Ethical attitudes and prosocial behaviour in the Nigeria police - Moderator effects of perceived organizational support and public recognition

Purpose - Concerned with the pervasive unfriendly relationship between the Nigeria police and the public, and the need to improve upon this relationship, the present study was designed to examine the moderating roles of perceived organizational support and public recognition in the relationship between unethical attitudes and prosocial behaviour among a sample of Nigeria police officers. Design/methodology/approach - Using a cross-sectional survey design, data was collected from a total of 163 participants randomly drawn among officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, Oyo State Command, lbadan, Nigeria. Findings - Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses reveal an inverse relationship between unethical attitudes and prosocial behaviour among police officers with high or average levels of perceived organizational support and public recognition, while among police officers with low perceived organizational support and public recognition there was a positive relationship between unethical attitudes and prosocial behaviour. The concepts of social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity were used to explain these findings. Research limitations/implications - Statements on causality with respect to the present findings must be made with caution because of the non-experimental nature of the study. Furthermore, perceived organizational support and public recognition were used as global concepts; future studies could explore different facets of these constructs and see how they moderate the relationship between unethical attitudes and prosocial behaviour. Originality/value - The results of the study suggest that the Nigerian police must be supported and accorded their due recognition if they must behave ethically and prosocially to the Nigerian public.