Ethical nudges and organisational misconduct: A sequential mixed-methods study among Iranian universities

Although ethical nudging has attracted attention in behavioural sciences, its application within HRM ethics remains underexplored. Organisational misconduct—fraud, noncompliance, and ethical violations—persists as a challenge that traditional monitoring and punitive approaches often fail to address cost-effectively and sustainably. This study investigates the associations between ethical nudges and self-reported organisational misconduct within a non-Western academic context. Using a sequential mixed-methods design in educational organisations, we identified eight dimensions of ethical nudges through expert interviews with human resource management (HRM) professionals. A survey of 180 university staff (both administrative and academic), analysed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), showed a significant negative correlation between ethical nudges and misconduct (β = −0.54, 95% CI [-0.62, −0.46], p < 0.001; f 2 = 0.15). Due to the cross-sectional design, causal claims are not warranted; findings reflect perceived relationships that require longitudinal replication. Transparency and social norms emerged as the most influential dimensions. The results suggest that ethical nudges may complement traditional HRM controls by enhancing employees' ethical awareness and encouraging voluntary compliance. However, issues such as employee resistance and autonomy concerns highlight the need for context-sensitive implementation. This study advances behavioural ethics and HRM by providing a theory-informed, empirically grounded model — while acknowledging that causality remains to be established in future research.