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Key research themes
1. How does corruption become normalized within organizations through social and organizational processes?
This research area investigates the sociological and organizational dynamics that lead to corruption being perceived as 'normal' behavior within organizations. Instead of viewing corruption solely as the product of individual moral failings, these studies explore how organizational culture, socialization, group processes, and institutional norms contribute to the gradual acceptance and internalization of corrupt acts. Understanding this normalization is critical because it shifts the focus from individual culpability to systemic change in preventing corruption.
Key finding: This paper critiques the individualistic view of corruption and introduces the concept of 'social density' where corruption is understood as a negotiated social construct within organizations. It details how socialization... Read more
Key finding: This research emphasizes the systemic nature of corruption in organizations, illustrating how corrupt practices can become embedded within organizational cultures and systems. It calls for integrating micro (individual) and... Read more
Key finding: Analyzing the CSM judicial career scandal, this study uncovers organizational reasons beyond individual self-interest that foster wrongdoing. It introduces the concept of 'organizational reasons', where administrative laws,... Read more
2. What roles do leadership and ethical frameworks play in influencing corrupt or unethical behavior in organizations?
This theme examines how leadership styles, moral development theories, and ethical orientations influence the prevalence of corruption and unethical behavior in workplaces. It highlights the cognitive and social learning mechanisms through which leaders impact organizational ethics, and how normative ethical theories shape individuals’ attitudes towards corruption. Insights gained help in formulating leadership development and ethics management strategies as anti-corruption interventions.
Key finding: Drawing on cognitive moral development and social learning theories, this work finds that leaders significantly influence followers’ ethical behavior. Leaders’ moral reasoning levels correlate with group moral reasoning and... Read more
Key finding: This research differentiates individual perceptions of corruption based on adherence to deontological (rule-based) versus consequentialist (outcome-based) ethics. The study operationalizes these normative perspectives to... Read more
Key finding: A meta-summary of empirical studies across 34 jurisdictions identifies variability in attitudes towards bribery shaped by cultural, demographic, and institutional factors. Findings show that although bribery is broadly... Read more
3. What are the patterns and mechanisms in the escalation of corrupt behavior: gradual normalization versus abrupt engagement?
This theme explores whether corruption escalates through incremental minor transgressions ('the slippery slope') or occurs abruptly when opportunities for significant corruption arise ('the steep cliff'). Empirical tests challenge prevailing assumptions about gradual corruption, offering insights into the psychological and situational triggers for severe corrupt acts with implications for detection and prevention strategies.
Key finding: Using experimental corruption games, this study contrasts the slippery-slope hypothesis—which posits corruption emerges gradually through minor unethical acts—with the steep-cliff hypothesis that severe corruption occurs... Read more
Key finding: Based on survey and contextual data from Central and Eastern Europe, this paper demonstrates that in environments with high institutional corruption, petty corrupt encounters become normalized and have a diminished negative... Read more