Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Convenience Theory on Crime in the Corporate Sector

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Fraud and Corruption

Abstract

Theory and research on crime in the public sector are concerned with financial crime in general and white-collar crime in particular. In this chapter, convenience theory is an umbrella theory for a number of well-known perspectives on white-collar crime. Convenience theory consists of three dimensions. First, there is the economical dimension where we find desire for profits to avoid threats and exploit possibilities. Next, there is the organizational dimension where opportunities occur both to commit offenses and to conceal offences. Finally in the behavioral dimension, privileged individuals short of self-control apply neutralization techniques to accept own personal deviant behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S. W. (2002). Social capital. Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review, 27(1), 17–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilera, R. V., & Vadera, A. K. (2008). The dark side of authority: Antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes of organizational corruption. Journal of Business Ethics, 77, 431–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahrne, G., & Brunsson, N. (2011). Organization outside organizations: The significance of partial organization. Organization, 18(1), 83–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashforth, B. E., Gioia, D. A., Robinson, S. L., & Trevino, L. K. (2008). Re-reviewing organizational corruption. Academy of Management Review, 33(3), 670–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baird, J. E., & Zelin, R. C. (2009). An examination of the impact of obedience pressure on perceptions of fraudulent acts and the likelihood of committing occupational fraud. Journal of Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business, 1, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benson, M. L., & Simpson, S. S. (2015). Understanding white-collar crime: An opportunity perspective. NY: New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, L. L., Seiders, K., & Grewal, D. (2002). Understanding service convenience. Journal of Marketing, 66, 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bookman, Z. (2008). Convergences and omissions in reporting corporate and white collar crime. DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal, 6, 347–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, E. A. (2015). “Obviously, we’re all oil industry”: The criminogenic structure of the offshore oil industry. Theoretical Criminology, 19(3), 376–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bucy, P. H., Formby, E. P., Raspanti, M. S., & Rooney, K. E. (2008). Why do they do it?: The motives, mores, and character of white collar criminals, St. John's Law Review, 82, 401–571.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R. V. (1999). Hot products: Understanding, anticipating and reducing demand for stolen goods, Police Research Series, Paper 112, Policing and Reducing Crime Unit, Home Office, UK: London, www.popcenter.org

  • Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collier, J. E., & Kimes, S. E. (2012). Only if it is convenient: Understanding how convenience influences self-service technology evaluation. Journal of Service Research, 16(1), 39–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comey, J. B. (2009). Go directly to prison: White collar sentencing after the Sarbanes-Oxley act. Harvard Law Review, 122, 1728–1749.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig, J. M., & Piquero, N. L. (2016). The effects of low self-control and desire-for-control on white-collar offending: A replication. Deviant Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2016.1174520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cressey, D. (1972). Criminal organization: Its elementary forms. New York, NY: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dion, M. (2008). Ethical leadership and crime prevention in the organizational setting. Journal of Financial Crime, 15(3), 308–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dion, M. (2009). Corporate crime and the dysfunction of value networks. Journal of Financial Crime, 16(4), 436–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eberl, P., Geiger, D., & Assländer, M. S. (2015). Repairing trust in an organization after integrity violations. The ambivalence of organizational rule adjustments. Organization Studies, 36(9), 1205–1235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elnan, T.S. (2016). Kriminelle er ofte mer innovative enn folk flest (-criminals are often more innovative than most people), daily Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, part 2, Thursday, April 14, pp. 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engdahl, O. (2015). White-collar crime and first-time adult-onset offending: Explorations in the concept of negative life events as turning points. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 43(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farquhar, J. D., & Rowley, J. (2009). Convenience: A services perspective. Marketing Theory, 9(4), 425–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felson, M., & Boba, R. L. (2017). Chapter 12: “White-Collar Crime”. In Crime and everyday life. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galvin, B. M., Lange, D., & Ashforth, B. E. (2015). Narcissistic organizational identification. Seeing oneself as central to the organization’s identity. Academy of Management Review, 40(2), 163–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. CA: Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottschalk, P. (2016). Explaining white-collar crime: The concept of convenience in financial crime investigations. UK: London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gottschalk, P. (2017). Understanding white-collar crime: A convenience perspective. FL: Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haines, F. (2014). Corporate fraud as misplaced confidence? Exploring ambiguity in the accuracy of accounts and the materiality of money. Theoretical Criminology, 18(1), 20–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, L. L. (2009). Corporate financial crime: Social diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Financial Crime, 16(1), 28–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, J. (2008). Business ethics and moral motivation: A criminological perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 595–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann, J. P. (2002). A contextual analysis of differential association, social control, and strain theories of delinquency. Social Forces, 81(3), 753–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huisman, W., & Erp, J. (2013). Opportunities for environmental crime. British Journal of Criminology, 53, 1178–1200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S., Lyman, D. R., & Piquero, A. R. (2015). Substance use, personality, and inhibitors: Testing Hirschi’s predictions about the reconceptualization of self-control. Crime & Delinquency, 61(4), 538–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kempa, M. (2010). Combating white-collar crime in Canada: Serving victim needs and market integrity. Journal of Financial Crime, 17(2), 251–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke, S. L., & Blomquist, G. C. (2016). The cost of convenience: Estimating the impact of communication antennas on residential property values. Land Economics, 92(1), 131–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mai, H. T. X., & Olsen, S. O. (2016). Consumer participation in self-production: The role of control mechanisms, convenience orientation, and moral obligation. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 24(2), 209–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKay, R., Stevens, C., & Fratzi, J. (2010). A 12-step process of white-collar crime. International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 5(1), 14–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenndal, M. A., & Wagner, J. A. (1997). Motive, opportunity, choice, and corporate illegality. Organization Science, 8, 624–647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michel, P. (2008). Financial crimes: The constant challenge of seeking effective prevention solutions, Journal of Financial Crime, 15(4), 383–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, T.R. (2005). Police deviance and ethics. I: part of web cited, MegaLinks in Criminal Justice. http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/205/205lect11.htm.

  • Ouimet, G. (2009). Psychology of white-collar criminal: In search of personality. Psychologie Du Travail Et Des Organisations, 15(3), 297–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ouimet, G. (2010). Dynamics of narcissistic leadership in organizations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 25(7), 713–726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett, K. H. S., & Pickett, J. M. (2002). Financial crime investigation and control. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, N. L., Schoepfer, A., & Langton, L. (2010). Completely out of control or the desire to be in complete control? How low self-control and the desire for control relate to corporate offending. Crime & Delinquency, 56(4), 627–647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pontell, H. N., Black, W. K., & Geis, G. (2014). Too big to fail, too powerful to jail? On the absence of criminal prosecutions after the 2008 financial meltdown. Crime, Law and Social Change, 61(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Punch, M. (2003). Rotten orchards. «Pestilence», police misconduct and system failure. Policing and Society, 13(2), 171–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puranam, P., Alexy, O., & Reitzig, M. (2014). What’s «new» about new forms of organizing? Academy of Management Review, 39(2), 162–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ragatz, L. L., Fremouw, W., & Baker, E. (2012). The psychological profile of white-collar offenders: Demographics, criminal thinking, psychopathic traits, and psychopathology. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39(7), 978–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed, G. E., & Yeager, P. C. (1996). Organizational offending and neoclassical criminology. Challenging the reach of a general theory of crime. Criminology, 34(3), 357–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seiders, K., Voss, G. B., Godfrey, A. L., & Grewal, D. (2007). SERVCON: Development and validation of a multidimensional service convenience scale. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35, 144–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sundström, M., & Radon, A. (2015). Utilizing the concept of convenience as a business opportunity in emerging markets. Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, 6(2), 7–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, E. H. (1983). White collar crime – The uncut version. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sykes, G., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22(6), 664–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trahan, A., Marquart, J., & Mullings, J. (2005). Fraud and the American dream: Toward an understanding of fraud victimization. Deviant Behavior, 26(6), 601–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trahan, A. (2011). Filling in the gaps in culture-based theories of organizational crime. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology, 3(1), 89–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valukas, A.R. (2010). In regard Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to United States Bankruptcy Court in Southern District of New York, Jenner & Block, March 11, 239 pages, http://www.nysb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/188162_61_opinion.pdf.

  • Ward, J. T., Boman, J. H., & Jones, S. (2015). Hirschi’s redefined self-control: Assessing the implications of the merger between social- and self-control theories. Crime & Delinquency, 61(9), 1206–1233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welsh, D. T., Oronez, L. D., Snyder, D. G., & Christian, M. S. (2014). The slippery slope: How small ethical transgressions pave the way for larger future transgressions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(1), 114–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, J., & Alleyne, E. (2010). Street gang theory and research: Where are we now and where do we go from here? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 100–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway

    Petter Gottschalk

Authors
  1. Petter Gottschalk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Petter Gottschalk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Justice Studies, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Peter C. Kratcoski

  2. Academic Council of the United Nations System Liaison Office Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Maximilian Edelbacher

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Gottschalk, P. (2018). Convenience Theory on Crime in the Corporate Sector. In: Kratcoski, P., Edelbacher, M. (eds) Fraud and Corruption. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92333-8_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92333-8_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-92332-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-92333-8

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation