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11 – 20 of over 10000One area of concern for retailers is the impact of employee theft on retailing profit margins and operations. It is possible that the application of the theory of planned behavior…
Abstract
Purpose
One area of concern for retailers is the impact of employee theft on retailing profit margins and operations. It is possible that the application of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to the employee theft could shine some light on the problem and possibly offer some assistance to retailers. The purpose of this paper is to apply TPB to this phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
A model and series of propositions are developed. The propositions are open to empirical verification and can form the basis for a research stream on retail employee theft.
Findings
The model incorporates certain individual difference factors that are likely to influence intentions to engage in retail theft. The model proposes that variables such as organizational commitment and an employee's moral norm are likely to have an impact on retail theft.
Research limitations/implications
The propositions stemming from the model have to be tested empirically. The model incorporates certain individual difference factors that are likely to influence intentions to engage in retail theft. There are additional individual and external factors that will have direct and indirect on the variables in the proposed model.
Practical implications
Before efforts can be undertaken to stem employee theft, retail managers need to understand the phenomenon. The application of the TPB to this phenomenon is a step in that direction. It can provide insights to retail management on the nature of employee theft and who is likely to engage in it. In addition, information can be obtained for use in human resources efforts such as pre‐employment screening.
Originality/value
Prior work on retail employee theft has not applied the TPB in an effort to understand the phenomenon. This is an initial effort to do so.
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Olusanjo O. Fadiya, Panos Georgakis, Ezekiel Chinyio and Peter Akadiri
The purpose of this paper is to consider the significance of the sources of cost of construction plant theft identified in previous studies and derive rates which can enhance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the significance of the sources of cost of construction plant theft identified in previous studies and derive rates which can enhance proper estimation of the cost of plant theft to the construction industry. The direct and indirect costs of plant theft include replacement cost (new‐for‐old/depreciated), emergency cost, hire replacement cost, productivity loss, increased labour cost, loss of goodwill, administration cost, increased insurance premium and social cost.
Design/methodology/approach
The cost‐contribution of these various sources was studied, using a structured questionnaire which was administered to building contractors in the UK construction industry, to measure their opinions of the frequency and severity of the contribution of the sources to the cost of construction plant theft. The questionnaires were administered to 220 companies and 51 of them were fully completed, representing 23.1 per cent of the original sample. The responses were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics to derive the probabilities of sources contributing to the cost of plant theft.
Findings
The results of the analysis show that the rates of contribution to the cost of plant theft varies significantly between the sources, with “loss of output” and “increased insurance premium” ranking as the top‐two costs of plant theft in the UK construction industry. The rates derived in this study can be used by contractors to reasonably estimate the cost of plant theft, especially when there is need to justify the adoption of measures that can mitigate plant theft.
Originality/value
This study generated rates of contribution by factors which contribute to the overall cost of theft of construction plant in the UK. These rates can provide a more reliable estimate of the cost of plant theft than current estimations which vary significantly.
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The aim of this paper is to analyze and explain why cargo theft continues to occur in the transport network despite all implemented countermeasures.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyze and explain why cargo theft continues to occur in the transport network despite all implemented countermeasures.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a logical deductive hypothesis using theories from several scientific fields. This hypothesis is then tested empirically. Credibility is substantiated with the use of several independent official statistical sources and verified with both open‐ended qualitative interviews and a quantitative, comparative, geographically controlled survey.
Findings
Theft risk arises from different theft opportunities that will always be present in the transport network. The theory of crime displacement provides one likely explanation as to why the absolute reduction, instead of a theft pattern alteration, is very difficult to achieve. The result in this paper substantiates research results in criminology that indicate that causality in crime displacement is hard to establish.
Research limitations/implications
This research is limited by the lack of reliable information sources about criminal activities against logistics business. Secondary sources, like official crime statistics, are at best untrustworthy but more likely filled with large parts of hidden statistics.
Practical implications
The common‐sense feeling about the crime displacement theory that exists in the logistics business needs to be modified. This paper maintains that the understanding of the relationship between potential perpetrators and theft preventing measures is a key issue to reduce theft problems within the transport network.
Originality/value
This paper is a step towards bringing theories from criminology into the scientific field of logistics and supply chain risk management.
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Abir Al-Harrasi, Abdul Khalique Shaikh and Ali Al-Badi
One of the most important Information Security (IS) concerns nowadays is data theft or data leakage. To mitigate this type of risk, organisations use a solid infrastructure and…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the most important Information Security (IS) concerns nowadays is data theft or data leakage. To mitigate this type of risk, organisations use a solid infrastructure and deploy multiple layers of security protection technology and protocols such as firewalls, VPNs and IPsec VPN. However, these technologies do not guarantee data protection, and especially from insiders. Insider threat is a critical risk that can cause harm to the organisation through data theft. The main purpose of this study was to investigate and identify the threats related to data theft caused by insiders in organisations and explore the efforts made by them to control data leakage.
Design/methodology/approach
The study proposed a conceptual model to protect organisations’ data by preventing data theft by malicious insiders. The researchers conducted a comprehensive literature review to achieve the objectives of this study. The collection of the data for this study is based on earlier studies conducted by several researchers from January 2011 to December 2020. All the selected literature is from journal articles, conference articles and conference proceedings using various databases.
Findings
The study revealed three main findings: first, the main risks inherent in data theft are financial fraud, intellectual property theft, and sabotage of IT infrastructure. Second, there are still some organisations that are not considering data theft by insiders as being a severe risk that should be well controlled. Lastly, the main factors motivating the insiders to perform data leakage activities are financial gain, lack of fairness and justice in the workplace, the psychology or characteristics of the insiders, new technologies, lack of education and awareness and lack of management tools for understanding insider threats.
Originality/value
The study provides a holistic view of data theft by insiders, focusing on the problem from an organisational point of view. Organisations can therefore take into consideration our recommendations to reduce the risks of data leakage by their employees.
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This study aims to explain what factors influence the relationship between the university students’ knowledge of the risk of identity theft and the preventive measures they take…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explain what factors influence the relationship between the university students’ knowledge of the risk of identity theft and the preventive measures they take.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of semi-structured interviews was used as the primary data collection tool. The sample for this study comprised 12 undergraduate students (six males and six females) from the Flinders Business School. The interviews were designed as face-to-face interviews.
Findings
The current findings indicate that, despite the fact that students were reasonably knowledgeable regarding the general risk of identity theft, many of the students had only limited knowledge about specific issues related to identity theft. It was found that the limited knowledge or misunderstanding of specific issues prevented students from using appropriate measures that could reduce the risk of identity theft. The students demonstrated a significant misunderstanding of who perpetrators typically were targeting when stealing personal information or what perpetrators of identity theft were looking for.
Originality/value
The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of the students’ knowledge about the risks associated with identity crime. They may also assist governments and other stakeholders with vested interests, such as financial institutions and educational providers, to educate individuals about the circumstances where they are potentially vulnerable to identity theft.
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The purpose of this paper is to show how an effective library manager can handle the issues of employee theft of material, time, data and money.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how an effective library manager can handle the issues of employee theft of material, time, data and money.
Design/methodology/approach
Reviews and summarizes some of the literature on the topic and recounts personal experiences.
Findings
There are different types of theft: of physical materials, of non‐financial data, of money, of time.
Originality/value
Presents a useful set of general rules for success in the management of library theft.
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Because of a lamentable lack of evidence, no‐one really knows how extensive theft is in economic terms in companies. Employee theft is estimated by the US Government to be $40…
Abstract
Because of a lamentable lack of evidence, no‐one really knows how extensive theft is in economic terms in companies. Employee theft is estimated by the US Government to be $40 billion a year. The enormity of this figure can be put into perspective when compared to the estimate of $4 billion annually for street crime. Moreover, law enforcement officials maintain that more than 90 per cent of crime today occurs inside businesses rather than in the streets.
Employee theft is a large problem for firms of all sizes, particularly small businesses where profit margins are often slim. The purpose of this paper is to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
Employee theft is a large problem for firms of all sizes, particularly small businesses where profit margins are often slim. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of current and previous employees regarding their advice for detecting and preventing employee theft.
Design/methodology/approach
The study presents and analyzes the responses and ensuing discussion to questions posed to 79 individuals in three college‐level entrepreneurship courses. Using a controlled internet discussion board, an interactive dialogue developed among the study participants. The relationship of these findings to the existing literature on employee theft and how these findings support and expand the scholarship base is examined.
Findings
According to the qualitative research findings, a majority of participants in the study recommend implementation or increase usage of video surveillance, and better control systems and record keeping. Other recommendations include better hiring, using a “ringer” on staff, raising salaries, offering free products for employees, and other advice. Some of these findings correspond to previous research on employee theft, while some results offer new and expanded advice for managers.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the study are stated, and recommendations are made for further qualitative and empirical research of employee theft in follow‐up to these findings.
Practical implications
The employees surveyed in this study recommend that greater surveillance and managerial diligence in control of the operations is needed to decrease employee theft. This advice is from the “inside” by current and former employees who have inside knowledge and first‐hand experience as witnesses to employee theft in businesses today.
Originality/value
The methodology used for the research in this study is innovative and fairly recent, because it involves the use of controlled discussion groups on the internet which allow for thorough scrutiny by the research and greater freedom by participants to compose their perceptions. In addition, study participants also may have perceived a higher level of anonymity and confidentiality using this medium, which may result in more accurate findings that traditional surveys or in‐person research methods.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the patterns of reported cargo thefts at non-secure parking facilities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) with respect to stolen…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the patterns of reported cargo thefts at non-secure parking facilities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) with respect to stolen value, frequency, incident category, and modi operandi.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a system-theoretical approach that emphasizes on a holistic rather than an atomistic view. The research method used in this paper is deductive; the analysis is based on data obtained from the incident information service (IIS), a database of transport-related crimes from the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) in the EMEA region. The results are analysed and discussed within a frame of reference based on supply chain risk management (SCRM) and criminology theories.
Findings
We found that 97 per cent of all attacks during a stop occur at non-secure parking locations. Cargo thefts at these locations are more of a volume crime than high-value thefts. Seasonal variations were seen in these thefts, and the most common type was an intrusion on weekdays during winter.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by the content of and the classifications within the TAPA EMEA IIS database.
Practical implications
This paper is directly relevant to the current EU discussions regarding the creation of a large number of secure parking facilities in the region.
Originality/value
This is one of the first papers in the field of SCRM that utilizes actual crime statistics reported by the industry to analyse the occurrence of cargo theft by focusing on the non-secure parking aspect in the transport chain.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore cargo theft risk and security for different product types at different locations along a transport chain.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore cargo theft risk and security for different product types at different locations along a transport chain.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on a system-theoretical approach. The research method is deductive, as the analysis is based on secondary data and results from a questionnaire. The results are analysed based on supply chain risk management (SCRM) theories.
Findings
Due to substantial interaction effects, the type of product and transport chain location must be considered to determine the correct level of security. Specifically, the product type is more significant, since the general cargo theft risk is higher. Furthermore, the transport industry has three perspectives on security responses to cargo theft, namely, demanded, needed and actual security, which differ depending on the product type and transport chain location.
Research limitations/implications
This database is structured according to the global Transported Asset Protection Association organisational structure, which implies that there are three main databases: Europe, Middle East and Africa, Americas, and Asia-Pacific.
Practical implications
This study has both research and practical implications, as it examines security within freight transport from three perspectives, linked to general cargo theft risk and goods owners’ requirements.
Originality/value
This study addresses the contemporary SCRM problem of cargo theft using actual crime statistics and the industry understanding of required generic security levels.
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