誰更容易踩線？風險感知與貪腐容忍下的性別倫理決策

Abstract

在聯合國永續發展目標（Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs）中，第16項「和平、正義與健全的司法」（Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions）與第5項「性別平等」（Gender Equality）明確揭示性別與貪腐之間的潛在關聯性，此一議題在這幾年更受到國際社會的高度關注。然而，關於性別如何影響貪腐行為與態度，現有學術上的見解莫衷一是，國內亦缺乏較系統性的實證研究。鑑此，本研究旨在探討性別因素對風險感知、貪腐容忍度及廉政倫理決策之影響，以補足相關理論與實務間的研究空缺。 奠基於倫理決策模型下，本研究依據「倫理清晰度」變數設計三個情境，據以檢視性別因素在倫理決策下的異質性。透過全國415份有效樣本分析，結果顯示：個人特徵背景與組織位置在倫理決策下有不同的表現。女性因角色特質與社會期待，對貪腐容忍度較低，並在涉及文化風俗的灰色情境中，更能感受到風險，也較不容易做出違規行為；年齡較長、年資較深、學歷較高或曾擔任主管職者，也展現較高的倫理敏感度與較低的違規傾向。 其次，風險感知越強，違規意圖越低。其中對懲罰「嚴重性」的感受，比對懲罰「確定性」的感受，更能有效抑制違規行為。再者，越能接受貪腐行為者，越可能產生違規意圖，尤其在涉及文化風俗的灰色情境中最為明顯。最後，在涉及文化風俗的灰色情境中，風險感知與違規意圖的關係會因性別的不同而有所差異，女性表現出更高風險敏感度，而男性則較容易接受小額禮品。 基於前述發現，本研究建議應推動差異化的廉政教育，強化分層倫理意識，同時釐清規範灰色地帶，提升個人倫理判斷力。另外，可透過客觀資料掌握風險感知落差，調整廉政預警措施，並提升薪資與舉報誘因，降低集體貪腐容忍度。此外，更應強化女性領導角色，促進組織決策文化的性別平衡。

The United Nations SDGs—specifically Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and Goal 5 (Gender Equality)—highlight the potential link between gender and corruption, a critical issue that has drawn heightened international attention in recent years. However, the academic community has yet to reach a consensus on how gender influences corrupt behavior and attitudes, and there remains a lack of systematic empirical research in Taiwan. Therefore, this study aims to explore how gender influences risk perception, tolerance of corruption, and ethical decision-making in public integrity, thereby bridging the gap between theory and practice. Grounded in ethical decision-making models, this study designed three scenarios based on varying levels of ethical clarity, in order to examine gender-based heterogeneity in ethical decision-making. By analyzing 415 valid nationwide samples, the results show that individual demographic background and organizational positions are associated with distinct ethical behavior patterns. Due to gender roles and societal expectations, women tend to exhibit lower tolerance of corruption and are more sensitive to risks, particularly in ambiguous scenarios involving cultural customs, making them less likely to engage in unethical behavior. Individuals who are older, have more seniority, possess higher educational attainment, or have held managerial positions also display greater ethical sensitivity and a lower propensity for misconduct. Furthermore, stronger risk perception is associated with a lower intention to engage in misconduct. Among the dimensions of risk, “ the perceived severity of punishment ” proves more effective than “ the perceived certainty of punishment ” in deterring unethical behavior. Moreover, individuals with higher acceptance of corrupt practices are more likely to develop intentions to violate rules, especially in ambiguous scenarios involving cultural customs. Lastly, gender moderates the relationship between risk perception and misconduct intention in culturally ambiguous scenarios: women exhibit higher sensitivity to risk, whereas men are more inclined to accept minor gifts. Based on these findings, this study recommends promoting differentiated integrity training to strengthen ethical awareness at various organizational levels and to clarify ambiguous norms in gray areas related to corruption, thereby enhancing individual ethical judgment. It also advocates using objective data to monitor disparities in risk perception, adjusting anti-corruption early-warning mechanisms accordingly, and improving compensation and whistleblower incentives to reduce collective tolerance of corruption. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need to strengthen female leadership roles to foster gender-balanced organizational decision-making cultures.