Procurement transparency: determining the cognitive behavioural issues in Nigeria

Procurement is a common avenue for corruption in most countries due to lack of transparency and accountability. The severity of procurement fraud is widespread and its incidence in Nigeria is particularly severe. The aim of this study is to understand the underlying problems associated with procurement transparency from behavioural psychology point of view through stakeholder’s examination. The stakeholder’s cognitive process will be examined from three levels: psychological processes, concentration on social institutions and social and personality psychology of the stakeholders. The study is designed to be carried out through four different stages but this paper relies only on first stage which is theory building and concept development. The overall approach of the study is to examine cognitive behavioural issues which rely on behavioural dispositions and behavioural intention, such as social attitude and personality trait to predict and explain human behaviour. It is equally important to investigate the reasons why the problem of corruption is persistent in Nigeria through proper examination of the stakeholders’ cognitive processes. The study will produce reports that can be fed into government policy and will develop training and knowledge exchange forum for best practice club.