Despite various major reforms led by top international bodies, corruption
is still rampant in various emerging countries and this phenomenon
undermines their economic development. A weak institutional
framework is often described as key factor in the prevalence of
corruption. Based on neo-institutional literature, our research aimed
to show the influence of organizational isomorphism on corruption
in emerging countries. This type of research is difficult because the
central concept of corruption is hidden by nature. To explore the
issue further, we used a direct data collection method through interviews
with executives in emerging countries. A questionnaire was
designed with various statements linked to a quantitative scale of
answers. This allowed us to use a quantitative methodology to analyze
the collected information. We opted for the PLS approach to
test our theoretical model. The model developed provides an integrated
approach to the study of the relationship between corruption
and organizational isomorphism. Our empirical data allowed us to
test various theoretical hypotheses.
We tested various key hypotheses concerning the influence of organizational
isomorphism on corruption in firms in emerging countries.
We showed that the quality of the institutional framework (law, law
enforcement, quality of financial markets) has a negative impact
on the level of corruption. The ‘better’ the quality of the institutional
environment, the fewer the instances of corruption.
Coercive isomorphism is a key factor in explaining various levels of
corruption. There is a need for state intervention in order to build
an appropriate business system (law, law enforcement, quality of
financial markets). However, intervention should be limited and
the state should allow private firms the freedom to make decisions
within an adequate institutional framework. The greater the level of
state intervention in the decisions of private firms, the more likely
the bureaucrats will find opportunities to take bribes.
Furthermore, mimetic isomorphism is a strong argument to explain
the extent of corruption. Firms in emerging countries tend to imitate
each other’s behaviour. A new enterprise in an emerging country is
very likely to follow the corrupt behaviour of its successful competitors,
for example.
Our empirical data also showed that the greater the level of competition,
the greater the degree of corruption and thus firms in emerging
countries facing an increase in corruption may try to secure
rents by using unethical practices.
The limitations of our study are largely related to our sample population.
Despite being conducted in many countries with 4104 interviews,
this research relies on one-on-one interviews in each firm,
in other words, only one executive was interviewed in each firm, on
the assumption that one respondent could describe the phenomenon
completely and accurately. This is nonetheless quite common
in prior research in the field of corruption (Lancaster & Montinola,
2001).