Research on Corruption in Entrepreneurial Ventures
A few of my new colleagues at the University of North Dakota and I are beginning a stream of research on the intersection of entrepreneurship, ethics, and decision-making. Our first research project in this direction will look at the decision patterns of entrepreneurs at various stages of growth of their new ventures, similar to the work that Mike Driver and I did years ago on the decision styles of entrepreneurs (e.g., Pate, et al, "Decision style and new venture success: An analysis of INC.500 and YPO executives' environments," Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research 1990). Specifically, we want to know more about the factors that cause entrepreneurs to violate both legal and ethical standards, to the point of engaging in acts that may be perceived by themselves or others as corrupt. Unfortunately, we have found very little research on the intersection of entrepreneurship and corruption. With only a few exceptions, virtually all of the research on corruption examines corruption in large businesses or with student samples. Even most of the anecdotal material on corruption in organizations is limited to discussions of Enron or Enron-like organizations. We have found some relevant research on related topics, such as violations of trust and/or social norms (from which one might infer that an act was or was perceived to be corrupt), but we are hoping to find citations to work that more directly addresses our specific research question. Consequently, I am writing to ask for any thoughts or suggestions of relevant research or literature that we should examine. Additionally, we would like to know about any questionnaire measures, corruption scales, or other work on the antecedents or indicators of corruption we may have missed. Finally, we welcome inquiries from potential collaborators at other universities who share our interest in the intersection of these important concepts.
Larry
Larry E. Pate
Burwell Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship
Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Chair, Department of Entrepreneurship
College of Business & Public Administration
293 Centennial Drive, Stop 8098
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND 58202
Tel. 701-777-6380
larry.pate@gmail.com
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