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1 – 10 of over 15000Melissa S. Baucus and Philip L. Cochran
Investigate how leaders of illegal organizations build and maintain positive reputations and how the deaths of these firms impact groups of external stakeholders.
Abstract
Purpose
Investigate how leaders of illegal organizations build and maintain positive reputations and how the deaths of these firms impact groups of external stakeholders.
Methodology/approach
We conduct a forensic analysis of nine firms in eight different countries by leaders who appeared to be highly successful corporate citizens but who turned out to be operating illegal Ponzi ventures.
Findings
These illegal firms built positive reputations by engaging in activities that enhanced perceptions of their firms’ perceived quality, gaining certifications and approvals from influential external individuals/organizations, engaging in philanthropic activities, and affiliating with high-status actors. Death of these nine firms had profoundly impacted external stakeholders resulting in investor devastation, a toxic environment of mistrust, damage to reputations of anyone affiliated with these illegal firms, and a major earthshake to the philanthropic community.
Research limitations/implications
Extends Rindova et al.’s (2005) research on how leaders use signals of quality and prominence to build reputations in the context of illegal organizations. Philanthropic activities are added as a reputation-building mechanism used by illegal organizations. The results draw attention to the need to examine how the death of illegal organizations affects a variety of external stakeholders, both individuals and organizations.
Practical implications
Leaders of illegal firms can be quite successful in building positive reputations and this success exacerbates the negative consequences that occur when the firms collapse.
Originality/value
Provides a qualitative study of reputation building and the extensive impact on stakeholders of the dissolution of illegal ventures.
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Thomas Sorreda and Xavier Philippe
Illegal companies remain an underexplored research avenue. Indeed, although extant literature has already discussed organizational analysis of illicit businesses from a marketing…
Abstract
Purpose
Illegal companies remain an underexplored research avenue. Indeed, although extant literature has already discussed organizational analysis of illicit businesses from a marketing or an entrepreneurial point of view, few papers have focused on it. The purpose of this study is to explore and uncover the bureaucratic aspects of this kind of structure. To do so, this study intends to demonstrate that even the most hidden organizations in a given society are shaped by common representations orienting them toward well-disseminated models.
Design/methodology/approach
An ethno-sociological study was conducted, thanks to a long non-participant immersion (over one year) by observing a drug-dealing organization in a French suburban area located near Paris.
Findings
This study illustrates that illicit organizations reproduce traditional organizational schemes that help them to ensure efficiency and sustainability. Indeed, they fit into modern bureaucratic models within which procedures remain highly normative and formal, but also within which interactions between members are both constrained by a regulative framework and, at the same time, enable a certain amount of autonomy and creativity at work.
Social implications
The business case in this study analyzes the implications of seeing illicit businesses as organizations like any others. The counterintuitive results show that these organizations set and normalize processes allowing the establishment of a formal hierarchy, and specific yet strict rules.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper comes from its unit of analysis and specific subject.
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This study aims to examine the role of Australian casinos in facilitating money laundering and Chinese capital flight.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of Australian casinos in facilitating money laundering and Chinese capital flight.
Design/methodology/approach
The reports and transcripts of evidence from government inquiries into money laundering in Australian casinos are integrated with analyses of Asian transnational crime.
Findings
Money laundering in Australian casinos is linked to transnational crime and Chinese capital flight. A central finding is that junket operators play a key role in facilitating money laundering. The casinos are particularly exposed to criminal influences in the Chinese very important person gambling market, since they have used junket operators and underground banks, many of whom are closely linked to major Chinese criminal groups from Hong Kong and Macau.
Research limitations/implications
Very little information is available on money laundering in Australian casinos and this research has relied on the government inquiries that have been conducted over the past two years on the subject.
Practical implications
The author’s focus on money laundering in Australian casinos in the context of Asia-Pacific transnational crime is important for Federal and state government regulators grappling with the rapidly changing money laundering issues. The government inquiries recognised that the money laundering was related to transnational crime, but did not have the time and resources to explore the topic. The paper provides state government casino regulators and financial crime regulators with a broader international perspective to anticipate future money laundering and crime pressures facing Australia’s casinos.
Social implications
Money laundering in Australian casinos has had devastating social implications on the community. My research helps to focus attention on the problems of transnational crime and money laundering.
Originality/value
Little research has examined the linkages between casinos and transnational crime. This study has found that Australian casinos were used to launder the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking and to facilitate Chinese capital flight. While casinos have been forced by damming government inquiries to tighten anti-money laundering controls, it is likely that there will be pressure to relax these controls in the future because of competitive pressure from other casinos in the Asia-Pacific region.
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The chapter examines various manifestations of the concept of “social capital” in details by sorting them into three categories: individual, collective, and hybrid. Based on the…
Abstract
The chapter examines various manifestations of the concept of “social capital” in details by sorting them into three categories: individual, collective, and hybrid. Based on the examination of social capital literature, the chapter defines social capital as moral resources that lubricate cooperation among individuals for economic as well as civic reasons. Then the chapter examines social capital in contemporary urban China. The atomizing effect of market economy destroyed previous stock of social capital, but there are not corrective mechanisms to generate new social capital. Therefore urban China is experiencing the paucity of social capital.
David W. Kunsch, Karin Schnarr and W. Glenn Rowe
Using resource dependency theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine what elements in the business environment may be associated with the formation and continuance of…
Abstract
Purpose
Using resource dependency theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine what elements in the business environment may be associated with the formation and continuance of cartels.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ a unique data set of 148 cartel data points from the 1970s to 2008 which have at least one American company involved to quantitatively test causal relationships. The authors also interview key class action anti-trust attorneys for their views and opinions on the impact of these environmental factors on cartel formation and continuance.
Findings
The authors find statistically significant relationships between the pursuit and maintenance of industry profits and the dynamism in the industry, and illegal behavior as represented through price fixing by business cartels. The authors find that in the attorneys’ opinion, it is also the pursuit of individual corporate profits and munificence that are associated with these cartels.
Practical implications
This research furthers the understanding of organizational deviance which is critical given its impact on organizations, individuals, regulators, law enforcement, and the general public.
Originality/value
This research is a first step in considering cartel activity in a way that encompasses external influences in a new and innovative manner and as a tool to help researchers and practitioners better understand how organizational deviance, as manifested through illegal corporate activity, can be anticipated, identified, and prevented.
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John C. Cross and Bruce D. Johnson
Attempts to theorize the relationship between the informal and the illegal sectors of the economy. States that there are significant behavioural similarities. Proposes an emergent…
Abstract
Attempts to theorize the relationship between the informal and the illegal sectors of the economy. States that there are significant behavioural similarities. Proposes an emergent paradigm based on dual labour market theory to explain the similarites and differences in order to guide future research in each area. Applies the theory to the production and marketing of crack cocaine and shows how the model helps us to understand issues of exploitation and risk makagement within the drug market.
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Anara S. Berdaliyeva, Alexandr I. Kim, Aliya M. Seraliyeva, Aivazkhan A. Gassanov and Makhambet V. Dunentayev
Despite all the anti-corruption measures and anti-corruption initiatives, people offer or accept bribes without any hesitation. As anywhere in the world, the negative consequences…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite all the anti-corruption measures and anti-corruption initiatives, people offer or accept bribes without any hesitation. As anywhere in the world, the negative consequences of corruption lead to a reduction in direct investment, increase inequality and poverty, distort and use public investment and reduce public revenues. The purpose of this article is to study the criminological measures to counteract corruption offences in the field of illegal gambling.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological basis of the study is the provisions of the theory of knowledge: the laws of dialectical materialism, philosophical categories and scientific principles of cognition of social and legal reality.
Findings
Although many components of foreign state anti-corruption programmes are quite problematic to apply in modern realities in the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to legal scholars, through gradual implementation into the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan because of the systematic improvement by the state of the content of regulations and responsible implementation of anti-corruption strategies. In this regard, one of the conditions in the fight against corruption is actions aimed at using the best practices of countries that are similar to each other in terms of religion, habits, traditions, ethics and morality.
Originality/value
Anti-corruption initiatives using information and communication technologies, such as digital public services and e-government, crowdsourcing platforms, tools for exposing, transparency portals, blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies can provide significant assistance in combating manifestations of corruption in the field of illegal gambling on the internet in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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Border security is a crucial part of the country’s broader homeland security efforts. It is a multifaceted and complex issue which attempts to accomplish two seemingly…
Abstract
Border security is a crucial part of the country’s broader homeland security efforts. It is a multifaceted and complex issue which attempts to accomplish two seemingly contradictory objectives – the prevention of people and goods from entering the country, while at the same time, facilitating lawful travel and trade. Although it is primarily a federal responsibility, securing the border crosses over multiple homeland security domains, as well jurisdictions. In recent years, numerous strategies and structures have been implemented to foster a whole-of-government approach to border security. This chapter presents border security in the larger context of homeland security. It examines the strategies and coordinating structures developed to create a secured border and an overview of the interaction of law enforcement agencies at the various jurisdictional levels. Although these structures create a robust network of mutually supportive agencies to effectuate border security, a major strategic challenge to securing the nation’s borders still persists.
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Ran Wang, Chia-Jung Lee, Shu-Chien Hsu and Jieh-Haur Chen
Corporate illegal activities may result in fatal injuries and economic losses and have been widely reported in the construction industry. This study is to investigate the…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate illegal activities may result in fatal injuries and economic losses and have been widely reported in the construction industry. This study is to investigate the relationship between top management team (TMT) compensation and corporate illegal activities with the moderating effects of aspiration–performance discrepancies.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multi-year sample of Chinese construction firms from 2011 to 2017, this paper employed a hierarchical logit regression model with fixed effects.
Findings
This study indicates that TMT compensation is positively related to the likelihood of corporate illegal activities. It also finds performance higher than aspirations would lower the probability of illegal activities while performance lower than aspirations also decreases the occurrence of illegal behaviors. Finally, the positive relationship between TMT compensation and illegal activities is strengthened by aspiration–performance discrepancies.
Practical implications
It recommended the design of executive compensation may need to be reconsidered. Next, companies need to carefully monitor top management team, especially when performance is lower than the desired level. Finally, debt-to-equity ratio deserves more attention for Chinese construction firms in suppressing illegal activities.
Originality/value
Given the mixed effects of TMT compensation, this study confirms its positive impact on corporate illegal behaviors. Consistent with the behavioral theory of the firm, it unveils the direct and moderating effects of aspiration-performance discrepancies. The findings are beneficial for evaluating firms' performance and considering the prevention of corporate fraudulent activities.
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Marie McKendall, Carol Sánchez and Paul Sicilian
This paper examined the effects of corporate governance structures on the incidence of corporate illegality by analyzing the relationship between environmental violations and…
Abstract
This paper examined the effects of corporate governance structures on the incidence of corporate illegality by analyzing the relationship between environmental violations and several dimensions of corporate board structure. Results demonstrated that the value of stock owned by corporate officers and directors was positively and significantly associated with serious environmental violations. Outsider dominance, joint CEO‐Chairpersons, social responsibility committees, and attorneys on boards were not significantly related to corporate illegal behavior. The control variables of size, industry profitability, firm profitability, and industry concentration were all significantly related to environmental violations. The findings involving board structure cast doubt on the efficacy of many popular corporate governance reform proposals.