NCJ Number
139300
Journal
Law & Policy Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1991) Pages: 231-244
Date Published
1991
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Corporate misconduct is of increasing concern to society and researchers, but little is known about factors in and consequences of corporate misbehavior and appropriate deterrence measures.
Abstract
A key problem associated with the lack of information on corporate misconduct involves ambiguity in defining and using the terms "corporate crime" and "illegal corporate behavior." Researchers tend to use these terms interchangeably, despite the fact that they are two different phenomena. Illegal corporate behavior is defined as legally prohibited actions of organization members that are taken primarily on behalf of the organization. Corporate crime consists of a narrower set of activities, namely activities that violate criminal laws. Corporate crime also differs from illegal corporate behavior in terms of how the enforcement process operates and how cases are resolved. Further, factors causing corporate crime may be different from those leading to illegal corporate behavior. Another important distinction between corporate crime and illegal corporate behavior involves the purpose and consequences of sanctions. Distinctions between corporate crime and illegal corporate behavior are critical for public policy; clearer distinctions should lead to better solutions. 59 references