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Corruption and Sustainability: A Micro-Level Approach
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Corruption and Sustainability: A Micro-Level Approach

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 7934

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Annamaria Nese

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of statistics and economics, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
Interests: social capital; corruption; organized crime; micro-econometrics
Dr. Roberta Troisi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of political and communication science, Centre of territorial development, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy
Interests: public administration efficiency; organizational fields; organizational public corruption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Corruption is commonly acknowledged as a significant barrier to sustainability. Numerous pieces of research have demonstrated that it is extraordinarily adaptable in weakening all sustainability-required tools. Where corruption flourishes, institutions are weak, injustice and instability are permitted, and fundamental needs such as health care, education, and shelter are threatened, if not denied. It stifles economic growth, endangers environmental resources, impedes innovation, and distorts markets for products and services. Thus, it is a force capable of disturbing the delicate equilibrium between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental conservation. Numerous studies examine the macro-level relationship between corruption and sustainability, portraying corruption as a depersonalized phenomenon with a major emphasis on its negative association with sustainability issues. Fewer studies investigate corruption at the micro level, particularly in firms, and how their corruption choices constitute specific sustainability barriers. The purpose of this Special Issue is to address a scientific contradiction.

On the one hand, studies emphasize company experiences as crucial for supporting sustainable development goals; on the other hand, corruption is rarely emphasized in business dynamics while being the primary obstacle to these goals. This Special Issue aims to get a deeper knowledge of the micro-level interaction between corruption and sustainability. In general, we are interested in studies that examine the connection between business corruption and sustainability in any industry and for any sort of firm. In essence, a detailed understanding of this connection allows for more targeted anti-corruption policies.

In addition, we offer the following list of themes, which is not exhaustive:

1) Corruption in the dynamics of business, corruption in inter-firm networks, and corrupted agreements between corporations and government authorities and how they can limit the sustainability objectives;

2) A particular case of ambidexterity (can a business simultaneously pursue sustainability and engage in corruption?);

3) The territoriality of corruption and the impact on territorial sustainability;

4) The influence of corporate corruption on environmental sustainability.

References:

Lu, J., Ren, L., Qiao, J., Yao, S., Strielkowski, W., & Streimikis, J. (2019). Corporate social responsibility and corruption: Implications for the sustainable energy sector. Sustainability, 11(15), 4128.

Masud, M. A. K., Rahman, M., & Rashid, M. H. U. (2022). Anti-Corruption Disclosure, Corporate Social Expenditure and Political Corporate Social Responsibility: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh. Sustainability, 14(10), 6140.

Nese, A., O'Higgins, N., Sbriglia, P., & Scudiero, M. (2018). Cooperation, punishment and organized crime: a lab-in-the-field experiment in southern Italy. European Economic Review, 107, 86-98.

Nese, A., & Troisi, R. (2019). Corruption among mayors: evidence from Italian court of cassation judgments. Trends in Organized Crime, 22(3), 298-323.

Nyberg, D., & Wright, C. (2013). Corporate corruption of the environment: Sustainability as a process of compromise. The British journal of sociology, 64(3), 405-424.

Silvestre, B. S., Viana, F. L. E., & de Sousa Monteiro, M. (2020). Supply chain corruption practices circumventing sustainability standards: wolves in sheep's clothing. International Journal of Operations & Production Management.

Troisi, R., Di Nauta, P., & Piciocchi, P. (2021). Private corruption: An integrated organizational model. European Management Review.

Troisi, R., & Alfano, G. (2022). Proximity and inter-firm corruption: A transaction cost approach. Small Business Economics, 1-16.

Troisi, R., & Alfano, G. (2022). The re-election of corrupt mayors: context, relational leadership and level of corruption. Local Government Studies, 1-22.

Dr. Annamaria Nese
Dr. Roberta Troisi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • corruption
  • sustainability-objectives
  • micro-level
  • corporations
  • public agents

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2039 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Multinational Builders’ Corruption Based on Evolutionary Game from the Perspective of International Reputation
by Xuekelaiti Haiyirete, Jian Wang, Ayiguzhali Tuluhong and Hao Zhang
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1768; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051768 - 21 Feb 2024
Viewed by 558
Abstract
Transnational cooperation in international corporations has become an important force in promoting the economic development of countries, and corruption in cross-cultural business has an important impact on the sustainable development of international cooperation. Based on the construction field, this study applies evolutionary game [...] Read more.
Transnational cooperation in international corporations has become an important force in promoting the economic development of countries, and corruption in cross-cultural business has an important impact on the sustainable development of international cooperation. Based on the construction field, this study applies evolutionary game theory to the microlevel to investigate the corrupt behavior of international corporations from reputation perspectives, taking into account their reputation and cooperation behaviors. The findings indicate that the sensitivity of each party involved in the corruption behavior differs concerning international reputation, and a heightened reputation of the supervisory company can effectively curb the corrupt behavior of subcontracting. Additionally, the behavior of the general contracting company shows a sense of inertia, while the three main parties—general contracting company, supervisory company, and subcontracting company—exhibit multistage decision-making characteristics as their international reputation gradually improves. Through the lens of multinational enterprise cooperation and the development of the construction industry, this study aims to address the constraints faced by the construction industry in various countries and identify potential solutions. Furthermore, it provides insights into key issues related to international engineering corruption governance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corruption and Sustainability: A Micro-Level Approach)
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15 pages, 587 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Corruption and Innovation on Sustainability: A Firm-Level Analysis
by Roberta Troisi, Annamaria Nese, Rocío Blanco-Gregory and Monica Anna Giovanniello
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 1848; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031848 - 18 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2639
Abstract
In recent years, analysts’ interest in understanding sustainability as a new and exclusive economic paradigm has been matched by the research for tools that might both promote and hinder it. In particular, innovation has been widely regarded for its beneficial effects on sustainability, [...] Read more.
In recent years, analysts’ interest in understanding sustainability as a new and exclusive economic paradigm has been matched by the research for tools that might both promote and hinder it. In particular, innovation has been widely regarded for its beneficial effects on sustainability, whereas corruption has been regarded for its negative implications. This study adds to our understanding of these linkages by revealing that, depending on the nature of the sustainability targets, these important drivers can have varying effects. Therefore, using a sample of Italian firms, through SEM analysis, we estimate two latent variables representing innovation and corruption for their relationship with sustainability in two models, covering two sets of indicators (sustainable industrialization and sustainable employment and labour). Whereas both models’ results indicate that innovation and sustainability have a substantial positive link, the relationship between corruption and sustainability yields contradictory results. Furthermore, the findings show a negative relationship between innovation and corruption. As a result, the distinction between types of sustainability leads to a different interpretation of how their driving factors operate. This approach suggests the establishment of more tailored sustainability strategies, in line with the diverse consequences that may arise when corruption, innovation, and sustainability are at play. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corruption and Sustainability: A Micro-Level Approach)
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16 pages, 861 KiB  
Article
Illicit and Corruption Mitigation Strategy in the Financial Sector: A Study with a Hybrid Methodological Approach
by Eleni Zafeiriou, Alexandros Garefalakis, Ioannis Passas and Konstantina Ragazou
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1366; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021366 - 11 Jan 2023
Viewed by 2163
Abstract
In recent decades, experts from all around the world have been increasingly interested in illegal conduct and corruption in financial organizations. Utilizing the illegal and corruption hypothesis, we investigate the core traits and trends of this phenomenon in European financial institutions. We also [...] Read more.
In recent decades, experts from all around the world have been increasingly interested in illegal conduct and corruption in financial organizations. Utilizing the illegal and corruption hypothesis, we investigate the core traits and trends of this phenomenon in European financial institutions. We also examined how specific aspects are incorporated into financial firms’ anti-corruption strategies. The current study makes an effort to comprehend the afore-mentioned challenges using the tools of scientometrics and data analysis. More precisely, our empirical analysis was based on 336 European financial institutions for the years of 2018–2020, and our study also employed bibliographic data from 687 scientific documents indexed in the Scopus database in 2010–2021. The R language’s Bibliometrix tool was applied to analyze the body of the existing literature. A binary logistic regression approach was used to analyze the data. While the goal of our empirical study is to unveil the factors causing or mitigating illegal activity and corruption in the financial sector, the bibliographic analysis revealed the determinants validated in previous work. Our results highlight the need of policy makers to implement measures to limit illegal activity and reduce corruption in financial institutions to improve reputations and customers’ fidelity, which are necessary for the achievement of the sustainable development goals concerning financial institutions. Another conclusion is the emergence of a new source of corruption, which South Africa’s experience has confirmed. Our findings also support two components of the contemporary approach for reducing corruption and illicit activity, namely, the usage of new technology specialists and the incorporation of ESG factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corruption and Sustainability: A Micro-Level Approach)
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17 pages, 956 KiB  
Article
Transparency and Leverage Points for Sustainable Resource Management
by Johanna Gisladottir, Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdottir, Ingrid Stjernquist and Kristin Vala Ragnarsdottir
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16801; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416801 - 14 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1587
Abstract
The phrase ‘sunshine is the best disinfectant’ is commonly used to suggest that transparency can counter corruption and ensure accountability. In the policy world, several analytical tools have been developed to obtain information on what policy decision would bring about the biggest positive [...] Read more.
The phrase ‘sunshine is the best disinfectant’ is commonly used to suggest that transparency can counter corruption and ensure accountability. In the policy world, several analytical tools have been developed to obtain information on what policy decision would bring about the biggest positive effect for the least amount of effort. There is a tendency to view transparency as the silver bullet in that respect. This paper aimed to shed light on how measures of transparency can serve as a leverage point for sustainable resource management. We begin by analysing the concept of transparency and then draw from Donella Meadows’ work on leverage points to analyse the transformative potential of increasing transparency towards sustainable resource management. We then demonstrate the use of this analytical approach by applying it to three case studies on resource management systems in Ukraine, Romania, and Iceland. The results suggested that transparency in resource management needs to be accompanied by widely accepted standards and accountability mechanisms for it to serve as an effective leverage point. If these factors are neglected, the credibility of transparency can be undermined. Prioritising transparency as a policy intervention to alleviate corruption risks, in the absence of accountability mechanisms and clear rules, might be misplaced, and require deeper leverage points. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corruption and Sustainability: A Micro-Level Approach)
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