Search

This article responds to a comment on a previous article that argued critics of capitalism often confuse it with cronyism. The response addresses the assumptions made in the comment and highlights the complexities of government policy reflecting society's will. It also discusses the relationship between cronyism and capitalism, emphasizing that cronyism depends on the state's level of involvement in the economy. The article concludes by acknowledging the different perspectives on capitalism and cronyism and the need for further research on these topics. The text also discusses the potential for cronyism in government institutions and the relationship between cronyism and capitalism. It argues that firms' dependence on government increases the potential for cronyism, and that special interests often shape public policy to their own preferences. The text also addresses the assumption that government policy reflects society's will and explores the distinctions between cronyism and capitalism. It concludes by discussing the size and scope of the state and the challenges of government intervention in the private sector. Overall, the text highlights the need for further research on the antecedents of government policy and the potential consequences of government intervention. The text also discusses the topic of cronyism and its impact on government policy and effectiveness. It suggests methods such as citizen assemblies and shareholder resolutions to address cronyism and emphasizes the importance of understanding managers' value systems and their influence on decision-making. The text calls for more research on government effectiveness and the role of institutions in shaping public policy. It concludes by stating that management research on cr [Extracted from the article]

When people want to conduct a transaction, but doing so would be morally disreputable, they can obfuscate the fact that they are engaging in an exchange while still arranging for a set of transfers that are effectively equivalent to an exchange. Obfuscation through structures such as gift-giving and brokerage is pervasive across a wide range of disreputable exchanges, such as bribery and sex work. In this article, we develop a theoretical account that sheds light on when actors are more versus less likely to obfuscate. Specifically, we report a series of experiments addressing the effect of trust on the decision to engage in obfuscated disreputable exchange. We find that actors obfuscate more often with exchange partners high in loyalty-based trustworthiness, with expected reciprocity and moral discomfort mediating this effect. However, the effect is highly contingent on the type of trust; trust facilitates obfuscation when it is loyalty-based, but this effect flips when trust is ethics-based. Our findings not only offer insights into the important role of relational context in shaping moral understandings and choices about disreputable exchange, but they also contribute to scholarship on trust by demonstrating that distinct forms of trust can have diametrically opposed effects.

Distrust in the civil service is not unique to any country but felt across much of the globe amid ascendant populist movements. A significant correlate of distrust in the civil service is the perception of corruption among bureaucrats. Our research addresses two main questions. First, in OECD countries, to what extent does the public view bureaucrats as corrupt? Second, what factors explain these perceptions? Data from 23 countries in the International Social Survey Programme's 2016 Role of Government survey are analyzed using multilevel logistic regression models. Among the explanatory variables included in this multilevel analysis are respondents' exposure to bribery, political party support, and political efficacy. Country-level correlates drawn from the 2016 Worldwide Governance Indicators are analyzed to explore the impact of governance quality on corruption perceptions. Results indicate that better quality of government is associated with lower perceptions of bureaucratic corruption. Likewise, notable individual-level findings suggest political efficacy and exposure to corruption are significantly associated with corruption perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the prevalence of corruption and use of intermediaries at immigration sites, the municipality, and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Mogadishu, Somalia. Through an online survey, 80 responses were recorded from residents in Mogadishu who work in academia, businesses, and international NGOs. Five anonymous civil servants were interviewed over telephone to further learn about the difficulties and potential solutions to the corruption problem. The statistical analysis revealed that Immigration is relatively less corrupted. This is due to changes in management and administrative reforms, ability to challenge fraudulent temptation of staff through call centers, and having better institutional and staff capacities than the other two institutions in question. Furthermore, direct supervision from the Ministry of Internal Security at the site of immigration with relatively enhanced working conditions with higher salaries allows for better functioning compared to Mogadishu Municipality, which is a local authority, and CID, a subdivision of an underpaid police department. Alternatively, more than half of the citizens use an intermediary to obtain their passports, birth certificates, and criminal record letters. According to the binary regression analysis, male applicants are more likely to use an intermediary than females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explored the attitudes of Kuwaiti residents toward corruption practices in Kuwait and the role of the Nazaha Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority in tackling such actions. To achieve the aim of this study, a survey questionnaire, which was based on a survey introduced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2018, was distributed to 535 participants in Kuwait. The questionnaire covered areas related to problems facing Kuwait, behaviors of public officers, opinions on practices of public sector employees, corruption in Kuwait by industry, the role of Nazaha in Kuwait, the correlation between bribery and access to government services, and the reporting of corruption in Kuwait. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS. The findings indicate that 374 respondents noted corruption as the most serious problem in Kuwait, which is practiced systematically in Kuwait due to the prevalence of nepotism and other cultural reasons. In addition, it was found that there is dissatisfaction with the role of Nazaha, with 46.9 and 32.3% of participants reporting that Nazaha did not react in time and did not catch offenders, respectively. This study suggests that Nazaha should be empowered with further legal means to tackle corruption in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there are a relatively large number of studies on the relationship between firm formality and bribery, little is known about how a dynamic business environment affects this relationship. Using longitudinal data collected from biennial surveys of small- and medium-sized firms in Vietnam, this study shows that formal firms are more likely to pay bribes, which are proxied by greasing and rent-seeking bribes, than informal firms in provinces with poor business environments. Nevertheless, when the quality of the local business environment is improved, the formal firms are less likely to commit bribery. They also pay less bribes and have an expectation of paying less bribes in the future. These findings suggest that the focus of anti-corruption strategies should be on improving the quality of the local business environment to support the formal small- and medium-sized firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We empirically investigate the relationship between corruption and growth using a firm-level dataset that is unique in scale, covering almost 88,000 firms across 141 economies in 2006–20, with wide-ranging corruption experiences. The scale and detail of our data allow us to explore the corruption-growth relationship at a very local level, within industries in a relatively narrow geography. We report three empirical regularities. First, firms that make zero informal payments tend to grow slower than bribers. Second, this result is driven by non-bribers in high-corruption countries. Third, among bribers, growth is decreasing in the amount of informal payments—in both high- and low-corruption countries. We suggest that this set of results may be reconciled with a simple model in which endogenously determined higher bribe rates lead to lower growth, while non-bribers are often excluded entirely from growth opportunities in high-corruption settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role which corporate and financial secrecy vehicles play in enabling transnational corruption has justifiably received growing scholarly and policy interest. Less attention, however, has been given to the enabling role played by political secrecy vehicles. Political secrecy vehicles denote arrangements that allow individuals to clandestinely exercise public authority, which is concealed by a formal bureaucratic façade. This article develops analytical categories for deconstructing political secrecy structures and pinpointing the threat they pose to anti-corruption enforcement. These structures and threats are then empirically explored through an investigative case study. The case study plots how shadow political space in Uzbekistan and the simulacra of impartial public administration, was utilised by a kleptocratic syndicate to conceal an international bribery scheme, and then weaponised by the conspirators to successfully frustrate enforcement efforts in Europe. Drawing on key lessons from the case study, proposals are made for how the threats posed by political secrecy structures can be jurisprudentially and practically counteracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that Black Maroons were able to maintain a semiformal space of freedom in Territorial Florida through their work as go-betweens. Scholarship understands the utility of the Maroons to the Florida Indians, but this text posits that Black go-betweens, through their work as guides and interpreters, were also of vital importance to settlers. As Florida was Indigenous space prior to 1835, go-betweens became essential to settler ambitions in Florida, from officials of the Territorial Government to planters. The go-betweens' ease of interaction with Indigenous and settler society shows that in spite of their status as fugitives from slavery, they could force the two dominant slaveholding societies in Florida to accept their claims of freedom. Furthermore, rather than simply falling prey to bribery, go-betweens used treaty proceedings between the Florida Indians and Territorial Government to have the interests of their own communities heard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the causal effect of environmental regulation on firm ownership dynamics. China's central government took the reduction of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions as the main performance evaluation criterion for local government leaders in 2005. Based on a difference-in-differences framework, our results show that environmental regulation increases firms' state shareholdings, and these findings are robust to various endogeneity and sensitivity analyses. In particular, stringent regulations increase firms' production costs, thus reducing their expected profits and causing undue burden on them. As a result, firms seek the shelter of governments by introducing more state shareholdings to escape stricter environmental regulations or to obtain invisible benefits. Our results are more significant in regions with low corruption, high transparency, or poor external business environments and highly polluting firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: The entrepreneurship-ethics nexus draws considerable interest from researchers and practitioners with little resolution. Our purpose with this paper is to contribute to the debate by shedding light on the relationship between managers' attitudes toward unethical behavior and their subsequent entrepreneurial intention (EI) in an emerging economy context. Given the complex and multifaceted interplay between unethical behavior and EI, we extend our investigation by including decision-making speed and attitude toward risk to explain the relationship further. We take a granular approach to facets of unethical behavior to gain deeper insights into the specificity of influences they pose on subsequent behavioral intentions. METHODOLOGY: Primary data were collected from 214 Kosovan managers employed in companies from different industries. Hypothesized relationships were tested by conducting hierarchical regression analyses. FINDINGS: Our results indicate that managers with higher EI are not necessarily unethical overall. We did not find support for the hypothesis that managers with stronger attitudes toward unethical behavior demonstrate higher entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on dimensions of unethical behavior, we find that managers who favor bribery are more entrepreneurially inclined. Furthermore, we find that managers who are quick decision-makers and risk-takers express higher EI. IMPLICATIONS: Theoretically, we add to the existing body of research on ethics and entrepreneurship by empirically examining the relationship between attitude toward unethical behavior and EI and the viability of the Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework for integrating unethical behavior in entrepreneurship research. Our study affirms the extension of the theoretical and empirical underpinnings concerning ethics and entrepreneurship, contemplating that they are pervasive across contexts. We provide important practical implications for managers, especially in the corporate entrepreneurship and training context. Managers are encouraged to foster an entrepreneurial-friendly environment that abides by ethical standards. Our study also informs policymakers of the importance of formal education on entrepreneurship as a mechanism to enforce ethical awareness in future entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This study is among the first attempts to test the relationship between unethical behavior and EI in a managerial sample and nonwestern context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the recent recurring cases of financial crime worldwide, national and international regulators have enacted new regulatory instruments intended to prevent or inhibit unlawful acts by banks and their representatives. These stricter regulations regarding the operations of financial institutions have reinforced the importance of best practices and the role of compliance within banks. Nonetheless, regulations regarding compliance structures and functions are not yet mandatory and give great flexibility to banks to define how they will set their compliance programmes. This research aims to understand how compliance functions have been implemented in the two largest banks in the UK and Brazil as a governance mechanism to fight financial crimes such as bribery and corruption. Document analyses of websites and financial reports of these banks examine disclosures provided by these corporations and shed light on the main drivers influencing their transparency regarding compliance functions, roles and responsibilities and their connections to the bank's operations and profitability goals. This research demonstrates that the implementation and enhancement of compliance functions in UK and Brazilian banks are driven by attempts to respond to regulatory requirements, social demands and as a reputational risk instrument, reflecting different levels of development in each institution. The maturity of these disclosures demonstrates that Brazilian banks present a more reactive attitude, justifying their investments in compliance according to minimum law requirements, while banks in the UK tend to have a more proactive perspective on their compliance initiatives, reinforcing their importance for the bank's competitive advantage and long-term continuity beyond regulatory compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past millennium, Confucian culture has prevailed in China as a typical informal institution, especially its emphasis on human feelings and interpersonal connections (guanxi) that coincides with the incentives for corruption. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that Confucian culture can generate positive effects on the formation of bureaucratic corruption in China. Using the variation in the number of jinshi across Chinese cities as a proxy for the degree of Confucian culture, and using the number of bribery recipients to measure corruption, we find that regions with more jinshi are associated with more bribe recipients. To address the endogeneity, we employ the Confucian sages in a given city as our instrumental variable. The instrumented results are consistent with our baseline claim. The findings remain robust after using a variety of tests, including using the percentage of bribe recipients instead of the number of bribe recipients, using the number of Confucius temples, Confucian academies and chaste women as alternative Confucian cultural measures, and controlling the impact of the North–South differences. In addition, we find the shock of foreign culture can mitigate the positive effect of Confucian culture on corruption. Finally, mechanism shows that the effect of Confucian culture on corruption can be attributed to the attitudes towards income unfairness, the excessive pursuit of vanity and the emphasis on interpersonal connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been highlighted many times how difficult it is to draw a boundary between gift and bribe, and how the same transfer can be interpreted in different ways according to the position of the observer and the narrative frame into which it is inserted. This also applied of course to Ancient Rome; in both the Republic and Principate lawgivers tried to define the limits of acceptable transfers and thus also to identify what we might call 'corruption'. Yet, such definitions remained to a large extent blurred, and what was constructed was mostly a 'code of conduct', allowing Roman politicians to perform their own 'honesty' in public duty – while being aware at all times that their involvement in different kinds of transfer might be used by their opponents against them and presented as a case of 'corrupt' behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to assess the local government’s capacity to develop anti-corruption policies for social assistance programs (Bansos) and post-Covid-19 economic recovery. The study examines deeply the effectiveness of the policy framework in combatting corruption at the local level. The research findings are intended to form the keystone for crafting regional anti-corruption policy strategies, particularly focusing on preventing corruption in social assistance funds during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research location chosen is the Government of Malang City, given the occurrence of widespread corruption within the local government in 2018 (https://antikorupsi.org/id/article/korupsimassal-wakil-rakyat-daerah). Have there been systematic efforts to enhance corruption prevention? This research was conducted between 2021 and 2022 during the economic recovery period following the Covid-19 pandemic, utilizing document analysis, mass media reports, and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). Employing content analysis and qualitative methods, this study highlights the necessity for innovative approaches to strengthen corruption prevention and eradication policy capabilities. While there is a commitment from local governments, concrete programs and action plans are still needed. Moreover, stricter mechanisms and enhanced oversights are essential to bolster corruption prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical access to public services frequently does not guarantee people's needs will be met — what we term effective access. Such discrepancies result in part from social bargaining: the extent to which citizens can leverage connections with street-level service providers. Survey data from 34 African countries shows citizens with greater social bargaining capacity enjoy greater effective access, in contrast to citizens who pay bribes. Data from 70,000 households in Tanzania further demonstrates that parents with greater social bargaining capacity have more opportunities to interact with school officials — and that their children are more likely to achieve relevant learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main challenges developing nations face is curbing bribery. While there are many efforts to curb bribery, most focused at macro level, such as law, while little has been examined at the micro level, e.g., individual behavior and intention. Those who did investigate at the micro level tend to focus on the recipients rather than the ones giving the bribe. We explored eight factors that influence Malaysian young adults' bribe giving intention based on the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA). A total of 345 respondents (Mage = 20.68, SD = 2.01, 189 are females) completed questionnaires about all RAA variables. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was carried out using smartPLS3.0 to analyze the result. The result revealed that out of the eight variables, four variables—Instrumental attitudes, Experiential Attitudes, Parents' descriptive norms and Capacity—explain 74% of the variance in bribe giving intention. An important take-away is that young adult's perception of whether their parents gave or did not give bribes in a given situation is important in influencing their bribe giving intention. Bribe giving prevention messages must be targeted explicitly toward parents, where they play a crucial role in curbing this dishonesty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature about the influence of country corruption on corporate cash holdings is not conclusive as there are studies supporting both a positive and negative relationship. To better explain this relationship, our study introduces a corporate-level mediating variable, i.e. the company's willingness to fight bribery as part of its CSR policy. Using a sample of 1,075 listed firms from 21 European Union countries for the period 2008–2019 (7,771 firm-year observations), we find a partial mediating effect of the corporate anti-bribery policy on the relationship between country corruption and corporate cash holdings. On the one hand, according to the shielding argument, country corruption negatively influences corporate cash holdings. And, on the other hand, there is a mediating effect such that firms in corrupt countries adopt less tough anti-bribery policies and, instead, they reduce their cash holdings both to protect themselves from expropriation and to signal their limit on bribe payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which white-collar crime makes sense. Understanding business offending reflects the degree of sensemaking among respondents in the current survey research. Making sense implies a number of factors that influence understandability. An understandable act is not necessarily acceptable or justifiable. At a university in Iran, criminal law and criminology students answered a questionnaire regarding their extent of understanding of business offenders. Design/methodology/approach: The research method is the use of experimental data using a questionnaire in one of the units of the Islamic Azad University in Iran, where 300 students were invited to respond to an online survey. Findings: The respondents found it on average understandable that top executives and other privileged individuals abuse their positions to commit financial crime when they have problems with their personal finances, when the business struggles financially and faces the threat of bankruptcy, and when they offer bribes in corrupt countries to obtain business contracts. The extent of understandability varies with a number of propositions in the convenience theory. Originality/value: This article has not been submitted elsewhere and is original. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of International Business Studies is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Sentencing differences can arise from discriminatory sentences and sentence disparities. Only the former has been examined in Malaysia. This study addresses the gap using data on convicted bribe offenders between 2010 and 2021. Results show that while discriminatory sentencing arising from non-legal considerations exists, their effects on fines and imprisonment were not always uniform or in the same direction. Only being male unequivocally disadvantaged the offender. Professionals and whitecollar offenders paid higher fines, government servants and bribe solicitors served longer jail sentences, Malay judges handed out longer jail terms than their non-Malay counterparts, and the year 2021 was characterized by shorter jail terms relative to other periods. In the case of sentencing disparities, all differences are attributable to judicial discretion, exercised correctly or otherwise. Of greater concern, however, is the significant negative association between the severity of penalties imposed (fines and imprisonment) and the amount of corrupt money misappropriated. This seriously undermines the deterrent effect and fairness of the judicial system. Findings also suggest that the conclusion of a previous study that bribery offenders in Malaysia receive preferential treatment based on their social, political, and personal characteristics is not only sweeping but inaccurate and has to be modified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption has become a transnational phenomenon that threatens the stability and security of the society. Moreover, this phenomenon has a negative impact on various spheres of society, which undermines the democratic institutions and values of any state. Statistical data from Russia and Kazakhstan indicate that the number of corruption-related crimes has been increasing, thus pointing at the lack of effective measure of combating this phenomenon. In the studies and normative acts of Russia and Kazakhstan regulating the issues of combating corruption, the concept of corruption is given a different interpretation. In this regard, using the analogy with the legislation of Kazakhstan, the authors propos a new understanding of corruption, which should be codified in the relevant Federal Law of Russia. In addition, in order to improve the quality of legal regulation of anti-corruption in the General part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to consolidate the list of corruption-related crimes. There are quite a lot of definitions of the term bribery in academic literature. At the same time, most authors believe that it should be considered through criminal and legal components. Bribery is one of the most important elements of corruption, responsibility for it is provided in articles 366, 367, 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and articles 290, 291, 2911, 2912 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the offer and promise of a bribe (including the offer and promise of mediation in bribery) is not criminalized. In this connection, the authors, with regards to the requirements of the UN Convention against Corruption on criminalization of acts of promising, offering mediation in bribery, and relying on the practices of the legislator of the Russian Federation, propose to amend Article 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Mediation in Bribery). The authors believe that the discussed changes and additions will result in a legal framework for combating corruption and defining its boundaries.

This article investigates the occurrence and outcomes of corporate tax-related political activity through bribery. Specifically, it examines the extent to which firms bribe government officials through gift-giving, banqueting, and entertaining activities and the extent of payoffs that firms gain from these bribery practices. Using a large hand-collected dataset of Chinese listed firms for the period from 2009 to 2014, I find that firms that spend more on consumption bribery exhibit a significantly lower tax burden. This negative association is mainly driven by small firms, non-state-owned firms, state-owned firms with weak political connections, and firms in competitive industries. Further evidence shows that the tax benefits from bribery are more apparent in more corrupt, less economically developed, and less liberalized regions. Furthermore, the payoffs of tax bribery are mitigated by 45.4% after the implementation of China's anti-corruption campaign in 2012. These findings have policy implications for governments to optimize investment environments and increase tax revenue by curbing power-for-money deals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excess of mystery and 'meaning' in Twin Peaks: Season 3 (2017) reflects the post-truth ontological dissonance of information overload, tantalising the thirst for answers that dominates digital communication. Combining its clues and codes with payoffs for 'long-term fan investments' (Hills, 2020: 197) situates the series between two modes of fan participation: the curative puzzle-solving of complex 'Quality TV', and cult television's 'hyperdiegesis'. Season 3 is complex cult television, encouraging forensic and creative engagement. Replicating the polarisation of contemporary discourse while simultaneously promoting algorithmic literacy informs Mark Frost's politicised vision for Twin Peaks, and David Lynch's aesthetic experiments amplify this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: During armed conflicts, when the rule of law collapses, bribery often becomes prevalent. Yet, the effect of bribery on firm performance under those circumstances remains unclear. Bribery could provide access to scarce resources, but it could also be the result of extortion. This study argues that bribes can improve firm performance during certain conflicts, when violence reduces public officials' ability to threaten firms. Using longitudinal data from businesses in Nigeria during the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009–2014, I find that firms exposed to Boko Haram attacks that bribed outperformed firms that did not bribe. Qualitative data suggest that the insurgency limited public officials' ability to threaten firms, making bribes less a means of rent extraction and more a way for firms to access resources. Managerial Summary: In many economies, bribery is widespread despite being illegal. This study shows that during times of violent conflict bribery can be a way for firms to maintain operations despite the disruption. Using data from firms in Nigeria during the 2009–2014 Boko Haram insurgency, I find that firms that bribed tended to suffer less from the effects of the insurgency. Bribing firms were better able to secure protection and access transportation networks. At the same time, the conflict reduced local officials' ability to extort firms, making bribes less likely to involve extortion. These results highlight the extreme circumstances that firms face during violent conflicts and the illicit practices that may enable them to survive in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: The entrepreneurship-ethics nexus draws considerable interest from researchers and practitioners with little resolution. Our purpose with this paper is to contribute to the debate by shedding light on the relationship between managers’ attitudes toward unethical behavior and their subsequent entrepreneurial intention (EI) in an emerging economy context. Given the complex and multifaceted interplay between unethical behavior and EI, we extend our investigation by including decision-making speed and attitude toward risk to explain the relationship further. We take a granular approach to facets of unethical behavior to gain deeper insights into the specificity of influences they pose on subsequent behavioral intentions. METHODOLOGY: Primary data were collected from 214 Kosovan managers employed in companies from different industries. Hypothesized relationships were tested by conducting hierarchical regression analyses. FINDINGS: Our results indicate that managers with higher EI are not necessarily unethical overall. We did not find support for the hypothesis that managers with stronger attitudes toward unethical behavior demonstrate higher entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on dimensions of unethical behavior, we find that managers who favor bribery are more entrepreneurially inclined. Furthermore, we find that managers who are quick decision-makers and risk-takers express higher EI. IMPLICATIONS: Theoretically, we add to the existing body of research on ethics and entrepreneurship by empirically examining the relationship between attitude toward unethical behavior and EI and the viability of the Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework for integrating unethical behavior in entrepreneurship research. Our study affirms the extension of the theoretical and empirical underpinnings concerning ethics and entrepreneurship, contemplating that they are pervasive across contexts. We provide important practical implications for managers, especially in the corporate entrepreneurship and training context. Managers are encouraged to foster an entrepreneurial-friendly environment that abides by ethical standards. Our study also informs policymakers of the importance of formal education on entrepreneurship as a mechanism to enforce ethical awareness in future entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This study is among the first attempts to test the relationship between unethical behavior and EI in a managerial sample and non-western context.

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of corruption. The main purpose of the research is to examine the impact of global economic/financial crisis on corruption. We focus on manufacturing firms in the EECA region and examine their activities including bidding for government contracts, applying for an operating license, and applying for an import license. Systematization of the literary sources and approaches for solving the problem indicates that bribes got significantly smaller after the crisis ended. The relevance of this scientific problem decision is that governments’ efforts to improve the overall business environment when facing an economic/financial crisis help reduce corruption. Investigation of corruption in the paper is carried out in the following logical sequence: First, the size of bribes for securing government contracts is examined. Then, the prevalence of bribery during import license application process is examined. Finally, the prevalence of bribery during operating license application process is examined. Methodological tools of the research methods were non-parametric tests that compare the years of 2007 and 2010-2014. The research object is manufacturing firms in the EECA region because they were included in the BEEPS IV and BEEPS V manufacturing surveys. The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that governments’ actions during an economic or financial crisis affect the size and prevalence of bribery. The research results can be useful for government officials that plan on reducing corruption in their region or country.

Migration can affect the practice of corruption in migrant-sending countries in a number of ways. In this paper we test whether or not remittance receiving households are more likely to be targeted for corruption. Using micro-level data from 20 Latin American countries, this study finds that migrant households are about 15 percentage points more likely to be asked for a bribe than non-migrant-sending households. The corruption effect is further confirmed by an instrumental variable estimation. Our findings suggest that remittances can have an unintended effect on households' risk of experiencing corruption. The excess exposure may discourage remittances and limit the positive development benefits of migration and remittances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does government recentralization reform affect corruption? We utilize the pilot recentralization reform that transforms the legislative function, power, and responsibility of the district‐level authorities to the higher level of the government organ in Vietnam as a quasi‐natural experiment to address the aforementioned question. We find strong evidence that recentralization reform leads to lower corruption. The result illustrates that, among the firms which have the highest probability of making a bribe payment, those incorporated in jurisdictions experiencing the recentralization reform are 4.3% less likely to pay a bribe. In addition, the perception that bribery is a common and necessary practice is also significantly lowered in the post‐recentralization period. We further show that the impact of recentralization is stronger for firms which lack a political connection. Overall, these results shed light on the real impact of the government recentralization reform and also the determinants of corruption, thereby providing important policy implications for policymakers to create a more conducive business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the question of how the size of bribes should impact criminal sanctions. In contrast to the commonly held view that punishment should increase with the size of the bribe, we argue to the contrary: that the punishment of the bribee should decrease with the size of the bribe. Our conclusion is based both on a philosophical argument and an economic argument. We argue that all else being equal, as an agent's reservation price for selling public interests decreases, the culpability of the agent willing to receive a bribe increases. In addition, from an economic perspective, the expected social harm of an official acting with a low reservation price for bribes is much greater than one acting with a high reservation price: both the susceptibility of being bribed as well as the potential for social harm is much greater when the reservation price is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizens United has stimulated a cottage industry of legal scholarship on corruption. A prominent stream of this literature is self-consciously atheoretical and suggests that the current state of corruption jurisprudence suffers from a misconceived reliance on liberal political theories and a rejection of the public good. We argue that it is impossible to understand specific acts of corruption without a political theory explaining why such actions are wrong. We show that the current jurisprudence relies on a mistaken intellectual history of the public good and a political theory of American constitutionalism that commodifies citizenship and treats political participation as a market good. Pace Teachout, we cannot draw the bright lines many legal scholars desire without a better political theory of the primary goods we want to protect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to examine the regulation of the formulation of trading in influence as a Corruption Crime according to positive law and analyse the criminal law policy towards the formulation of trading in influence as a Corruption Crime in the future. The research method used is normative juridical with analytical approach, with the specification of description analysis. The results showed that the absence of regulation regarding the formulation of the offence of trading in influence in Indonesian positive law causes law enforcement officials to often use the offence of bribery to criminalise while between bribery and trading in influence are two different things. The offence is different from the offence of bribery and other corruption offences so it is necessary or a different crime from the category of corruption-related crimes covered by the relevant Legislation. In order to achieve the objectives of the law as stated in Article 1 paragraph 3 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia that Indonesia is a State of law, as a form of legal development through legal policies that formulate existing rules with elements, namely each party involved, the form of trading in influence regulated in the respective regulations, the perpetrators who carry out these acts, the form of action and also the form of giving and receiving from the parties for one purpose, namely obtaining an undue advantage or benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bribery, an illegal conspiracy between two transactional parties, has a wide range of destructive effects on society. From an interpersonal interaction perspective, we explored how Guanxi (interpersonal relationships, including direct and indirect ones) influences individuals, especially government officials' bribe-taking probability, using behavioral experiments and questionnaires. The findings suggested that direct Guanxi promoted individuals' acceptance of bribes (Study 1a), and indirect Guanxi had the same role and effect sizes (Study 1b). However, the mechanisms were slightly different. Government officials were more likely to accept bribes from family members and friends (direct Guanxi) (than strangers) because they had more trust and felt more responsible and obligated to help them (Study 2). However, accepting bribes from those who contacted them through their family or friends (indirect Guanxi) (vs. strangers) was only driven by trust (Study 3). The present study explores the lubricant role of Guanxi in corruption, extends the literature on why bribery occurs from a new perspective, and provides suggestions for fighting corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper presents a framework that integrates 11 forms of voluntary payments as seemingly disparate as bribes and bequests, and gifts and gratuities to show that "voluntary" payments vary in the shades of gray not only in terms of how much like bribes they are but also in terms of how voluntary they actually are. We provocatively suggest that these payment types might be susceptible to becoming entrenched through self‐reinforcing norms because the voluntary payments are not necessarily voluntary and to an extent akin to bribes. Specifically, it provides an overarching framework to showcase the similarities and differences between bribes, lobbying efforts, suggested fees, pay what you want, tips, bequests, legacies, charity, crowdsourcing, dowry, and gifts, identifying gaps in domains that are under‐researched. Starting with the question as to whether a service has been, is being, or will be performed for the voluntary payment, and whether payments are made to an individual or a cause, the framework highlights the following: (1) the differences in the purpose underlying these payments, (2) the different modes of payment used; (3) the economic and social norms governing the payments; and (4) external and internal emotions associated with these payment types. The integrative framework allows for an amalgam of disparate literatures ranging from morality and behavioral pricing to charity and gift giving. The process model suggests a multitude of areas for future research in the domain of consumers' voluntary payment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption continues to overshadow the fundamental contributions of the construction industry, preventing the delivery of infrastructure services. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate perceptions of corruption within the South African construction industry. The study population consisted of practitioners and clients in the private and public sectors operating in Johannesburg, South Africa, across seven councils and associations. Participants completed a self-administered survey consisting of 49 questions focusing on 10 key areas assessing corruption in construction. There were a total of 270 survey respondents. There was consensus among participants that bribery exists in the South African construction industry and that bribery discourages whistleblowing. A majority of respondents agreed that corruption affects economic growth of the South African construction industry. Respondents felt corruption led to late completion of projects, poor workmanship, and led to the use of sub-standard materials. Respondents agreed that poor procurement processes resulted in the appointment of incompetent contractors and that practitioners engage in unethical behavior due to desperation for work. Findings support, corruption is a major issue in the South African construction industry and approaches are needed to eradicate the corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the seventh round of the Afrobarometer, we find that a greater regional incidence of corruption in the utilities sector is associated with a reduced likelihood that a household reports that it has access to enough clean water. This result is not evident in older rounds of the survey that were conducted prior to methodological improvements made in round seven. Moreover, this association holds only in areas with a piped water system. Thus, our findings are consistent with the argument that corruption is a barrier to accessing water through its impact on the quality of water services. While a household that has paid a bribe is more likely to have a water access point, the regional incidence of utilities corruption predicts that the household will not have enough clean water. Individual acts of bribery, while associated with connection to a water network, are not associated with greater access in reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to recently popular pragmatist views, it may be rational for one to believe p when one's evidence doesn't favour p over not-p. This may happen according to pragmatists in situations where one can gain something practically important out of believing p. In this paper, I argue that given some independently plausible assumptions about the argumentative nature of philosophy and the irrelevance of bribes for good arguments, pragmatism leads to a contradiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most controversial issues in international investment law is how arbitral panels should deal with investments tainted by corruption at their inception. The current practice of investment arbitrators is to refuse to hear investors' claims when bribery allegations are substantiated. A recent wave of scholarship has attacked this "corruption defense," arguing that the practice unfairly harms investors and encourages governments to maintain corrupt practices. This Essay responds to that scholarship, arguing that the current approach is the best policy choice on balance. The Essay analyzes three core policy questions at the heart of the debate: Would eliminating the corruption defense lead governments to adopt meaningful anti-corruption reform? Does corrupt foreign investment improve economic and political conditions in the host states to a sufficient degree to warrant investment protection? Do the governments establishing investment treaties that set the contractual terms between states want investment protections for corrupt investment? In answering all three questions in the negative and placing the issue within the broader context of transnational anticorruption law, this Essay provides the theoretical foundation necessary for supporting the current practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]