Effective ways to stimulate regulatory compliance and ethical behavior: a review of empirical findings

Regulators aim to influence behavior of regulated organizations, such as compliance (following rules and regulations), but also ethical behavior (doing the right thing, regardless of the rules and regulations). However, the question remains how regulators can do this effectively. Therefore, the first aim of this review paper was to summarize and review articles that study the stimulation of regulatory compliance and ethical behavior. The second aim was to better understand the underlying mechanisms that explain this behavior. In this paper, we build on the COM-B model, which states that behavior is caused by one’s capability, opportunity, and motivation. We argue that regulators influence the behavior of regulated organizations via their COM-B mechanisms. Firstly, our review of 32 studies showed that most regulatory actions used a deterrent approach, while some studies focused on cooperative actions. Both types of actions showed mixed results on compliance. As a dependent variable, ethical behavior was measured occasionally, but compliance was measured in the majority of articles. Secondly, our review shows that all three COM-B mechanisms predict behaviors of regulated organizations. Interestingly, differences in effectiveness were found based on the type of mechanism, although evidence is scarce. Therefore, more empirical research is needed to reach stronger conclusions. We hope that this first inventory provides regulators with more inspiration to choose regulatory actions according to the COM-B mechanisms. In this manner, regulators may be more effective in increasing regulatory compliance and ethical behavior.