Organizational Isomorphism and Corruption: An Empirical Research in Russia

Abstract

Based on neo-institutional literature, this article aims to show the influence of organizational isomorphism on corruption. The focus is institutional explanations of corruption. Our model is based on empirical research in Russia at the end of the 1990s. A face-to-face questionnaire was conducted with 552 top executives in private firms across various economic sectors. We used the structural equation model Partial Least Squares, PLS, technique to test our hypotheses. The developed model provides an integrated approach to the study of the relationship between corruption and organizational isomorphism. Our empirical data from firms in Russia allowed us to test various theoretical hypotheses concerning the influence of organizational isomorphism on corruption. Our emphasis is on the influence of competitive and institutional isomorphism on corruption.

Goffman’s Return to Las Vegas: Studying Corruption as Social Interaction

“…One consequence of this complication is that indirect and reactive modes of data collection prevail in this research area (see Sequeira 2012). Accordingly, a large part of research on corruption tends to rely primarily on survey-based methodologies (e.g., Halter et al 2009;Venard 2009;Venard and Hanafi 2008). For instance, Transparency International's widely used ''Corruption Perceptions Index'' (Davis and Ruhe 2003) is based on perceptions of corrupt behavior as reported in questionnaires.…”

The Good Cause: Theoretical Perspectives on Corruption

“…Once inside, a second challenge is getting past the socially desirable answers of the public relations departments and getting managers to talk about the sensitive issues of corruption. Exceptions in the field of corruption are Venard (2009), who interviewed a mere 552 managers of Russian firms on the issue of environmental pressures and the decision to adopt corruption, Van de Bunt (1993) who got corporate security officers in The Netherlands talking about corruption in the private sector and the already mentioned Braithwaite who linked corruption to the pharmaceutical industry. One of the recommendations for criminological research is to intensify the study of the responsibility of private companies in corruption cases.…”

The transfer of corruptive routines from old industrial regions to innovation clusters: a blind spot in innovation studies

“…We therefore need to identify methods which avoid the social desirability of investigative schemes that address cultural patterns. In other words, we must avoid the tendency of interviewees to answer in a way that will be viewed favorably by others (Esser 1986;Venard 2009 On this basis, secondary data, available from a study by Martin on accidents in the Chinese coal mining industry and on the nationalization/ centralization of local coal mines in several provinces (Martin 2016(Martin , 2015, were used. Many statements in the original interviews point to the topic of corruption.…”