Capitalizing on corruption: Not all companies harmed by corruption

Indeed, companies with an advantage in operating in corrupt countries are likely to be pre-disposed to protecting that advantage. Attempts to eliminate government corruption therefore must be mindful of the potentially strong reactions of the numerous public and private stakeholders that benefit from its illicit largesse. This study on corruption and its influence on company strategy and economic performance is now published in the Journal of Management Studies.

Corruption, with good reason, is a vilified feature of many markets. Corruption creates uncertainty, it hampers economic growth and development, and it leads to an unfair and an inequitable distribution of wealth. Yet, it is also an inescapable feature of doing business in many countries.

The key idea in this study is that operating in a corrupt country can help a company to develop organizational capabilities, and not necessarily illicit capabilities, to operate successfully in such an environment. These capabilities can lead a company to meet with more success when investing internationally in other countries with high levels of corruption, even where competitors fail on entry or dare not to tread.

Although corruption is the centerpiece of this research, the study develops a sophisticated consideration of how a firm can develop political resources to devise and implement strategies in countries that vary in their level of regulatory control and capture. The author identifies how strategies such as political networking, joint venturing, seeking regulatory change or capture, forming a group structure, or accepting bureaucratic delays in the absence of paying bribes each have their own value in different countries.

Corruption can be a hazardous feature of international investment, but as noted by the author of the study, “the heterogeneous impact of government corruption on firm outcomes, is dependent not only on the power wielded by dishonest officials, but also influenced by firm characteristics, industry regulations, political structures, social norms and organizational culture.” Thus, corruption can be a distasteful but manageable part of a company's international investment environment.

Article: “Victim or Victimizer: Firm Responses to Government Corruption.”; Roberto Martin N. Galang. Journal of Management Studies; Published Online: March 17, 2011 (DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00989.x).

Abstract: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00989.x/abstract.

Consistently highly ranked in the Management section ISI Journal Citation Reports, the Journal of Management Studies (JMS) is a globally respected journal with a long established history of innovation and excellence in management research. International in scope and readership, the JMS is a multidisciplinary journal, publishing articles on organization theory and behaviour, strategic and human resource management—from empirical studies and theoretical developments to practical applications.

About Wiley-Blackwell

Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.

Media Contact

Bethany Carland-Adams EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.wiley.com

All latest news from the category: Business and Finance

This area provides up-to-date and interesting developments from the world of business, economics and finance.

A wealth of information is available on topics ranging from stock markets, consumer climate, labor market policies, bond markets, foreign trade and interest rate trends to stock exchange news and economic forecasts.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors