Novita Indrawati

The high number of fraud cases in governments has increasingly become a concern among academics and practitioners. Many approaches can be used to minimize fraud cases. However, the role of education in the influence of personality on fraud in the Indonesian government has not been considered. Thus, this study aims to analyze the influence of morality and Machiavellianism as personality factors leading to fraud. Education was tested as a moderating variable. This quantitative study involved a sample of Pekanbaru City government officials. To collect data, questionnaires were sent directly to the respondents. Through the purposive sampling technique, 251 samples were collected. A structural equation with partial least squares was used to test the hypotheses. The test results show that all the proposed hypotheses are accepted. Morality affects fraud with a p-value < 0.001, less than 0.05. Machiavellianism affects fraud with a p-value < 0.001. Education moderates the relationship between morality and fraud with a p-value of 0.048, less than 0.05. Moreover, education moderates the relationship between Machiavellianism and fraud with a p-value < 0.001, less than 0.05. In conclusion, this study contributes to shaping government officials’ behavior to prevent fraud. Character building and high education standards for officials must be integrated to reduce the risk of abuse in Indonesian government.

This study delves into the determinants influencing the efficacy of social enterprises, specifically cooperatives. This study aims to examine the interaction between social entrepreneurial orientation (SEO), strategic planning, and competitive advantage in shaping cooperative performance, accounting for the moderating influence of the socio-economic context. A population of cooperatives in Indargiri Hilir and Bengkalis regencies, Riau Province, Indonesia, served as the study’s focus. A sampling strategy was employed to distribute 500 questionnaires to cooperative managers. Of these, 298 were returned and analyzed using partial least squares (PLS). The findings corroborate a positive association between SEO and financial performance with a p-value of 0.000. Likewise, SEO affects competitive advantage and company planning (p-value 0.000). The exploration indicates no mediating role for business strategy in the relationship between financial performance and SEO, with a p-value of 0.136. However, strategic planning acted as a mediator in the relationship between SEO and social performance (p-value 0.011). Moreover, the findings show that SEO has a favorable influence on social performance through competitive advantage with a p-value of 0.000. Thus, the moderating role of socio-economic context on the relationship between SEO and financial performance can be proven with a p-value of 0.000, as well as on the relationship between business planning and financial performance with a p-value of 0.016. These empirical findings can inform policymakers’ strategic development of inclusive and sustainable policies that foster growth and resilience of cooperatives.

Acknowledgment
Authors are grateful to LPPM Riau University for providing research grants with contract number 993/UN19.5.1.3/AL.04/2024.