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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.

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.

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.

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.

To explore and document the emerging international market for stolen tractors and plant in the United Kingdom. Whilst this may appear to be a criminological problem relating specifically to rural crime, it is a sophisticated international criminal business organised by traditional organised crime groups (OCGs) such as the Italian, Polish and Turkish Mafia’s in conjunction with a network of criminal entrepreneurs.

Using annual statistical data provided by National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual and Plant and Agricultural National Intelligence Unit (PANIU) and other material sourced using documentary research techniques supplemented by qualitative interviews with industry specialists we present 10 micro-case studies of rural OCGs engaged in this lucrative enterprise crime. The data is verified and authenticated using narrative inquiry techniques.

There is an entrepreneurial dimension to the crime because traditional criminal families with knowledge of rural areas and rural social capital form alliances with OCGs. The practical utility of the NFU model of entrepreneurial alliances with interested parties including the police is highlighted.

Implications for research design, ethics and the conduct of such research which are identified and discussed. These include the need to develop an investigative framework to protect academic researchers similar to guidelines in place to protect investigative journalists.

An investigative framework and the adaption of the business model canvass (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010) to cover illegal business models are proposed.

Suggestions are provided for the need to legislate against international criminal conspiracies.

Uses a mixture of entrepreneurship and criminological theories to help develop an understanding of the problem from an investigative perspective.

Plant theft represents a serious and growing problem for the construction sector, with the present value of UK losses estimated to be in excess of £1 million per week. Along with other stakeholders, plant managers play a key role in helping to counteract this problem, for example, by employing plant security systems (PSSs). PSSs use a variety of mechanisms to provide differing levels of protection and represent an equally diverse range of cost alternatives. In view of this diversity, this paper aims to survey a sample of plant managers to obtain their perceived importance of PSS appraisal criteria.

A structured questionnaire elicited the perceptions of managers regarding the importance of seven generic PSS groupings by reference to six PSS assessment criteria. Data were analysed using (importance and rank) derived weighting indices to develop a PSS importance matrix.

“Level of deterrent” (offered by a PSS) was consistently considered a key criterion as was “resistant attack time”. Maybe surprisingly, cost was only found to be a superlative criterion for one of the six PSSs considered. The overriding indication is that plant managers afford more importance to “practical” PSS assessment criteria than they do to financial ones.

It is proffered, that PSS manufacturers should be mindful of these observed perceptions concerning the relationship of system functionality versus cost, in striving to deliver into the plant market (and encourage use of) “optimal” security systems.

Sudden crises, known as environmental jolts, can cripple unprepared organizations. In recent years, financial jolts have led many organizations, particularly government organizations, to respond by furloughing employees. Furloughs can engender various responses in employees that can lead to negative work outcomes for both the employees and the organization. Previous research shows that the implementation of strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices, such as commitment-based systems, can mitigate the negative effects of environmental jolts. Utilizing the knowledge-based view and affective events theory, we propose a multilevel model where SHRM practices moderate employee affective responses to furloughs, which, in turn, drive subsequent employee behavioral outcomes.

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the topic and discuss the individual chapters in this volume as well as to provide an intellectual orientation which will hopefully inspire casual readers to read further. The main thesis behind this volume is that entrepreneurial crime and illegal enterprise span two very distinct yet complimentary academic disciplines – namely Criminology and Entrepreneurial/Business Studies. And that we need to take cognisance of both instead of writing and publishing in disciplinary silos.

Our methodological approach in this volume is predominantly qualitative and in addition mainly review based. Our editorial approach is/was one of laissez-faire in that we did not want to stifle authorial creativity or impose order where there was none, or very little. The result is a very eclectic collection of interesting readings which we hope will challenge researchers interested in the topics to cross inter- and intra-disciplinary literature in search of new theoretical models.

Rather than findings we see the contribution of the volume as being an attempt to start conversations between disciplines. We appreciate that this is only a beginning. There are discoveries and perhaps a need to redraw boundaries. One surprising finding was how much the authors all drew on the seminal work of William Baumol to the extent that it has become a common framework for understanding the cross overs.

There are many limitations to the chapters in this volume. The main one is that in any edited volume the editors are faced with a dilemma of allowing more voices to emerge or imposing a restrictive explanatory framework which in turn shoe horns the chapters into an over-arching sense-making architecture. The limitation of this volume is that it can only present a few of the voices and only begin a synthesis. Interested researchers must work hard to draw meaning from the eclectic voices.

The practical implications from this chapter and the edited chapters are manifold. The chapters deal with complex issues and we have opted to allow the authorial voice to be heard and to allow disciplinary writing styles to remain as they are. This allows a very practical understanding of everyday implications to emerge.

There are many policy implications which arise from this introductory chapter and the chapters in this volume but these will take time to manifest themselves. The main point to take away is that to understand and interdict crime and in particular entrepreneurial crime we must draw on inter-disciplinary knowledge and theories of entrepreneurship and business in a wider sense.

This chapter introduces a series of apparently separate yet interconnected chapters which explore the bounds and boundaries of illegal entrepreneurship and its originality lies in its approach.

Plant and equipment theft (PET) is inherent throughout the construction sector. Its effect places direct financial burden on those who have invested in such assets, but additionally, induces “indirect” costs for many other stakeholders including project owners, plant hirers and construction managers. The paper's objective is to take and discuss a snapshot of PET, the overriding aim being to aid greater understanding of it and in particular, the application of (post‐theft) recovery technologies.

Descriptive case study data are considered along with informal, anecdotal evidence provided by practitioners. These data are qualitatively considered; observations are discussed; a model representation of PET and recovery is developed; and conclusions are drawn.

Plant and equipment thieves are shown to be audacious and determined, but it is identified that in addressing these characteristics, recent advances in plant security and recovery technologies (PSRT) have been significant. Arguably, PSRT are not being adopted as broadly as they should be to offset the PET problem.

The formal model of PET might help inform future academic endeavour in the subject of plant and equipment management generally and PET specifically.

The model suggests that more widespread use of PSRT may not only help defeat plant thieves, but additionally help recover stolen assets and identify organised criminal networks.

The work is novel in setting and will be of interest to both academics and practitioners in the field.

This paper aims to review research about four forms of deviant employee behavior: unexplained absenteeism/tardiness, employee theft, incivility, and violence. It is believed that, when an organization and its managers are perceived to be fair and supportive, employee deviant behavior will decrease.

Because the literature on employee deviant behavior is so vast, the typology of deviant behavior proposed by Robinson and Bennett to select and frame these four forms of deviance was used.

Employees can behave in a variety of ways that are harmful to the organization, such as stealing, sexual harassment, or purposefully taking long breaks. Sometimes this misbehavior happens despite the best efforts of managers to enforce organizational rules, but managers can do more to prevent such behavior than just rule enforcement.

This paper identifies new reasons for managers to behave in a fair and equitable way toward employees. The point is made that such behavior is in a manager's best self‐interest because it reduces his/her subordinate's deviant behavior. Finally, specific and research‐based recommendations for manager behavior are provided.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss an integrated decision analysis framework for the investment justification of implementing alternative information and communication technology (ICT)-based logistics systems in the construction industry so as to enhance the decision-making process in selecting the best alternative.

An integrated framework is proposed that is composed of a set of interrelated evaluation and analysis techniques that allow the identification and quantification of costs, benefits and risks involved in implementing ICT systems to mitigate problems that hinder the efficient operation of construction logistics. Such techniques include decision trees and multi-attribute decision-making under uncertainty that can be applied to the logistics planning of any new build construction project.

The probabilities of providing benefits vary among the alternatives, and the probabilities will replace the uncertainties surrounding the impacts of the alternative ICT systems in addressing the identified construction logistics problems with chance events so as to estimate the expected cost of each alternative with respect to each selection attribute.

This paper shows that it is almost certain that the analysed alternative ICT system will provide benefit because its probability of benefit is almost equal to 1.

The framework captures the existing problems of logistics in construction process, potential solution that can address the problems through the implementation of ICT systems and the decision-making process in the selection of appropriate ICT solution. The output of the framework will help to make knowledge-based decision in selecting the best ICT system for addressing construction logistics problems.

No one knows for certain just how much British companies are losing each year through pilfering—but one estimate has put it at a staggering figure of £248 million. Management's response to a current Home Office study into the problem is one of apparent complacency. Some firms, reports Ray Palmer, even seem prepared to accept internal theft rather than risk upsetting workers with stricter security checks.

This study builds on the extant research of the authors on illegal rural enterprise (IRE). However, instead of taking a single or micro case approach within specific sections of the farming and food industries we examine the concept holistically from a macro case perspective. Many IRE crimes simply could not be committed without insider knowledge and complicity, making it essential to appreciate this when researching or investigating such crimes.

Using data from published studies, we introduce the theoretical concept of “Shadow infrastructure” to analyse and explain the prevalence and endurance of such criminal enterprises. Using a multiple case approach, we examine data across the cases to provide an analysis of several industry wide crimes—the illicit halal meat trade; the theft of sheep; the theft of tractors and plant; and the supply of illicit veterinary medicines.

We examine IRE crimes across various sectors to identify commonalities in practice and in relation to business models drawing from a multidisciplinary literature spanning business and criminology. Such enterprises can be are inter-linked. We also provide suggestions on investigating such structures.

We identify academic and practical implications in relation to the investigation of IRE crime and from an academic perspective in relation to researching the phenomenon.

This study combines data from numerous individual studies from a macro perspective to provide practical solutions to a multifaceted problem.