Corporate crime: a logical misconception, but with one analytical point

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1213-1220
Author(s):  
Tage Alalehto
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Crime ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Formal Logic ◽  
Theoretical Problem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Logical Contradiction ◽  
Policy And Strategy ◽  
Analytical Point

Purpose In 1988, Donald Cressey published a previously overlooked article. According to Cressey, there was a lack in the agenda of corporate crime research concerning theory and conceptual precision of what exactly the scientific object was and how it could reinforce the understanding of white-collar criminality. Cressey stated the idea that a fictitious person, such as a corporation, upon which were bestowed properties such as a will of its own (intentions and motivations) and a consciousness to act morally and ethically have a responsibility to follow the order of law, leds to a fundamental theoretical problem in terms of discovering the causes of crimes committed by such a fictitious person. I follow this line of thought about the arguments made by representatives of corporate crime. Specifically, I follow the concept of “decoupling,” by using various techniques of formal logic. The conclusion is that the concept of corporate crime is a logical contradiction (an eternal false statement), but the research has one analytical point which must be incorporated into the research of white-collar criminality: how structural conditions of a corporation’s policy and strategy “produce” or influence the individuals within the corporation to make decisions. The aim of the paper is to prove on logical grounds that the direction of research on corporate crime is on the wrong track to find the truth (basic elements and mechanisms) about white-collar crime. Design/methodology/approach Using formal logic, specifically modal logic. Findings The concept “corporate crime” is a logical contradiction. Research limitations/implications Concerning the conclusion, the implications has to be that corporate crime is a misleading concept in the research agenda of white-collar crime. Practical implications The authors have to reconsider the whole research field of corporate crime research. Originality/value To best of my knowledge, no one has before done a critic of corporate crime concept by formal logic.

Corporate crime: a logical misconception, but with one analytical point

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tage Alalehto
Keyword(s):  
Modal Logic ◽  
No Value ◽  
Corporate Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Formal Logic ◽  
Theoretical Problem ◽  
False Statement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy And Strategy ◽  
Analytical Point

Purpose In 1988, Donald Cressey published a previously overlooked article. According to Cressey, there was a lack in the agenda of corporate crime research concerning theory and conceptual precision of what exactly the scientific object was and how it could reinforce our understanding of white-collar criminality. Cressey stated the idea that a fictitious person, like a corporation, upon which were bestowed properties such as a will of its own (intentions and motivations) and a consciousness to act morally and ethically have a responsibility to follow the order of law, leads to a fundamental theoretical problem in terms of discovering the causes of crimes committed by such a fictitious person. I follow this line of thought about the arguments made by representatives of corporate crime. Specifically, I follow the concept of “decoupling”, by using various techniques of formal logic. The conclusion is that the concept of corporate crime is a logical contradiction (an eternal false statement), but the research has one analytical point which must be incorporated into the research of white-collar criminality: how structural conditions of a corporation’s policy and strategy “produce” or influence the individuals within the corporation to make decisions. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a research paper based on the technic of formal logic. The design of this research is sentence and modal logic. Findings The concept of corporate crime is logically a contradiction. Thereby it has no value in the research agenda of white-collar criminality. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, no one has done a formal logical analysis based on modal logic to investigate the consistence of the concept corporate crime.

“Heads I Win, Tails You Lose”: Deregulation, Crime, and Crisis in the Savings and Loan Industry

1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kitty Calavita ◽  
Henry N. Pontell
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Crime ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Congressional Hearings ◽  
Savings And Loan ◽  
Thrift Industry ◽  
Savings And Loan Industry ◽  
Finance Capitalism

This study examines fraud in the savings and loan industry as a case study of white-collar crime. Drawing from extensive government reports, Congressional hearings, and media accounts, the study categorizes three types of savings and loan crime and traces them to the competitive pressures unleashed by deregulation in the early 1980s, within the context of a federally protected, insured industry. In addition, the study delineates the limitations of the enforcement process, focusing on the ideological, political, and structural forces constraining regulators. Although savings and loan crime is in many respects similar to corporate crime in the manufacturing sector, a relatively new form of white-collar crime, referred to as “collective embezzlement,” permeates the thrift industry. The study links the proliferation of collective embezzlement and other forms of thrift crime, as well as the structural dilemmas that constrain the enforcement process, to the distinctive qualities of finance capitalism.

scholarly journals Behavioural economics and social economics: opportunities for an expanded curriculum

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 992-1003
Author(s):  
Paul Manning
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Behavioural Economics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teaching Case ◽  
School Pedagogy ◽  
Economic Understanding

Purpose The global financial crisis (GFC) undermined the legitimacy of orthodox economic assumptions, which nevertheless continue to frame business school pedagogy. In consequence, there is an opportunity for socio-economic insights to be more fully incorporated into the business school curriculum. This paper reports and reflects on a socio-economic case study that was delivered to MBA students. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the developing literature on behavioural economics (BE) has the potential to enhance students’ social economic understanding of key areas of the curriculum. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents an inter-disciplinary socio-economic teaching case that was informed by insights from BE. The teaching case concerned a socio-economic understanding of corruption and white-collar crime. It was also inter-disciplinary to include inputs from business history and criminology. The aim of the teaching case was to develop an appreciation among students that corruption and white-collar crime can be analysed within a social economics lens. Findings The teaching case example discussed in this paper offered an alternative socio-economic understanding to core areas of the MBA curriculum, enabling students to apply a behavioural economic approach to corruption and more generally to white-collar crime. The findings derived from this case study are that behavioural economics has the potential to enhance the teaching of socio-economics. Practical implications The GFC presents an opportunity to re-shape the business school curriculum to acknowledge the centrality of socio-economics and consequently to offer an alternative to the dominant ontological assumptions – taken from the economic understanding of rationality – that have previously under-pinned business school pedagogy. Originality/value The originality of this paper is to apply BE to a socio-economic teaching case studies in core subject areas of the MBA curriculum.

Financial crime – is there any way out of the theoretical deadlock?

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-540
Author(s):  
Paul Eisenberg
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
The State ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Financial Scandals ◽  
Research Questions

Purpose This paper aims to approach fundamental topics of financial crime and the law. What does constitute financial crime? Which field of law is best suited to address the threats of transgression by financial executives? What does motivate highly rewarded financiers to become white collar criminals? Design/methodology/approach To answer these research questions, contemporary theories of criminology in general and of white collar crime in particular, as well as theories on motivation, are critically discussed. Benefits and limitations of the theories in use are exemplified on the background of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scandal. Findings The paper criticises that the state-of-the-art theories are not able to embrace financial criminality in its entirety. A provoking pace for further research might be that of psychopathic disorders among white collar criminals. Thus, white collar crime maintains its challenging character. Originality/value This paper provides a thorough testing of multidisciplinary theories that emerged over the past decades against the recent LIBOR scandal. The research questions addressed and the methodologies applied provide a framework for the assessment of the prevailing theories against other financial scandals.

What does work mean to your workers?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Blue Collar ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
White Collar Workers ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Hr Managers ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Talk of blue-collar and white-collar workers will seem faintly outdated for many HR managers. For some, blue-collar workers will conjure up images from the 1970s and 1980s of striking mineworkers, some of the terrible conditions in steel works or in car factories in the pre-robot era. And as for white-collar workers, again this term seems a little anachronistic, albeit it has recently been adopted when referring to computerized “white-collar” crime. And as for pink-collar workers, this surely was left for dead in the 1970s along with bell-bottom flares and male perms. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals Counter Measures Criminal Act Of Narcotics

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 145
Author(s):  
Mohammad Arief Amrullah ◽  
Revency Vania Rugebregt
Keyword(s):  
Social Welfare ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Corporate Crime ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Transnational Crime ◽  
Cyber Crime ◽  
Counter Measures

Narcotics crimes that are part of organized crime are essentially one of crimes against development and crimes against social welfare that are central to national and international concerns and concerns. It is very reasonable, given the scope and dimensions so vast, that its activities contain features as organized crime, white-collar crime, corporate crime, and transnational crime. In fact, by means of technology can be one form of cyber crime. Based on such characteristics, the impacts and casualties are also very wide for the development and welfare of the community. It can even weaken national resilience.

scholarly journals Coercive Investigation of Corporate Crime: What Investigators Say

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Schofield-Georgeson
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Corporate Crime ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Institutional Failure ◽  
Regulation Approach ◽  
Corporate Lawyers ◽  
Investigation Powers

This study investigates the use of coercive investigation powers in the context of corporate crime, based on a series of interviews with former Australian Securities and Investments Commission (‘ASIC’) enforcement officials and corporate lawyers. It argues that ASIC’s powers are well equipped to investigate corporate crime, but that ASIC rarely exercises these powers. In this respect, the article draws similar conclusions to the recent Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, but delves further, revealing how coercive powers are used and why they are seldom exercised in corporate criminal investigations. In accounting for this institutional failure, this study implicates a neoliberal agenda of deregulation and austerity that has permitted the regulator to be ‘captured’ by wealthy and powerful regulatees. The analysis is informed by a critical regulation approach to corporate crime that explains corporate or ‘white-collar’ crime and its enforcement through a sociological lens: as a result of unequal social relationships, primarily that of social class, that create disparities in legal and political power.

Offender Decision Making in Corporate and White-Collar Crime

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Huisman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Crime ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Impulsive Behavior ◽  
Rational Decision ◽  
Prevention And Intervention ◽  
Rational Decision Making

Corporate and white-collar crimes are crimes committed by managers or other professionals acting in an occupational or business-related context. These crimes are generally viewed as outcomes of rational decision making rather than opportunistic or impulsive behavior. This chapter addresses offender decision making in corporate and white-collar crimes. It builds from, as well as critically reflects on, the rationality paradigm of white-collar decision making. It discusses sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of the managers who commit these crimes and the organizational structures and corporate cultures of the firms that are involved. The chapter also describes the situations in which these crimes are committed, and it reviews research on the perception and evaluation of choice in white-collar and corporate crime settings. The chapter discusses implications of research on white-collar decision making for prevention and intervention of white-collar and corporate crime.

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