Abstract

"A Weberian Perspective on Organizational Corruption"

Ruth V. Aguilera and Abhijeet Vadera

First Author :

Ruth V. Aguilera
Business Administration
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana
College of Business
1206 South Sixth St.
Champaign, IL 61820
USA

217-333-7090
217-244-7969 (Fax)

ruth-agu@uiuc.edu

http://www.business.uiuc.edu/faculty/aguilera.html

Second Author :

Abhijeet Vadera
Business Administration
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana
College of Business
1206 South Sixth St.
Champaign, IL 61820
USA

avadera2@uiuc.edu

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Abstract :

Corruption poisons corporations in America and around the world and has devastating consequences for the entire social fabric. In this paper, we review the main studies on corruption in different “societies of organizations,” and suggest that further research needs to be done on the genesis of corruption at the organizational level. Corruption refers to the abuse of authority for personal benefit, and, therefore we draw on Weber’s three ideal types of legitimate authority to build a theoretical model of organizational corruption. Specifically, we examine how leaders are likely to engage in corrupt behavior contingent on their legitimate authority and specify what types of business misconduct they are likely to undertake. In addition, we discuss the self-selection of different legal and economic national systems among the three types of legitimate authority. Finally, we suggest managerial implications of our theoretical model and propose directions for future research.

Manuscript Received : 2005

Manuscript Published : 2005

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