U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Organizational Control of Deviant Behavior: The Case of Employee Theft

NCJ Number
112345
Journal
Social Science Quarterly Volume: 69 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1988) Pages: 261-280
Date Published
1988
Length
20 pages
Annotation
Organizations routinely rely on the use of pre-employment screening and the threat of punishment to control the behavior of employees.
Abstract
Yet little is known about whether such control practices have their intended effects. This research examines the effectiveness of these organizational controls in reducing employee theft in 47 work organizations representing 3 industries. Using data based on both interviews with 247 corporate executives and questionnaires from 9,175 employees, this study found that organizations do vary in terms of victimization from theft. The ability of controls to reduce organizational theft rates differ according to the industry studied. (Author abstract)

Date Published: January 1, 1988