This edited collection analyses, from multiple disciplinary perspectives, the issue of corruption in commercial enterprise across different sectors and jurisdictions. Corruption is commonly recognised as a major ‘social bad’, and is seriously harmful to society, in terms of the functioning and legitimacy of political-economic systems, and the day-to-day lives of individuals. There is nothing novel about bribes in brown envelopes and dubious backroom deals, ostensibly to grease the wheels of business. Corrupt practices like these go to the very heart of illicit transacting in both legal markets – such as kickbacks to facilitate contracts in international commerce – and illegal markets – such as payoffs to public officials to turn a blind eye to cross-border smuggling. Aside from the apparent pervasiveness and longevity of corruption in commercial enterprise, there is now renewed policy and operational attention on the phenomenon, prompting and meriting deeper analysis. Corruption in commercial enterprise, encompassing behaviours often associated with corporate and white-collar crime, and corruption in criminal commercial enterprise, where we see corruption central to organised crime activities, are major public policy issues. This collection gives us insight into their nature, organisation and governance, and how to respond most appropriately and effectively.

This volume presents national reports describing the legal instruments that are available to prevent the payment of bribes for acquiring contracts. Anti-corruption is one of the preeminent issues in the modern global commercial order and is tackled with the help of criminal law and contract law in different ways in different countries. The reports included in this volume, from very diverse parts of the world, represent a unique and rich compilation of court decisions, doctrinal discussions and a pool of suggested solutions. The central theme is the enforceability of three problematic types of contracts: the bribe agreement, whereby a bribe payer promises the agent of his business partner a personal benefit in exchange for favourable contract terms; the agreement between a bribe payer and an intermediary (a “bribe merchant”), where the latter offers his expertise to help funnel bribes to agents of the business partner; and finally, the contract between the bribe payer and his business partner which was obtained by means of bribery. The analysis is tailored toward commercial contracts, which can also include contracts with state-owned enterprises. The examination and comparison of international and national initiatives included in this volume advance the discussion on the most appropriate remedies in corruption cases, and show how to get past the boundaries of criminal, private and contract law.

It is common practice to assume that business practices are universally similar. Business and social attitudes to corruption, however, vary according to the wide variety of cultural norms across the countries of the world. International business involves complex, ethically challenging, and sometimes threatening, dilemmas that can involve political and personal agendas. Corruption in International Business presents a broad range of perspectives on how corruption can be defined; the responsibilities of those working for publicly traded companies to their shareholders; and the positive influences that corporations can have upon combating international corruption. The authors differentiate between public and private sector corruption and explore the implications of both, as well as methods for qualifying and quantifying corruption and the challenges facing policy makers, legal systems, corporations, and NGOs, as they seek to mitigate the effects of corruption and enable cultural and social change.

The Handbook of Business and Corruption provides an overview of corrupt business practices in general and, more particularly, in different industry sectors, considering such practices from an ethical perspective.

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Miscellaneous, grade: 2 (B), LMU Munich (Geschwister-Scholl-Institute for Political Science), course: Corruption as a phenomenon of international relations, 28 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The objection of this study, loosely, is to identify the causes and effects of corruption in international business transactions, the meaning of (corruption in) international business transactions and how can we detect, prevent, minimise or even resolve the problems. Thesis question: Is corruption in international business transactions an accepted norm that is tolerated globally? How has it come to be so, what harms has it done and what can we do about it?

The world of business is rife with dark and clandestine schemes meant to ensure that deals proceed more quickly--and more advantageously to the palm-greaser--than they otherwise would. Business Bribes: Corporate Corruption and the Courts details two dozen of the most important and interesting U.S. judicial opinions dealing with commercial bribery, both domestic and foreign. The industries involved include agriculture, women's handbags, and Indian casinos, and the deals take place from Alaska to Florida and, around the globe, from Venezuela to Hungary and Azerbaijan. The bribes in these cases, numerous and generous, take the form of cash, stock, shares of future profits, vouchers, stock options, wire transfers, luxury vacations, and a wide range of other financial incentives.This collection of tales from the world of bribery litigation is sure to enlighten, inform, and entertain.

Confronting Corruption in Business focuses on the contextual issues that trigger corruption to give the reader a more thorough understanding of destructive leadership. It provides students with a unique, critical perspective on issues of leadership, corruption, and policy in different countries, industries, and companies. While there isn’t a universally agreed upon definition of corruption in social sciences, it generally refers to efforts to secure wealth or power through misusing public power for private gain. This kind of destructive leadership is typically treated as an anomaly, but this book closes the gap in our understanding by highlighting the wider consequences of this behavior within business, and on an international level. Armed with this understanding, one also learns how to mitigate its causes and consequences. Edited by leading experts, the book includes contributions from scholars with international expertise on leadership, strategy, political science, finance, organizational change, and public policy. It is the first book to focus on corruption on the country level and within business, and students in international business, management, ethics, and leadership classes will find it a valuable read.