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Too risk averse to stay honest?: Business corruption, uncertainty and attitudes toward risk

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  • Søreide, Tina

Abstract

The presence of business-corruption provokes firms to make choices between legal business approaches and illegal bribery. The outcome of a chosen strategy will usually be uncertain at the time the decision is made, and a firm's decision will depend partly on its attitude towards risk. Drawing on empirical results about business corruption, this paper describes the risks, uncertainties and benefits attached to bribery, and specifies their impact on firms' propensity to offer bribes. It then demonstrates how risk averse firms can be more inclined to offer bribes than risk neutral and risk attracted firms.

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  • Søreide, Tina, 2009. "Too risk averse to stay honest?: Business corruption, uncertainty and attitudes toward risk," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 388-395, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:29:y:2009:i:4:p:388-395
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    Cited by:

    1. Gaoussou DIARRA & Sébastien MARCHAND, 2011. "Does Pervasive Corruption Matter For Firm's Demand for Good Governance in Developing Countries?," Working Papers 201112, CERDI.
    2. Joël CARIOLLE, 2014. "Corruption in Turbulent Times: a Response to Shocks?," Working Papers P106, FERDI.
    3. Bassetti, Thomas & Dal Maso, Lorenzo & Lattanzi, Nicola, 2015. "Family businesses in Eastern European countries: How informal payments affect exports," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 219-233.
    4. Michael A Sartor & Paul W Beamish, 2018. "Host market government corruption and the equity-based foreign entry strategies of multinational enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(3), pages 346-370, April.
    5. Joël CARIOLLE, 2014. "Corruption in Turbulent Times: a Response to Shocks?," Working Papers P106, FERDI.
    6. Kjetil Bjorvatn & Tina Søreide, 2014. "Corruption and competition for resources," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 21(6), pages 997-1011, December.
    7. Joël CARIOLLE, 2016. "The voracity and scarcity effects of export booms and busts on bribery," Working Papers P146, FERDI.
    8. Michael A. Sartor & Paul W. Beamish, 2020. "Integration-oriented strategies, host market corruption and the likelihood of foreign subsidiary exit from emerging markets," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(3), pages 414-431, April.
    9. Jingjing Huang, 2023. "Doing good in periods of political turnover: the turnover of local officials, local corruption and corporate social responsibility," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(4), pages 781-833, December.
    10. Tina Søreide & Kasper Vagle, 2022. "Settlements in corporate bribery cases: an illusion of choice?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 261-287, April.
    11. Lenka Veselovská & Ján Závadský & Zuzana Závadská, 2020. "Mitigating bribery risks to strengthen the corporate social responsibility in accordance with the ISO 37001," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1972-1988, July.
    12. Al-Kasim, Farouk & Søreide, Tina & Williams, Aled, 2013. "Corruption and reduced oil production: An additional resource curse factor?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 137-147.
    13. Hossain, Ashrafee Tanvir & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2021. "Political corruption and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    14. Gaoussou Diarra & Sébastien Marchand, 2011. "Does Pervasive Corruption Matter For Firm's Demand for Good Governance in Developing Countries?," CERDI Working papers halshs-00588191, HAL.

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    Risk assessment (D8) Legal economic (K) Compliance (K4);

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