiscal obligation nonfulfillment, this study probes rate evasion behavior in Ghana using the theory of planned behavior. Data was drawn from 507 respondents using questionnaires. Hypothesis test using the structural equation modeling technique confirmed TPB’s predictive potency—as evidenced in increased variance from 20 to 46% (∆ R2 = 26%, p < .001). The study concludes by entreating public revenue management organizations and subnational states to countervail evasion behavior by emphasising transparency and good fiscal governance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adu-Febiri, F. (1995). Culture as the epitome of the human factor in development: The case of Ghana’s collectivistic ethic. In S. Adjibolosoo (Ed.), The significance of the human factor in African economic development (pp. 55–70). Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adu-Gyamfi, E. (2014). Effective revenue mobilisation by districts assemblies: A case study of Upper Denkyira East Municipal Assembly of Ghana. Public Policy and Administration Review, 2(1), 97–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agyemang-Duah, W., Kafui Gbedoho, E., Peprah, P., Arthur, F., Kweku Sobeng, A., Okyere, J., & Mengba Dokbila, J. (2018). Reducing poverty through fiscal decentralization in Ghana and beyond: A review. Cogent Economics & Finance, 6(1), 1476035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84(5), 888.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alleyne, P., & Harris, T. (2017). Antecedents of taxpayers’ intentions to engage in tax evasion: Evidence from Barbados. Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, 15(1), 2–21.

  • Alleyne, P., Hudaib, M., & Haniffa, R. (2018). The moderating role of perceived organisational support in breaking the silence of public accountants. Journal of Business Ethics, 147(3), 509–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arkorful, V. E. (2022). Unravelling electricity theft whistleblowing antecedents using the theory of planned behavior and norm activation model. Energy Policy, 160, 112680.

  • Arkorful, V. E., Abdul-Rahaman, N., Ibrahim, H. S., & Arkorful, V. A. (2021). Fostering Trust, Transparency, Satisfaction and Participation Amidst COVID-19 corruption: Does the Civil Society Matter?–Evidence from Ghana. Public Organization Review, 1–25.

  • Arkorful, V. E., Hammond, A., Lugu, B. K., Basiru, I., Sunguh, K. K., & Charmaine Kwade, P. (2020a). Investigating the intention to use technology among medical students: An application of an extended model of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Public Affairs, e2460

  • Arkorful, V. E. & Lugu, B. K. (2021). Political Party “Footsoldierism” and “Vigilantism”, An Empirical Study. In Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer Nature Switzerland

  • Arkorful, V. E., Lugu, B. K., Hammond, A., & Basiru, I. (2021a). Decentralization and citizens’ participation in local governance: Does trust and transparency matter?–an empirical study. In Forum for development studies (pp. 1–25). Routledge.

  • Arkorful, V. E., Lugu, B. K., Hammond, A., Basiru, I., Afriyie, F. A., & Mohajan, B. (2021b). Examining quality, value, satisfaction and trust dimensions: An empirical lens to understand health insurance systems actual usage. Public Organization Review, 1–19

  • Arkorful, V. E., Shuliang, Z., Muhideen, S., Basiru, I., & Hammond, A. (2020b). An empirical investigation of health practitioners’ technology adoption: The mediating role of electronic health. International Journal of Public Administration, 43(12), 1013–1028.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bawole, J. N. (2017). Pro-poor decentralization in Ghana: Exploring the facilitators and the limitations. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 39(2), 122–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertoldo, R., & Castro, P. (2016). The outer influence inside us: Exploring the relation between social and personal norms. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 112, 45–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bondzie‐Micah, V., Qigui, S., Arkorful, V. E., Lugu, B. K., Bentum‐Micah, G., & Ayi‐Bonte, A. N. A. (2021). Predicting consumer intention to use electronic health service: An empirical structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Public Affairs, e2677.

  • Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern Methods for Business Research, 295(2), 295–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conner, M., & Armitage, C. J. (1998). Extending the theory of planned behavior: A review and avenues for further research. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28(15), 1429–1464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, G. (2008). Decentralization and the limits to poverty reduction: Findings from Ghana. Oxford Development Studies, 36(2), 235–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalu, T., Maposa, V. G., Pabwaungana, S., & Dalu, T. (2012). The impact of tax evasion and avoidance on the economy: A case of Harare, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, 1(3), 284–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dzansi, J., Jensen, A., Lagakos, D., Otoo, I., Telli, H., & Zindam, C. (2018). Findings and policy implications. S-3347-GHA-2

  • Elkaseh, A. M., Wong, K. W., & Fung, C. C. (2016). Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of social media for e-learning in Libyan higher education: A structural equation modeling analysis. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 6(3), 192–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement errors. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, L., Wang, S., Li, J., & Li, H. (2017). Application of the extended theory of planned behavior to understand individual’s energy saving behavior in workplaces. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 127, 107–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of Ghana (2014). Internally generated revenue strategies and guidelines: Maximizing internally generated revenues potentials for local service delivery. Accra, Ghana.

  • Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J., Anderson, R., Tatham, L., & Black, W. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harman, H. H. (1976). Modern factor analysis. University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M. A., & Terry, D. I. (2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 121–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inkoom, D. K. B. (2011). Ghana’s decentralization: Two decades and still crawling? Development, 54(3), 393–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jianxun, C., Arkorful, V. E., & Shuliang, Z. (2021). Electronic health records adoption: Do institutional pressures and organizational culture matter? Technology in Society, 65, 101531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jun, J., & Arendt, S. W. (2016). Understanding healthy eating behaviors at casual dining restaurants using the extended theory of planned behavior. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 53, 106–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lukman, S., Bao, P. X., Kweku‐Lugu, B., Arkorful, V. E., Latif, A., Gadabu, A., ... & Sadiq, M. A. (2021). Diasporan students social entrepreneurship intention: The moderating role of institutional support. Journal of Public Affairs, 21(1), e2108.

  • Miles, J., & Shevlin, M. (2007). A time and a place for incremental fit indices. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(5), 869–874.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moan, I. S. (2013). Whether or not to ride with an intoxicated driver: Predicting intentions using an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 20, 193–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moan, I. S., & Rise, J. (2011). Predicting intentions not to “drink and drive” using an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(4), 1378–1384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O'keefe, D. J. (2015). Persuasion: Theory and research. Sage Publications.

  • Olowu, D., & Wunsch, J. S. (2004). Local governance in Africa: The challenges of democratic decentralization. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

  • Pirttilä, J. (1999). Tax evasion and economies in transition: lessons from tax theory (No. 2/1999). BOFIT Discussion Papers.

  • Ramayah, T., Rouibah, K., Gopi, M., & Rangel, G. J. (2009). A decomposed theory of reasoned action to explain intention to use internet stock trading among Malaysian investors. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(6), 1222–1230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivis, A., & Sheeran, P. (2003). Descriptive norms as an additional predictor in the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analysis. Current Psychology, 22(3), 218–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rouibah, K., Khalil, O. E., & Hassanien, A. E. (2009). Emerging markets and E-commerce in developing economies (pp. 1–498). IGI Global.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Smatrakalev, G. (2012). Is Tax Evasion Our National Sport? The Bulgarian Case. In The Ethics of Tax Evasion (pp. 371–385). Springer: New York, NY.

  • Teo, T., & Zhou, M. (2014). Explaining the intention to use technology among university students: A structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 26(2), 124–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torgler, B. (2003). Tax morale, rule-governed behaviour and trust. Constitutional Political Economy, 14(2), 119–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yadav, R., & Pathak, G. S. (2016). Young consumers’ intention towards buying green products in a developing nation: Extending the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, 732–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeboah, E. N., & Andrew, M. (2020). Challenges Faced by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembles (MMDA? S) in Internal Revenue Mobilization in Ghana. International Journal of Asian Social Science, 10(1), 68–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., Wang, Z., & Zhou, G. (2014). Determinants of employee electricity saving: The role of social benefits, personal benefits and organizational electricity saving climate. Journal of Cleaner Production, 66, 280–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, Q., Cordeiro, J., Sarkis, J., (2013). Institutional pressures, dynamic capabilities and environmental management systems: investigating the ISO 9000-Environmental management system implementation linkage. Journal of environmental management, 114, 232–242.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Government and International Studies, Hong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

    Vincent Ekow Arkorful

  2. College of Education, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    Benjamin Kweku Lugu

Authors
  1. Vincent Ekow Arkorful
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Benjamin Kweku Lugu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vincent Ekow Arkorful.

Ethics declarations

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study were reconcilable with the institutional standards and/or national research committee and the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of the article.

1The National Commission for Civic Education is a statutory body established and mandated under Chapter 19 Article 231 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana to perform functions including, but not limited to educating the Ghanaian populace on their civic responsibilities – as enshrined under Act 233 (a to e).

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

Table

Table 7 Constructs and measurement items
Full size table

7

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Arkorful, V.E., Lugu, B.K. Understanding Rate Evasion Behavior in Local Governance: Application of an Extended Version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Public Organiz Rev 23, 1035–1054 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-021-00561-1

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-021-00561-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation