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Corruption as a social process: from dyads to networks

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... Crucially, this research stream has also insufficiently considered an organization's reliance on other organizations-namely, interdependence (Casciaro & Piskorski, 2005)-which is critical for new organizations as entrepreneurs seek to acquire necessary resources for their firms' survival (Warburton, 2013). Despite scholars acknowledging the influence of external environments on corrupt organizational action (e.g., inefficient public services, the influence of informal institutions, and lack of market access), extant corruption resistance mechanisms emphasize building organizational structures and cultures that reduce corruption among employees (Azim & Kluvers, 2019;Luo, 2005). ...
... However, these organizational corruption resistance control measures tend to overlook the interdependence of organizations as well as the influence of various actors within corrupt exchange relationships, despite the understanding that corruption occurs within social exchange interactions to acquire necessary resources for survival (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2016;Schwartz, 2017;Warburton, 2013). For example, Luo (2005) and Azim and Kluvers (2019) highlighted the external environment (e.g., inefficient public services, the influence of informal institutions, and lack of market access) as a critical influencer of an organization's action. ...
... Thus, interdependence cannot be ignored. This interdependence is necessary because corruption occurs in social exchange interactions, providing entrepreneurs with resources critical for their ventures' survival (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2016;Schwartz, 2017;Warburton, 2013). In the extant literature, the relationship between resource needs and corruption is highly salient, but the prevailing assumptions tend to be that the need for resources motivates and necessitates corruption (De Jong, Tu, & van Ees, 2012;Schwartz, 2017), and that corruption is somehow the only leverage available to underdog entrepreneurs (i.e., of new organizations) in exchange interactions with interdependent actors (e.g., Baron, Tang, Tang, & Zhang, 2018). ...
Article
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This paper explores when and how entrepreneurs who operate new organizations in environments where corruption is endemic can resist it. Despite the continued scholarly interest in corruption, anticorruption efforts by micro, small, and medium enterprises have been largely overlooked. Instead, studies have focused on the intraorganizational actions of larger established organizations (local and multinational) without sufficiently considering their interdependence with other actors in their external environments. Given the social exchange nature of corruption, we collected and analyzed data from interviews with Tanzanian entrepreneurs, and theorized about when and how they circumvent or resist corruption. Our findings illuminate the complex relationship between entrepreneurs’ motivations and capability, and highlight the strategies entrepreneurs use when they seek to resist corruption without compromising their resource needs. Subject to their leverage (i.e., resource endowments and available alternatives), entrepreneurs resist corruption by avoiding powerful focal firms, restructuring their resource dependence in a firm-focused manner, and managing risks. Considering social-relational dynamics, entrepreneurs also find ways to avoid interactions with corrupt agents and to use power strategically (through political tactics, such as co-opting and challenging) that influence agents to act in the entrepreneurs’ best interests and against corruption.
... No matter how automated a project information is, few people will continue to have authority over them and even sometimes must intervene in cases of unforeseen circumstances. Apparently, corrupters will always manage, or at least struggle, to manipulate whatever sort of control system is in place (Warburton, 2013;Bussmann, 2007). ...
... However, the detailed understanding of it, has never been easy as it varies from time to time, place to place, and situation to situation invoking a particular intellectual tradition that is not identical to all traditions for critiquing government malpractice (Pierce, 2016). If we could answer questions like what is it and how does it function, we should be able to discover ways of combating what it is now perceived as persistent trouble (Warburton, 2013). ...
... This type is sponsored largely by nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and international anti-corruption organizations like Transparency International (TI), while the first type restricts its residence around academic institutions. and ethical aspect of a society and organization (Lawler, 2012) and, as such, is perceived as a phenomenon of infinite complexity (Warburton, 2013). Social phycologists seem to entertain the study of the moral condemnations and the underlying physiological landscape than just the issue of abuse of authorities (Cressey, 1954), while academic historians view corruption as a source for interpreting the cultural history of politics (Farrales, 2005;Pierce, 2016). ...
Thesis
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This PhD thesis sets out to investigate the potentials of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to mitigate risks of corruption in the Ethiopian public construction sector. The wide-ranging capabilities and promises of BIM have led to the strong perception among researchers and practitioners that it is an indispensable technology. Consequently, it has become the frequent subject of science and research. Meanwhile, many countries, especially the developed ones, have committed themselves to applying the technology extensively. Increasing productivity is the most common and frequently cited reason for that. However, both technology developers and adopters are oblivious to the potentials of BIM in addressing critical challenges in the construction sector, such as corruption. This particularly would be significant in developing countries like Ethiopia, where its problems and effects are acute. Studies reveal that bribery and corruption have long pervaded the construction industry worldwide. The complex and fragmented nature of the sector provides an environment for corruption. The Ethiopian construction sector is not immune from this epidemic reality. In fact, it is regarded as one of the most vulnerable sectors owing to varying socio-economic and political factors. Since 2015, Ethiopia has started adopting BIM, yet without clear goals and strategies. As a result, the potential of BIM for combating concrete problems of the sector remains untapped. To this end, this dissertation does pioneering work by showing how collaboration and coordination features of the technology contribute to minimizing the opportunities for corruption. Tracing loopholes, otherwise, would remain complex and ineffective in the traditional documentation processes. Proceeding from this anticipation, this thesis brings up two primary questions: what are areas and risks of corruption in case of the Ethiopian public construction projects; and how could BIM be leveraged to mitigate these risks? To tackle these and other secondary questions, the research employs a mixed-method approach. The selected main research strategies are Survey, Grounded Theory (GT) and Archival Study. First, the author disseminates an online questionnaire among Ethiopian construction engineering professionals to pinpoint areas of vulnerability to corruption. 155 responses are compiled and scrutinized quantitatively. Then, a semi-structured in-depth interview is conducted with 20 senior professionals, primarily to comprehend opportunities for and risks of corruption in those identified highly vulnerable project stages and decision points. At the same time, open interviews (consultations) are held with 14 informants to be aware of state of the construction documentation, BIM and loopholes for corruption in the country. Consequently, these qualitative data are analyzed utilizing the principles of GT, heat/risk mapping and Social Network Analysis (SNA). The risk mapping assists the researcher in the course of prioritizing corruption risks; whilst through SNA, methodically, it is feasible to identify key actors/stakeholders in the corruption venture. Based on the generated research data, the author constructs a [substantive] grounded theory around the elements of corruption in the Ethiopian public construction sector. This theory, later, guides the subsequent strategic proposition of BIM. Finally, 85 public construction related cases are also analyzed systematically to substantiate and confirm previous findings. By ways of these multiple research endeavors that is based, first and foremost, on the triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, the author conveys a number of key findings. First, estimations, tender document preparation and evaluation, construction material as well as quality control and additional work orders are found to be the most vulnerable stages in the design, tendering and construction phases respectively. Second, middle management personnel of contractors and clients, aided by brokers, play most critical roles in corrupt transactions within the prevalent corruption network. Third, grand corruption persists in the sector, attributed to the fact that top management and higher officials entertain their overriding power, supported by the lack of project audits and accountability. Contrarily, individuals at operation level utilize intentional and unintentional 'errors’ as an opportunity for corruption. In light of these findings, two conceptual BIM-based risk mitigation strategies are prescribed: active and passive automation of project audits; and the monitoring of project information throughout projects’ value chain. These propositions are made in reliance on BIM’s present dimensional capabilities and the promises of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Moreover, BIM’s synchronous potentials with other technologies such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Radio Frequency technologies are topics which received a treatment. All these arguments form the basis for the main thesis of this dissertation, that BIM is able to mitigate corruption risks in the Ethiopian public construction sector. The discourse on the skepticisms about BIM that would stem from the complex nature of corruption and strategic as well as technological limitations of BIM is also illuminated and complemented by this work. Thus, the thesis uncovers possible research gaps and lays the foundation for further studies.
... Corruption is a technique of goal achievement, not an end in itself. It is a social process in which public power is used to acquire private benefits wherein officials use their authority to promote their own interests in opposition to the common good (Warburton 2013). ...
... The purpose of a corrupt transaction is to conduct a swap that converts common resources into usable power that promotes one's own interests. (Warburton 2013) Responding to motivational or excitatory forces driving them to promote self-interest, parties to corrupt transactions cross a decisional threshold that the corrupt transaction will satisfy (Warburton 2013). Utilitarian motivations triumph over normative or coercive forces which no longer inhibit the tendencies of actors to transgress decisional thresholds. ...
... The purpose of a corrupt transaction is to conduct a swap that converts common resources into usable power that promotes one's own interests. (Warburton 2013) Responding to motivational or excitatory forces driving them to promote self-interest, parties to corrupt transactions cross a decisional threshold that the corrupt transaction will satisfy (Warburton 2013). Utilitarian motivations triumph over normative or coercive forces which no longer inhibit the tendencies of actors to transgress decisional thresholds. ...
... Corruption becomes normalized inside the organization when middle and low levels accept it (Jávor & Jancsics, 2013). This idea is well conceptualized in the assumption that corruption is socially constructed (Warburton, 2013). Therefore, it grows within a network through interaction between individuals (Kim & Lee, 2019). ...
... In that sense, most studies deal with hierarchy and positions of authority and the abuse of that authority (e.g., Aguilera & Vadera, 2008;Fath & Kay, 2018;Rosenblatt, 2012). We contribute to a less researched idea that two individuals in powerful positions can have relational dependencies and engage in corruption due to their complementary sources of power (Warburton, 2013). It is true that they coerce, manipulate, dominate or change the identities of others in some of the four organizational places. ...
... They can be developed and tested with future research. Corruption is socially constructed, and changes in norms, rules, and habits take time (Warburton, 2013). Therefore, a longitudinal study may be appropriate to investigate the effects of secondorder corruption on rules and norms. ...
Article
The Car Wash corruption probe has had a significant impact on what we know about systemic corruption in Brazil. Through the Odebrecht case, it is possible to advance organizational corruption theories by seeing how power has been abused over the years to create a systemic and enduring corruption system. Inspired by grounded theory, we simultaneously collected, codified, and analyzed public documents from the plea deals of Odebrecht executives. From the empirical data, it is possible to see how second-order corruption has changed the rules and norms in Brazil. We show that this kind of organizational corruption can be achieved by the abuse of relational power. We also demonstrate how second-order corruption is more difficult to combat, it normalizes corruption at a structural level, making it appear commonplace, the norm. Moreover, individually, it makes people rationalize corruption and distance themselves from the act ethically.
... As noted by Warburton (2013), the view of corruption as social exchange 462 considers it as a transaction of resources which can be either material or non- 463 material. Because of its convertibility (Warburton, 2013), the most frequent form 464 of corruption based on balanced reciprocity is monetary bribery, such as when 465 Chinese state officials allocate infrastructure construction projects to contractors in 466 exchange for grease payments (Deng et al., 2010). ...
... As noted by Warburton (2013), the view of corruption as social exchange 462 considers it as a transaction of resources which can be either material or non- 463 material. Because of its convertibility (Warburton, 2013), the most frequent form 464 of corruption based on balanced reciprocity is monetary bribery, such as when 465 Chinese state officials allocate infrastructure construction projects to contractors in 466 exchange for grease payments (Deng et al., 2010). Similarly, bribery in the form of 467 kickbacks is an integral part of public procurement in Russia (Ivanov, 2015). ...
... The likelihood of achieving one's goals is related to the power each individual has 487 over the other party (Casciaro & Piskorski, 2005;Warburton, 2013). According to 488 our research framework, power vested in public officials is generally greater than 489 that of a business person, since public officials control resources vital for businesses 490 to function. ...
Article
This article addresses corruption as a negative practice displaying the ‘darker side’ of social capital in Chinese guanxi and Russian blat/svyazi networks. It presents a conceptual framework integrating several research streams to establish a conceptual linkage between social network characteristics and three forms of corruption between business persons and public officials: cronyism, bribery, and extortion. We argue that the forms of corruption in a society are determined by the nature of social network ties and their underlying morality, with particularistic and general trust being key factors. Our framework depicts networks as three concentric circles representing three types of corruption resulting from their corresponding types of reciprocity: open, closed, and negative. We then apply the framework to the practice of guanxi in China and blat/svyazi in Russia. We propose that different network characteristics and different forms of corruption may help explain what we label the ‘China-Russia paradox’ of why corruption and high economic growth have co-existed in China, at least in the short term, but less so in Russia. We conclude with ethical and legal implications for doing business in those two transforming economies and offer suggestions for future research.
... 190). We use the assessment by Morales et al. (2014) as the starting point for developing our line of reasoning that corruption research can strongly benefit from focusing on the patterned and scripted character of corrupt transactions as social interactions (see also Warburton 2001;Jancsics 2013Jancsics , 2014. However, we argue that the lack of explanatory focus on social interactions is closely linked to methodological shortcomings in corruption research, as we will elaborate in the next section. ...
... In order to more thoroughly address the conceptual and methodological shortcomings in corruption research, as identified above, we explain the occurrence of corrupt transactions by conceptualizing them as a specific form of social interaction. As Warburton (2001) notes: ''Corrupt transactions occur between actors as the result of social interaction. For corrupt transactions to occur there must be communication between two or more individuals'' (p. ...
... The empirical findings of our study include several indications that the ''successful'' performance of corrupt transactions can be explained by the typified and scripted character of the social interaction itself (see also Jancsics 2013Warburton 2001). First, as our study has shown, offering a larger tip did not increase the success of the ''sandwich trick.'' ...
Article
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In this paper, we argue that corruption research can benefit from studying corrupt transactions as a particular form of social interaction. We showcase the usefulness of a theoretical focus on social interaction by investigating online user reports on the website Frontdesktip.com. Through this focus, we can observe users sharing experiences and tips on the best ways of bribing hotel clerks in Las Vegas for attaining room upgrades and other complimentary extras. We employ a logistic regression analysis to examine what factors influence the “successful” performance of this bribery practice. Our study makes a twofold contribution to existing research on corruption. First, on the theoretical level, we show that the typified and scripted character of social interactions can help explain the occurrence of corrupt transactions. Second, on a methodological level, our study showcases online self-reports as a useful data source to study corrupt transactions in an unobtrusive way.
... Esse debate levou ao desenvolvimento de análises e variáveis transculturais que revelam os determinantes da corrupção em locais específicos. Essas análises ignoraram que a corrupção é um fenômeno sistêmico e multidimensional (Lange, 2008;Warburton, 2013) dependente de fatores contextuais e individuais (Zyglidopoulos & Fleming, 2008). Esses fatores também incluem o contexto cultural. ...
... Entretanto, há poucos exemplos de casos comparativos ou meta-análises, o que dificulta o progresso das proposições teóricas. Da mesma forma, a relação entre organizações públicas e privadas deve ser investigada de perto, entendendo que as definições passivo-ativas de corrupção não são coerentes com as formas atuais de organização da corrupção (Warburton, 2013). Com as empresas ganhando poder econômico para capturar os Estados (Fazekas & Tóth, 2016), mas também com pessoas acumulando poder financeiro e de influência sobre as relações internacionais (Hearn, 2015), os pesquisadores devem estar atentos à corrupção sistemática e endêmica que ultrapassa o simples quid-pro-quo entre agentes públicos e privados. ...
Article
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Resumo A pesquisa sobre a corrupção organizacional tem sido abordada a partir de diferentes perspectivas, mas ainda há a necessidade de um foco mais abrangente na pesquisa organizacional na interseção entre a gestão pública e privada. Neste artigo, realizamos uma revisão de 589 artigos acadêmicos. A predominância de pesquisas quantitativas sugere a necessidade de uma abordagem mais equilibrada que incorpore métodos qualitativos e estudos mistos para permitir uma investigação mais profunda da corrupção organizacional. Além disso, os estudos sobre corrupção publicados nas principais revistas em inglês estão concentrados principalmente no Hemisfério Norte. Essa predominância metodológica evidencia a necessidade de ampliar o escopo das pesquisas para incluir o Hemisfério Sul nessas publicações. Outro aspecto observado foi a falta de estudos empíricos e a necessidade de compreender a corrupção como um fenômeno multidimensional. As pesquisas futuras devem enfatizar o uso de análise de dados primários para generalizar e validar teorias sobre a corrupção.
... The allure of convergence settings is that they can provide secure spaces that increase the opportunity to develop connections via face-to-face engagement (Calderoni & Superchi, 2019). Relationships between actors can be developed via engagement and discussion of common interests, including criminal interests (Warburton, 2013). From a network perspective, the more that convergence settings facilitate meetings with individuals outside an individual's regular social network, the more likely the individual will be exposed to actors who can offer new information and skills to the group. ...
... Indeed, we argue that a network perspective is the optimal method for assessing and understanding what we have termed 'organised criminal groups' as well as the activities they perform. We have argued strongly that network perspectives are useful for analysing many of the enablers of organised crime -including recruitment, convergence settings, trust, kinship, and corruption -and the ways in which organised criminal groups operate and behave von Lampe & Johansen, 2004;Warburton, 2013). ...
... The allure of convergence settings is that they can provide secure spaces that increase the opportunity to develop connections via face-to-face engagement (Calderoni & Superchi, 2019). Relationships between actors can be developed via engagement and discussion of common interests, including criminal interests (Warburton, 2013). From a network perspective, the more that convergence settings facilitate meetings with individuals outside an individual's regular social network, the more likely the individual will be exposed to actors who can offer new information and skills to the group. ...
... Indeed, we argue that a network perspective is the optimal method for assessing and understanding what we have termed 'organised criminal groups' as well as the activities they perform. We have argued strongly that network perspectives are useful for analysing many of the enablers of organised crime -including recruitment, convergence settings, trust, kinship, and corruption -and the ways in which organised criminal groups operate and behave von Lampe & Johansen, 2004;Warburton, 2013). ...
... The allure of convergence settings is that they can provide secure spaces that increase the opportunity to develop connections via face-to-face engagement (Calderoni & Superchi, 2019). Relationships between actors can be developed via engagement and discussion of common interests, including criminal interests (Warburton, 2013). From a network perspective, the more that convergence settings facilitate meetings with individuals outside an individual's regular social network, the more likely the individual will be exposed to actors who can offer new information and skills to the group. ...
... Indeed, we argue that a network perspective is the optimal method for assessing and understanding what we have termed 'organised criminal groups' as well as the activities they perform. We have argued strongly that network perspectives are useful for analysing many of the enablers of organised crime -including recruitment, convergence settings, trust, kinship, and corruption -and the ways in which organised criminal groups operate and behave von Lampe & Johansen, 2004;Warburton, 2013). ...
... The allure of convergence settings is that they can provide secure spaces that increase the opportunity to develop connections via face-to-face engagement (Calderoni & Superchi, 2019). Relationships between actors can be developed via engagement and discussion of common interests, including criminal interests (Warburton, 2013). From a network perspective, the more that convergence settings facilitate meetings with individuals outside an individual's regular social network, the more likely the individual will be exposed to actors who can offer new information and skills to the group. ...
... Indeed, we argue that a network perspective is the optimal method for assessing and understanding what we have termed 'organised criminal groups' as well as the activities they perform. We have argued strongly that network perspectives are useful for analysing many of the enablers of organised crime -including recruitment, convergence settings, trust, kinship, and corruption -and the ways in which organised criminal groups operate and behave von Lampe & Johansen, 2004;Warburton, 2013). ...
... The allure of convergence settings is that they can provide secure spaces that increase the opportunity to develop connections via face-to-face engagement (Calderoni & Superchi, 2019). Relationships between actors can be developed via engagement and discussion of common interests, including criminal interests (Warburton, 2013). From a network perspective, the more that convergence settings facilitate meetings with individuals outside an individual's regular social network, the more likely the individual will be exposed to actors who can offer new information and skills to the group. ...
... Indeed, we argue that a network perspective is the optimal method for assessing and understanding what we have termed 'organised criminal groups' as well as the activities they perform. We have argued strongly that network perspectives are useful for analysing many of the enablers of organised crime -including recruitment, convergence settings, trust, kinship, and corruption -and the ways in which organised criminal groups operate and behave von Lampe & Johansen, 2004;Warburton, 2013). ...
... 14 'Social network analyses' (SAN) are also useful in breaking down complex corrupt situations. This approach focuses on human behavior and consists in portraying different actors as nodes in a network to understand the relationship and interaction between them (i.e., what information they share/not; favors that are asked of one another; money or influence that is traded, etc.) [27,28]. With the advent of 'big-data', social network analyses have been used in a number of contexts to evaluate how elites are connected to one-another, and/or to business leaders. ...
... With the advent of 'big-data', social network analyses have been used in a number of contexts to evaluate how elites are connected to one-another, and/or to business leaders. 15 The social network approach focuses on channels of communications Band on the way power is an integral part of the functioning of corrupt networks, both in terms of the gathering of resources for goal achievement, and as a medium of exchange in the network itself^( [27]: 234). As such, it allows the anti-corruption investigator to conceptualize corruption as power-flows and relationships. ...
Article
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This article reflects on the findings presented in this issue and its implications for policy. The paper emphasises a number of challenges that researchers face, including technical and practical concerns, but also a difficult political environment and a changing donor landscape. A number of research gaps are considered, most notably furthering our understanding of grand corruption, and several approaches are recommended to study these gaps. Lastly, the article reflects on how research can affect anti-corruption policy in Vietnam.
... Dyadic corruption is often modeled using the principal-agent model (Della Porta & Vannucci, 1997) or portrayed as the illegal exchange of public resources or a hidden interaction with illegal consequences (De Graaf & Huberts, 2008;Plaček et al., 2019). Dyadic relations are the bases for some of the most frequently used corruption explanatory models; and are common in studies of petty corruption (Warburton, 2013), venal corruption (Bozeman et al., 2018), or market-based corruption. A dyadic model of corruption consists of a well-bounded phenomenon that is easy to operationalize, but assumes-away some of the factors that are most important in sustaining corruption, such as in-group af liation. ...
Chapter
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It turns out we can learn alot about systemic corruption by looking at its manifestation in local governments. In places where corruption is the rule, we argue that local governments are frequently governed by and for entities that do not pursue goals regarding the public interest. And that under certain circumstances, which this book develops along its chapets, local governments could have entered into a stage coined as corruption consolidation (Meza & Pérez-Chiqués, 2021). Corruption consolidation is a specific state of governance where its institutional framework guides peoples’ actions, calculations and expectations. However, a state of corruption consolidation is ruled by informal institutions along and in coexistence with formal ones. People can sometimes act knowing they should not do some things but feeling that they have ‘no other choice’, while some others could act in oblivion of the situation, or unmindful to what is happening. This chapter introduces the reader to the corruption consolidation framework which has been used in many places to understand the structure of systemic corruption. After pointing into the theoretical elements of the framework, the chapter offers an analysis of the findings of the rest of the chapters in the book. The reader will understand each of the four dimensions of the CCF and will offer some theoretical insights on what could be the next steps for research along with policy implications regarding anti corruption policies being implemented under contexts with systemic corruption.
... The generally accepted meaning of corruption is an illegal exchange of valuables between two or more parties (Warburton, 2013). Such corrupt practices and structures are widely thought to be ethically repulsive and capable of impeding economic development and access to public services. ...
Article
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While corruption may be found anywhere in the world, countries with weak institutions and unstable political environments tend to have more of it. Many countries, have embraced decentralization as a workable solution for tackling corruption. The purpose of this study is to provide insight on how decentralization affects Indonesia's corruption problem. The research is qualitative library research, which the data collected from various sources such as journals from Scopus and Google Scholar, media reports, government documents as well as books. The research indicates that local corruption has increased following decentralization, with local government officials, the private sector, and village heads being the most involved. The judiciary in Indonesia has a poor reputation due to low judicial standards, a dysfunctional criminal justice system, and lax enforcement, which have contributed to its poor reputation. By undertaking such research endeavors, the issues confronting corruption will be exposed, and the government of Indonesia will have a more comprehensive understanding of how to deal with corruption.
... Cuervo-Cazurra, 2016) or the abuse of public power for private benefit (Rodriguez et al., 2005). Corruption may refer to the actions of both government officials and private actors (Warburton, 2013). Government officials may use power to promote their own interests over that of the public. ...
Article
In this article, we seek to understand whether and to what extent the sense of belonging to a powerful network affects individual decision-making in terms of ethicality with regard to a corrupt situation. We study the behaviour of insiders (individuals who belong to a power network, i.e. a network of individuals connected by interpersonal relationships to a person in a position of power) and outsiders in a corrupt versus non-corrupt environments using the theoretical frameworks of institutional logics and informal networks. Our hypotheses were tested with the help of a vignette-based experiment with 464 participants from countries considered as corrupt (Kazakhstan and Russia) and non-corrupt (UK and USA).
... El estudio de la consolidación incluye, pero va más allá de las interacciones diádicas, o los intercambios entre actores individuales, y los enfoques en redes para el estudio de la corrupción, conectando varias capas frecuentemente estudiadas y comprendidas de forma aislada (véase Bozeman, et al., 2018;Meyer-Sahling, Mikkelsen, & Schuster, 2018). La consolidación de la corrupción incluye el examinar la corrupción diádica (Ades y Di Tella, 1997;Graaf, 2007;Plaček, Půček, y Ochrana, 2018;Warburton, 2013), pero tratándola como un síntoma del problema y no como el centro del estudio. El enfoque de consolidación que utilizamos en este artículo permite el estudio simultáneo y coherente de diversas modalidades de corrupción en un entorno determinado, incorporando diversos niveles de gobierno local y actores dentro y fuera de él. ...
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Los estudios sobre la corrupción han estado dominados por los estudios transnacionales y los estudios a nivel nacional, con una tendencia a descuidar la delgada textura de las prácticas corruptas que sólo puede lograrse mediante ricos estudios contextuales. En consecuencia, las recomendaciones anticorrupción tienden a depender excesivamente de las instituciones oficiales y a abordar los tipos de corrupción diádicos y de mercado. Basado en un diseño de investigación de métodos mixtos en dos etapas, incluyendo 44 entrevistas en profundidad en dos ciudades mexicanas, este artículo desarrolla un marco analítico fundamentado para comprender la consolidación de la corrupción en los gobiernos locales. Los resultados muestran el extraordinario dinamismo, maleabilidad y capacidad de recuperación de los sistemas corruptos, lo que permite eludir las estrategias oficiales de lucha contra la corrupción. En general, el estudio de casos revela los mecanismos a través de los cuales la corrupción se consolida de forma diferente en los gobiernos locales, lo que ayuda a comprender cómo estos sistemas pueden permanecer intactos a lo largo del tiempo a pesar de los cambios en los actores y el entorno institucional de lucha contra la corrupción.
... Moreover, when people within public institutions (such as the police) find themselves surrounded by corruption, they may have to accept and even participate in corruption despite their values (Rose-Ackerman 2001). An environment within which there is tolerance of corruption may result in it perpetuating as a cultural norm (Warburton 2001) and undermine institutional efforts to improve citizen security. Collectively, rather than or in addition to economic and social development contributing to homicide reduction, how institutions operate and how effective they are in the provision of citizen security can influence the homicide levels that are observed. ...
Article
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Most research that has examined the international variation in homicide levels has focused on structural variables, with the suggestion that socio-economic development operates as a cure for violence. In Latin America, development has occurred, but high homicide levels remain, suggesting the involvement of other influencing factors. We posit that government effectiveness and corruption control may contribute to explaining the variation in homicide levels, and in particular in the Latin America region. Our results show that social and economic structural variables are useful but are not conclusive in explaining the variation in homicide levels and that the relationship between homicide, government effectiveness, and corruption control was significant and highly pronounced for countries in the Latin American region. The findings highlight the importance of supporting institutions in improving their effectiveness in Latin America so that reductions in homicide (and improvements in citizen security in general) can be achieved.
... . Corruption consolidation includes looking at dyadic corruption (Ades and Di Tella 1997;De Graaf 2007;Warburton 2013;Plaček et al. 2018), but treating it as a symptom of the problem rather than as the focus of the study, allowing for the simultaneous and coherent study of various modalities of corruption in a given setting, incorporating various local government levels and actors within and outside of local governments. This approach is conducive to understanding how manifestations of corruption are connected to one another and are, in turn, connected to wider informal governance structures (see Strach et al. 2019). ...
Article
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This article constructs a grounded framework to study how corruption is consolidated in local governments. We focus on the fine‐grained texture of corrupt practices that can only be achieved by looking at rich contextual studies. We argue that neglecting the way corruption becomes the “rule of the game” has led to the creation of anti‐corruption policies that tend to be overly reliant on formal institutions, addressing only dyadic and venal types of corruption, and have therefore proven ineffective. Based on a two‐staged, mixed methods research design—including 50 in‐depth interviews in two Mexican cities and three surveys applied to citizens and public officials—this article's framework focuses on how networks are shaped and organized to perform corrupt practices, and how opacity and weak checks and balances grant them impunity. Results show corrupt schemes to be outstandingly malleable and resilient, able to circumvent formal anti‐corruption strategies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Corruption consolidation includes looking at dyadic corruption (Ades & Di Tella, 1997;Graaf, 2007;Plaček, Půček, & Ochrana, 2018;Warburton, 2013), but treating it as a symptom of the problem rather than as the focus of the study. The consolidation approach that we use in this article, allows for the simultaneous and coherent study of various modalities of corruption in a given setting, incorporating various local government levels and actors within and without local governments. ...
Preprint
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Studies on corruption have been dominated by cross-national studies and national-level studies, with a tendency to neglect the fine-grained texture of corrupt practices that can only be achieved by looking at rich contextual studies. As a result, anticorruption recommendations tend to be overly reliant on formal institutions and to address dyadic and venal types of corruption. Based on a two-staged, mixed methods research design—including 44 in-depth interviews in two Mexican cities—this article develops a grounded analytical framework to understand the consolidation of corruption in local governments. Results show corrupt systems’ outstanding dynamism, malleability and resiliency, leading to the circumventing of formal anticorruption strategies. Overall, the case study reveals mechanisms through which corruption differently consolidates in local governments, helping to understand how these systems can remain intact over time despite changes in actors and the anticorruption institutional environment.
... Administrative corruption is a special kind of noncompliant behavior. This kind of corruption is associated with venal or petit corruption (Bozeman, Molina, and Kaufmann 2018), seen mainly as a dyadic operation (Warburton 2013). The case is strategically useful because it epitomizes the experience of POs' interactions when they decide to accept stepping into a zone of noncompliance. ...
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Authorities depict noncompliance by public officials (POs) as a problematic deviation they seek to address by several means. This article discusses the problem as a situation where the public's reframing opportunities guide POs toward the acceptance of noncompliant behavior. This novel approach is underpinned by a behavioral model of decision-making processes. The pre-decision-making processes of POs are altered by actors who reframe efforts through narratives that affect the way POs make sense of a situation , their evaluation of the appropriateness of alternative actions, and their willingness to accept rule breaking. We use administrative corruption as a case of noncompliance to design a survey experiment applied to POs in a local government in Mexico. The survey adapts rationalizations of administrative corruption to test how narrative frames affect PO decision making, where a zone of noncompliance becomes acceptable. ARTICLE HISTORY
... There has been some prior work which has examined the network structure of corruption (Cartier-Bresson 1997;Warburton 2013;Ribeiro et al. 2018), and the controllability of these networks as it relates to changing attitudes toward illegal activity (da Cunha and Gonçalves 2018). These papers have primarily focused on the network between corrupt actors, and have been remarkably successful in the prediction of future scandals (Ribeiro et al. 2018). ...
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By viewing political and social corruption through the lens of the control theory of complex systems, this paper will provide some insight into the effects of corruption and outside control on incentives which direct the formation and evolution of social networks, and the intrinsic hierarchies which they encode. This paper proposes and tests the hypothesis that changes in the rate of competition among nodes to raise their control capacity, incentivized by the anticipation of payment through political corruption opportunities, can be identified by changes in an indicator of the controllability of the network at points where the network undergoes a structural change. A theoretical model of control input preference is formulated which leads to a testable hypothesis about the direction of correlation between controllability of a network and the presence of corruption. Results support the hypothesis that as corruption increases, the network becomes more difficult to control as all members alter their linking strategies to ensure that they get a piece of the action. We describe this novel effect as "hierarchical congestion", to reflect the emergent phenomenon in which individuals making effort to move themselves to the top of the controllability hierarchy increase the number of driver nodes required to fully control the network. THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL APPLIED NETWORK SCIENCE, AN OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL BY SPRINGER. FOR FREE ACCESS TO THE FULL TEXT PLEASE CLICK THE DOI LINK UNDER THE TITLE.
... In general terms, corruption is an artefact of social and political organisation and, as such, is a phenomenon of infinite complexity (Warburton, 2013). Defining corruption requires multitude resources and thorough comprehension. ...
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This research aims to synthesize Indonesian’s millennials opinion and perspective on the impact of leadership and their preference on leadership type in anti fraud context. Despite common opinion emphasizing the important role of leadership on anti fraud and anti corruption campaigns, this research intends to focus on examining the insights of millennials. This research targeted millennials as one of the largest age-group in the current workforce. This research proposes three research questions; first, to Indonesian’s millennials, does leadership really matter in anti fraud and anti corruption campaigns? Second, what leadership characteristic is the most important according to the millennials? And third, what is millennial’s leadership-style preference? Using questionnaires, the research collects 231 responses from respondents in 5 cities in Indonesia. The research found that millennial agrees that leadership has strong impact in combating fraud and corruption. The research shows that millennials put trustworthiness as the most important characteristic for a leader. Finally, it also reveals that millennials prefer leader that applies coaching leadership-style. Understanding millennials’ opinion on this topic will provide valuable insight while formulating specific leadership approach for leaders to engage their team member in achieving the objectives, in particular on anti fraud and anti corruption campaigns. The result of this research proposes that specific leadership-style shall be taken to effectively engage millennials team-members in conducting a successful anti fraud campaigns and combating fraud and corruption in the workplace.
... If a 'network' approach is to be taken (Warburton, 2001), a clearly necessary supplement is to recognise the transnational nature of these networks, in which even local transactions are modified or informed by globalised considerations. These networks are themselves unstable-that is, chaotic-especially in situations where trust is problematic. ...
... (Sik 2002: 144). 55 Az effajta puhatolózásra a szemtől szembeni találkozók a legalkalmasabbak, ahol a nem verbális közlések is nagy jelentőségűek (Warburton 2001 felek közti magatartási bizonytalanság komplexitásához jelentősen hozzájárul, hogy a hiányos informáltság következtében azt sem tudják biztosan eldönteni, hogy mely esetben van szó tényleges, a szerződés teljesítésével összefüggő operatív nehézségről, és mely esetben a másik egyéni haszonleséséről. ...
... It is generally agreed (Nielsen 2003;Odd-Helge 2003;Warburton 2013) that corrupt transactions occur between two or more individuals with the ''right connections''. Since corruption is illegal, corrupt agents are obliged to enforce their corrupt contract deals without any legal support. ...
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We consider a corruption network where agents, both internal or external to the network, use connections and bribes to obtain goods or services outside the formal procedures. We develop a graph-theoretic model for the system and present sufficient conditions for detectability of the corruption status of at least one agent. Where detectability is not possible, we determine the topology of the network and all the possible corruption statuses of the agents. Further we provide, if we have information on the corruption status of a single agent, an algorithm that identifies the corruption status of every other agent in the network. Our results provide tools for detecting corrupt agents in organizations such as revenue authorities, municipalities, police, vehicle inspection departments, financial institutions and firms, while allowing the system to operate in normal mode.
... For policy makers and managers, this study provides a useful starting point for the development of cooperative efforts aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the public sector to resist corruption. Both agency and structure are important in such efforts, this means that public participation must take into account contextual factors to make corruption resistance personally relevant to those it affects (Warburton 2001). In particular, political will is required on the part of policy makers to develop behavioural norms, cooperating with outside organisations such as NGOs who can bring ideas from other jurisdictions. ...
Book
Capacity building looks at developing the infrastructure, institutions and people and is critical to the development and participation of humans in the economy and society. Capacity building ranges from schools, roads and hospitals through to health and welfare systems, education, communication and information sharing, participation and voice, governance and opportunity. This book aims to outline the nature and scale of the capacity building challenges facing countries in the Asia Pacific region. Human Development and Capacity Building presents case studies from selected countries with an emphasis on rural development and programs that enhance opportunity and participation in the economy. It focuses on issues arising from women development in Pakistan, indigenous union voice in the French Pacific, job creation programs in Indonesia and the role of international aid and labour agencies in capacity building in Myanmar. The rich coverage will be of invaluable use to those interested in capacity building.
... In specific terms, Rose-Ackerman (2008) acknowledges that the most common corrupt transaction occurs between government officials (usually as bribe takers) and private actors (as bribe givers), and it involves power and resource exchanges. Similarly, Warburton (1998Warburton ( , 2013 points out that at least one of the actors who is involved in corruption must necessarily be in a position of power (power holder). However, we also acknowledge that in embezzlement cases, corruption networks might occur among public officials who have personal benefits without direct involvement of private actors. ...
Chapter
Incidents of corruption by local public leaders have increased in Indonesia in the era of a decentralized democratic regime, in which regional governments enjoy greater power and autonomy to manage regional resources. Previous research suggests that the shift of formal power from the central government to regional governments resulted in new actors at the local level becoming involved in corruption. Building on ideas from social capital theory, the current study attempts to complement previous work by analyzing the shifts of public leaders’ corruption behavior under the decentralized democratic government. We suggest that besides formal power relations, informal relations are important for initiating and sustaining corruptive transactions, and corruption requires a different social capital base in different institutional settings. The objectives of this paper are (1) to organize current knowledge on institutional change and corruption, (2) to extend current thinking on public leaders’ corruption in Indonesia and beyond, and (3) to suggest a framework for future empirical study. We present an empirical study on the link between institutional change and corruption, based on a unique data set of real corruption cases as they were reported in Indonesian public newspapers. Based on this first exploration—which indicates that indeed the nature of corruption networks in Indonesia has altered since decentralization—the proposed theoretical framework is deemed of value for further empirical investigation.
... If a 'network' approach is to be taken (Warburton, 2001), a clearly necessary supplement is to recognise the transnational nature of these networks, in which even local transactions are modified or informed by globalised considerations. These networks are themselves unstable-that is, chaotic-especially in situations where trust is problematic. ...
Article
Corruption is now widely understood to be one of the main distorters of effective development intervention, leading to the illegal misappropriation of aid, inefficiencies and crime in local and national bureaucracies, the failure of poverty-alleviation schemes to reach the very poorest, and general lack of access to primary health care, education, housing and clean water. High levels of corruption can distort the operation of social justice and the fair distribution of resources. Corruption is also often seen as a 'local' problem—as a form of crime that requires ethical, legal or managerial mechanisms to prevent, contain or eradicate it, or as a failure of individual morality or traditional norms when vulnerable people are placed in a position of temptation. This chapter will advance the thesis that corruption is, in fact, a systemic problem in which whole social systems are implicated, and which is generated in large part by dysfunctions in systems themselves. In standard sociological parlance, the notion of social organisation implies the smooth running of a given social system. 'Social disorganisation' is therefore seen as its opposite or as the degeneration of a functional system. This term is, of course, relative and often substantially ideological. For example, the 'social harmony' ascribed to Singapore and North Korea perhaps represents control more than functionality. Yet we can identify with reasonable accuracy situations in which social breakdown or non-functionality is evident through its negative impact on the quality of life, particularly of the non-powerful, non-privileged or excluded members of a given society, and the expression of this non-functionality in rising levels of crime, violence and corruption (Jones-Finer & Nellis, 1998). This chapter should therefore be read as an exercise in social theory, not as an empirical analysis of corruption in specific cases. It is an attempt to broaden the scope and range of reference of organisational sociology in order to include within its ambit issues of development and social change, alongside its traditional preoccupation with the internal structure of organisations, particularly businesses and bureaucracies.
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In this paper, we study a division between market corruption—impersonal bribery—and network corruption that operates through social connections. We provide a thorough theoretical discussion of this division, compare it with other categorizations of corruption, and also demonstrate differences between market and network corruption existing in practice. Using data from the World Economic Forum in the period from 2007 to 2016 we measure market and network corruption across about 150 countries all over the globe and show that network corruption is more related to countries’ cultural backgrounds and more harmful to investments than market corruption. Overall, our paper argues that the market-network dimension, unfairly abandoned in the literature, may be useful for better understanding of such a complex phenomenon as corruption.
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The study investigates to what degree Indonesia’s large-scale decentralization and democratization changed corruption networks. A role structure approach is developed to move current analysis of dyad-level structures to the network level. This approach is empirically tested by comparing the relational content and third-party structures of 96 corruption networks operating in the first phase of decentralization (2001–2004), characterized by a powerful local council, with 94 corruption networks detected in the second phase (2005–2013), when direct local elections were introduced, and the power of the local council declined. Building on Fiske’s relational model theory, it is argued and found that the local executive’s reduced dependence on the local council provided the opportunity to initiate corrupt exchanges with a broader set of players both inside and outside the bureaucracy. Whereas deep dependence power relations (i.e. formal authority) remained important, an increasing proportion of corruption networks involved compound role structures characterized by both shallow (non-embedded profit and work relations) and deep interdependence (kin- and friendship). Furthermore, third party intermediaries became more important. Implications for the study of networks of corruption are discussed.
Chapter
The network literature available presents valuable theories on corruption networks. These networks are goal-directed criminal networks, established to undertake criminal activities. This chapter presents a different outlook on the link between networks and corruption. It presents the concept of ‘network corruption’ which is the phenomenon of collective acting by networks which results in corruption even if the individual acting itself is not necessarily corrupt. This chapter is partly based on earlier cases studies which were investigated as corruption cases by the public prosecution services. People make group-serving or ‘sociocentric’attributions to boost the performance of groups to which they belong, and this can turn into network corruption. The concept of network corruption considers corruption as a social process within networks. Its introduction implies the need to understand corruption as collective acting and thereby underlining the importance to incorporate network awareness and network responsibility in corruption literature and in practical policy making. Network corruption as a complex system provides insights into norm development in emerging networks which all of us need to keep an eye on when we involve and participate in networks, whether we participate as politician, civil servant, law enforcement official, journalist, entrepreneur, employee or citizen.
Chapter
Financial crimes are social problems that affect many different communities around the world, involving public and private organizations in diverse sectors and activities. We analyze global financial networks focusing on particular aspects of their characteristics when suspicious activities of tax fraud, corruption, and money laundering could be identified. This research provides a perspective on the presence of financial crime phenomena in global financial networks through the study of their large-scale structure. Our results reveal that suspicious activities run in small groups, and they emerge around communities of financial intermediaries, non-financial intermediaries, and offshore entities. Moreover, we find preliminary indications that these activities can play a role in deviating the degree distributions of these networks from a power-law behavior. We also discuss the temporal evolution of the networks and its significance in the identification of suspicious activities and financial crime.
Chapter
To understand corruption, scholars cannot only analyze the details. We need to see the features, the agents, the interactions, the structure, and the dynamics. One way to get the whole picture is to model the corruption processes and systems as a network. This chapter is an introduction both for the corruption networks modeling and the rest of the book. It covers some of the earlier developments from social sciences and complexity that form the foundation for the more specialized topics of the other chapters.
Article
Voting and decision making in FIFA was in 2011 shifted from the executive committee to the FIFA congress with the aim to reduce risk of corrupt vote mobilisation in these elections. A key rationale behind this decision was that it would not be financially feasible to bribe a majority of the congress. However, the network structure with asymmetries of influence can still be susceptible to corruption. The aim of this study is therefore to analyse the potential susceptibility of the organisation structure to a grand vote-rigging corruption scheme of FIFA World Cup host elections by means of a social network analysis approach. Based on a theoretical notion of vote mobilisation and inter-organisational networks, the organisational structure is evaluated to identify potential susceptibility to corruption. Two possible regimes were analysed, the centrally controlled and horizontally controlled, based on structural cohesion, embeddedness, network centralisation and correlation between actor centrality distributions. Findings do not suggest a susceptibility to a centrally controlled, but to a horizontally controlled vote-rigging corruption scheme. After the social network analysis was conducted, the holders of five out of eleven of the identified vulnerable positions in the network have been charged with allegations of corruption. This is a strong indicator of the validity of the method to assess the structural susceptibility to corruption.
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In legal literature there is a big amount of definitions of corruption due to the complexity of this phenomenon. The article considers various legal and theoretical approaches to the definition of corruption. The Author mentions the problem of notional proximity of different definitions of corruption and proposes a method of identification of definitions which are close in meaning. The author also proposes to consider social and psychological aspects in definition of corruption as these aspects are regarded as an integral part of corruption.
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This article argues that income inequality increases the level of corruption through material and normative mechanisms. The wealthy have both greater motivation and more opportunity to engage in corruption, whereas the poor are more vulnerable to extortion and less able to monitor and hold the rich and powerful accountable as inequality increases. Inequality also adversely affects social norms about corruption and people's beliefs about the legitimacy of rules and institutions, thereby making it easier for them to tolerate corruption as acceptable behavior. This comparative analysis of 129 countries using two-stage least squares methods with a variety of instrumental variables supports the authors' hypotheses using different measures of corruption (the World Bank's Control of Corruption Index and the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index). The explanatory power of inequality is at least as important as conventionally accepted causes of corruption such as economic development. The authors also found a significant interaction effect between inequality and democracy, as well as evidence that inequality affects norms and perceptions about corruption using the World Values Surveys data. Because corruption also contributes to income inequality, societies often fall into vicious circles of inequality and corruption.
Information is clearly an important resource of power
Information is clearly an important resource of power. In corrupt transactions it becomes crucial (Garson. 1977; Olsen 1970).
in her massive study ofItalian corruption, that 'honesty' was a valuable trait among corrupt actors. If you were generally known to be 'honest' in your corrupt dealings then you were a person that could be dealt with
  • Della Porta
Della Porta found, in her massive study ofItalian corruption, that 'honesty' was a valuable trait among corrupt actors. If you were generally known to be 'honest' in your corrupt dealings then you were a person that could be dealt with (Della Porta 1996).