Procurement Ethics and Integrity Adherence: An Antidote for Procurement Professionals' Trust Gain, Corruption Reduction, and Organizational Reputation in Ghana Public Institutions: The Issue of Ignominious Theory

Purpose: The absence of a value-driven procurement culture has enabled the continued operation of what Ignominious Theory describes as a cycle of dishonor, where corruption begets more corruption, and reputation damage becomes normalized. This problematic reality raises critical questions: To what extent can procurement ethics and integrity adherence serve as antidotes to the erosion of public trust, the deep-seated corruption in procurement systems, and the tarnished image of procurement professionals? Methodology: An explanatory research design is adopted to identify and clarify cause-and-effect relationships among the variables under investigation. Quota sampling was employed to select 400 procurement managers from public institutions in Ghana. Common method bias was controlled by temporally separating the measurement of variables. Specifically, respondents first completed the questionnaire related to the independent variables, and after a six-month interval, the same respondents were asked to respond to the dependent variable items. Findings: The result indicates a positive and statistically significant effect of procurement ethics and integrity on organizational reputation. The study further indicates a positive statistically significant effect of Procurement Ethics and Integrity Adherence on Corruption Reduction. Finally, the study establishes a positive and statistically significant effect of procurement ethics and Integrity Adherence on Procurement Professionals' Trust Gain. Unique Contribution to theory, policy and practice: This study contributes to the advancement and contextualization of ignominious theory by providing empirical evidence that ethical procurement practices serve as critical mechanisms for avoiding organizational disgrace, reducing corruption risk, and enhancing both internal and external trust. Procurement roles should require certification in ethics and compliance as a minimum standard, and ethics violations should be formally recorded and acted upon. Leaders should integrate ethical standards into procurement manuals, supplier selection protocols, and contract management processes.