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Merchants of Corruption: How Entrepreneurs Manufacture and Supply Bribes

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  • Ufere, Nnaoke
  • Perelli, Sheri
  • Boland, Richard
  • Carlsson, Bo

Abstract

We wondered how corruption, endemic in Nigeria, is experienced by a specific and understudied set of actors—entrepreneurs. Semi-structured interviews with founders/CEOs of firms in three industries associated with high levels of corruption revealed entrepreneurs—rather than victims of bribe demanding government agents—are themselves active perpetrators of bribery, adopting a set of “bribery best practices” governed by a well-embedded set of social norms, rules, routines, and power relations to deliberately subvert formal state budgetary systems. While reforming institutions is a key focus of anti-corruption policies in many Sub-Saharan African countries, our results suggest a bottom-up approach to remediation based on understanding the practice from the perspective of those who actively engage in it.

Suggested Citation

  • Ufere, Nnaoke & Perelli, Sheri & Boland, Richard & Carlsson, Bo, 2012. "Merchants of Corruption: How Entrepreneurs Manufacture and Supply Bribes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(12), pages 2440-2453.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:40:y:2012:i:12:p:2440-2453
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.05.025
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    Cited by:

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    3. Yuan Wang, 2022. "Uncertainty, entrepreneurship, and the organization of corruption," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 121-139, January.
    4. Joseph Ouma Oindo, 2021. "Engaging in and Coping with Bribery by the Bodaboda Riders in Kisii town, Kenya," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(3), pages 351-357, March.
    5. Yi, Jingtao & Teng, Da & Meng, Shuang, 2018. "Foreign ownership and bribery: Agency and institutional perspectives," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 34-45.
    6. Gauthier, Bernard & Goyette, Jonathan & Kouamé, Wilfried A.K., 2021. "Why do firms pay bribes? Evidence on the demand and supply sides of corruption in developing countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 463-479.
    7. Nnaoke Ufere & James Gaskin, 2021. "Evasive entrepreneurship: Circumventing and exploiting institutional impediments for new profit opportunity in an emerging market," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(2), pages 1-22, February.
    8. Ioana PETRESCU, 2016. "Size Matters: Entrepreneurship and Institutions," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 4(1), pages 63-80, March.
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    10. Christopher Chan & Subramaniam Ananthram, 2020. "A neo-institutional perspective on ethical decision-making," Post-Print hal-03107344, HAL.
    11. Michael Mbate, 2018. "Who bears the burden of bribery? Evidence from public service delivery in Kenya," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(S1), pages 321-340, March.
    12. Anthony Brown & Royston Meriton & Timothy Devinney & Mario Kafouros & Flor Silvestre Gerardo & Rajinder Bhandal, 2021. "Migrant human and political capitals value in entrepreneur enterprise performance. A comparative study of four emerging markets," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 665-692, June.
    13. George R. G. Clarke, 2021. "How Do Women Managers Avoid Paying Bribes?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, February.
    14. Sanchez-Ruiz, Paul & Wood, Matthew S. & Michaelis, Timothy L. & Suarez, Jaime, 2023. "Entrepreneurs as prime targets: Insights from Mexican ventures on the link between venture visibility and crime of varying severity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(6).
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    16. Godinez, Jose R. & Liu, Ling, 2015. "Corruption distance and FDI flows into Latin America," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 33-42.
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    18. Ufere, Nnaoke & Gaskin, James & Perelli, Sheri & Somers, Antoinette & Boland, Richard, 2020. "Why is bribery pervasive among firms in sub-Saharan African countries? Multi-industry empirical evidence of organizational isomorphism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 92-104.
    19. Doren Chadee & Banjo Roxas & Alexandre Kouznetsov, 2021. "Corruption, Bribery and Innovation in CEE: Where is the Link?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(4), pages 747-762, December.
    20. Hoch, Felix & Lohwasser, Todor S., 2019. "The influence of institutions on venture capital: How transaction costs, uncertainty, and change affect new ventures," Discussion Papers of the Institute for Organisational Economics 9/2019, University of Münster, Institute for Organisational Economics.
    21. Imtiaz Arif & Lubna Khan & Sundus Waqar, 2023. "Does Corruption Sand or Grease the Wheels? A Case of BRICS Countries," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 24(6), pages 1468-1481, December.

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