The ‘convenience triangle’ is the dynamic relationship between motive, opportunity, and willingness to commit a crime, which culminates in the illegal acts which constitute white-collar crime. This book aims to discuss the role of the ‘convenience triangle’ in white-collar crime, how it affects the perpetration of these crimes, the impact of this on detection and prevention and the effects of the punitive measures taken against white-collar criminals.
Ever since Sutherland coined the term ‘white-collar crime’, researchers have struggled to understand and explain why some individuals abuse their privileged positions of trust and commit financial crime. This book makes a novel contribution to the development of convenience theory as a framework to understand and explain ‘white-collar crime’.
This book introduces a dynamic perspective to study white-collar crime. It argues that as personal motives change over time, so too do organizational opportunities, and willingness for deviant behavior. The work contends that the extent of white-collar crime is dependent on the extent of crime convenience perceived and preferred by potential offenders. It discusses how potential white-collar offenders expand organizational opportunities for financial crime over time. The dynamics are illustrated here by system dynamics models to capture cause and effect relationships. The book also presents a new structural model illustrating the elements of convenience theory along with a new dynamic model illustrating the evolution of white-collar crime. The practical aspects are illustrated with a number of case studies. The book will be of interest to researchers, academics and professionals working in the areas of Criminal Justice, Criminology, Criminal Law and Business Studies.
This book examines internal fraud investigations in public and private organizations. It provides a theoretical framework of white-collar crime and convenience theory, to examine a number of case studies, including some cases brought to light by the Panama Papers. Investigating white-collar crime is distinguished from other types of crime by: concealment of the crime rather than the criminal, victims who may be unaware of the crime and not directly visible to the criminal, and the resources available to suspects. It requires a unique strategy and a unique set of tools. This work provides insight into a number of internal investigation reports that are normally not publicly available. It will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, particularly with an interest in white collar crime and corruption, as well as related fields such as business, management, economics, and public administration.
By examining white-collar crime scandals using the theory of convenience, Petter Gottschalk offers ways to improve the detection of crime signals and investigative skills in fraud examinations, as well as improve change management measures.
A comprehensive and state-of the-art overview from internationally-recognized experts on white-collar crime covering a broad range of topics from many perspectives Law enforcement professionals and criminal justice scholars have debated the most appropriate definition of “white-collar crime” ever since Edwin Sutherland first coined the phrase in his speech to the American Sociological Society in 1939. The conceptual ambiguity surrounding the term has challenged efforts to construct a body of science that meaningfully informs policy and theory. The Handbook of White-Collar Crime is a unique re-framing of traditional discussions that discusses common topics of white-collar crime—who the offenders are, who the victims are, how these crimes are punished, theoretical explanations—while exploring how the choice of one definition over another affects research and scholarship on the subject. Providing a one-volume overview of research on white-collar crime, this book presents diverse perspectives from an international team of both established and newer scholars that review theory, policy, and empirical work on a broad range of topics. Chapters explore the extent and cost of white-collar crimes, individual- as well as organizational- and macro-level theories of crime, law enforcement roles in prevention and intervention, crimes in Africa and South America, the influence of technology and globalization, and more. This important resource: Explores diverse implications for future theory, policy, and research on current and emerging issues in the field Clarifies distinct characteristics of specific types of offences within the general archetype of white-collar crime Includes chapters written by researchers from countries commonly underrepresented in the field Examines the real-world impact of ambiguous definitions of white-collar crime on prevention, investigation, and punishment Offers critical examination of how definitional decisions steer the direction of criminological scholarship Accessible to readers at the undergraduate level, yet equally relevant for experienced practitioners, academics, and researchers, The Handbook of White-Collar Crime is an innovative, substantial contribution to contemporary scholarship in the field.
This book outlines the theory of convenience for white-collar crime to explain what motivates and enables offenders, providing a unique focus on white-collar crime in the business context. The theory of convenience suggests that the extent to which elite members commit and conceal economic crime is dependent on their extent of orientation towards convenience in problematic and attractive situations. Chapters are organized along the main theoretical dimensions of economical motive, organizational opportunity, and personal willingness. In addition, this book: Addresses a business audience by focusing on themes familiar to corporations Documents attitudes towards white-collar crime among business students and future business leaders Analyzes how convenience orientation varies among individuals Analyzes autobiographies of convicted white-collar offenders Demonstrates the various ways in which white-collar crime occurs The Convenience of White-Collar Crime in Business contributes to an increased understanding of white-collar crime, offering valuable insight in business education that supplements the traditional roles of topics like auditing and compliance in education and practice. It is a useful resource for researchers and law enforcement, and those involved in the detection, prosecution, and conviction of white-collar offenders.
This initiating monograph provides the first thorough examination of the concept of white-collar crime online. Applying an offender-based perspective which considers the central role of convenience, it seeks to inform, improve and develop the current literature on cybercrime, whilst paying particular attention to its founding category within criminology. It argues that white-collar crime has receded from criminological perspectives on cybercrime in recent years and that a detailed, rich re-assessment of white-collar crime in contemporary digital societies is needed. Following a theoretical introduction, the book develops to discuss, inter alia, implications for corporate reputation, the various organizational roles utilized in mitigating external and internal threats, the unique considerations involved in law enforcement efforts, and likely future directions within the field. White-Collar Crime Online recognises the strong lineage and correlation that exists between the study of white-collar crime and cybercrime. Using convenience theory within a comparative analysis which includes case-studies, the book explores both European and American paradigms, perspectives and models to determine where white-collar crime exists within the contemporary workplace and how this might relate to the ongoing discourse on cybercrime. In doing so it revaluates criminological theory within the context of changing patterns of business, the workplace, social rules, systems of governance, decision making, social ordering and control. White-Collar Crime Online will speak to criminologists, sociologists and professionals; including those interested in cyber-security, economics, technology and computer science.
This book aims to bridge the gap between general CEO research, which is traditionally focused on positive aspects of leadership, and lesser understood research into CEO misconduct and crime. Gottschalk introduces convenience theory as an integrated explanation for CEO involvement in white-collar crime. The chief executive officer is a unique position within an organization in terms of power and influence, role and behavior, compensation and benefits, and conflict and competition. The convenience perspective suggests that motivation (personal and organizational goals), opportunity (offense and concealment in an organizational context), as well as behavior (lack of control and neutralization of guilt) make financial crime a convenient option to avoid threats and to exploit opportunities. A thorough and methodical study, this book will be of special interest to scholars of corporate social responsibility and criminological theory.
This book discusses private policing conducted by fraud examiners and financial crime specialists when there is suspicion of white-collar crime. The theory of convenience applies to the suspected crime, while the maturity model applies to the conducted investigation. Private policing of economic crime by fraud examiners in internal investigations is a topic of increasing concern as there is a growing business for law firms and auditing firms to conduct inquiries and reviews when there is suspicion of misconduct, wrongdoing, and crime by white-collar offenders. The key features of this book are the application of a structural model for convenience theory and the application of a maturity model for fraud examinations. The structural model assesses convenience themes for motive, opportunity, and willingness in each case study, while the maturity model assesses the level of private policing maturity in fraud examinations. For the first time, two emerging frameworks to study white-collar offenses and private policing maturity are introduced and applied to a number of cases from Denmark, Iceland, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. This book will be essential to those studying law, business, and criminology, as well as practicing fraud examiners.
