Abstract
A prominent theory of white-collar crime holds that organizations have distinctive cultures which are more or less tolerant of law violation for the benefit of the firm. This explanation purports to account for why college-educated, relatively affluent, and seemingly conventional persons can commit crime when they are employed in white-collar occupations. The vexing paradox of “why good people do dirty work” can be resolved by positing that some organizations turn a blind eye to ethical and legal infractions if it benefits the firm, thereby creating a culture of rule breaking which is learned just as any other business practice is learned. Another theoretical view posits that firms with a tolerant view toward business ethics may attract people with “loose” ethics, which itself leads to corporate and white-collar offending. The second view harmonizes with the notion of “assortative mating”—that people are attracted to those environments with which they are more compatible by disposition. The difference between these two views is not trivial. One posits that the ethical climate of an industry or firm has a causal impact on the occurrence of white-collar crime; the other is compatible with the view that the relationship between culture and crime is spurious. Using as a case study research within another criminological tradition—the relationship between youth employment and delinquency—we argue that disentangling causation from selection should be a research priority for the study of white-collar crime.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Agnew, R. (1986). Work and delinquency among juveniles attending school. Journal of Criminal Justice, 9, 19–41.
Apel, R., Paternoster, R., Bushway, S.D., and Brame, R. (2006). A job isn’t just a job: the differential impact of formal vs. informal work on adolescent problem behavior. Crime and Delinquency, 52, 333–369.
Apel, R., Bushway, S., Brame, R., Haviland, A.M., Nagin, D.S., and Paternoster, R. (2007). Unpacking the relationship between adolescent employment and antisocial behavior: a matched samples comparison. Criminology, 45, 67–97.
Bachman, J.G. and Schulenberg, J. (1993). How part-time work intensity relates to drug use, problem behavior, time use, and satisfaction among high school seniors: are these consequences or merely correlates? Developmental Psychology, 29, 220–235.
Bachman, J.G., Johnston, L.D., and O’Malley, P.M. (1981). Smoking, drinking, and drug use among American high school students: correlates and trends, 1975–1979. American Journal of Public Health, 71, 59–69.
Bachman, J.G., Safron, D.J., Sy, S.R., and Schulenberg, J.E. (2003). Wishing to work: new perspectives on how adolescents’ part-time work intensity is linked to educational disengagement, substance use, and other problem behaviours. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27, 301–315.
Bass, B.M. and Eldridge, L.D. (1973). Accelerated managers’ objectives in twelve countries. Industrial Relations, 12, 158–171.
Braithwaite, J. (1989). Criminological theory and organizational crime. Justice Quarterly, 6, 333–358.
Brame, R., Bushway, S.D., Paternoster, R., and Apel, R. (2004). Assessing the effect of adolescent employment on involvement in criminal activity. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 20, 236–256.
Clinard, M.B. and Yeager, P.C. (1980). Corporate Crime. New York: Free Press.
Coleman, J.W. (1987). Toward an integrated theory of white-collar crime. American Journal of Sociology, 93, 406–439.
Cullen, F.T., Williams, N., and Wright, J.P. (1997). Work conditions and juvenile delinquency: is youth employment criminogenic? Criminal Justice Policy Review, 8, 119–143.
Denzin, N. (1977). Notes on the criminogenic hypothesis: a case study of the American liquor industry. American Sociological Review, 42, 905–920.
Dill, W.R., Hilton, T.L., and Reitman, W.R. (1962). The New Managers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Entwisle, D.R., Alexander, K.L., and Olson, L.S. (2000). Early work histories of urban youth. American Sociological Review, 65, 279–297.
Farberman, H. (1975). A criminogenic market structure: the automobile industry. Sociological Quarterly, 16, 438–457.
Geis, G. (1967). The heavy electrical equipment anti-trust cases of 1961. In M. Clinard and R. Quinney (Eds.), Criminal Behavior Systems (pp. 139–150). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Geis, G. and Meier, R.F. (1977). White-Collar Crime (Revised Edition). New York: Free Press.
Gottfredson, D.C. (1985). Youth employment, crime, and schooling: a longitudinal study of a national sample. Developmental Psychology, 21, 419–432.
Gottfredson, M.R. and Hirschi, T. (1990). A General Theory of Crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Greenberger, E. and Steinberg, L.D. (1986). When Teenagers Work: The Psychological and Social Costs of Adolescent Employment. New York: Basic Books.
Greenberger, E., Steinberg, L.D., and Vaux, A. (1981). Adolescents who work: heath and behavioral consequences of job stress. Developmental Psychology, 17, 691–703.
Gross, E. (1978). Organizational crime: a theoretical perspective. Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 1, 55–85.
Hartung, F.E. (1950). White-collar offenses in the wholesale meat industry in Detroit. American Journal of Sociology, 56, 25–34.
Hawkins, K. (2002). Law as Last Resort. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hirschi, T. & Gottfredson, M.R. (1987). Causes of white-collar crime. Criminology, 25, 949–974.
Hirschi, T. and Gottfredson, M.R. (1989). The significance of white-collar crime for a general theory of crime. Criminology, 27, 359–371.
Hughes, E.C. (1962). Good people and dirty work. Social Problems, 10, 3–11.
Hunt, S.D., Chonko, L.B., and Wilcox, J.B. (1984). Ethical problems of marketing researchers. Journal of Marketing Research, 21 304–324.
Jackall, R. (1988). Moral Mazes. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lane, R.E. (1953). Why business men violate the law. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, 44, 151–165.
Laub, J.H. and Sampson, R.J. (1991). The Sutherland-Glueck debate: on the sociology of criminological knowledge. American Journal of Sociology, 96, 1402–1440.
Leonard, W.N. & Weber, M.G. (1970). Automakers and dealers: a study of criminogenic market forces. Law and Society Review, 4, 407–424.
McMorris, B. and Uggen, C. (2000). Alcohol and employment in the transition to adulthood. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41, 276–294.
Mihalic, S.W. and Elliott, D. (1997). Short- and long-term consequences of adolescent work. Youth and Society, 28, 464–498.
Mortimer, J.T. (2003). Working and Growing Up in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Mortimer, J.T., Finch, M.D., Ryu, S., Shanahan, M.J., and Call , K.T. (1996). The effects of work intensity on adolescent mental health, achievement, and behavioral adjustment: new evidence from a prospective study. Child Development, 67, 1243–1261.
National Research Council. (1998). Protecting Youth at Work: Health, Safety, and Development of Working Children and Adolescents in the United States. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Needleman,M.L. and Needleman, C. (1979). Organizational crime: two models of criminogenesis. Sociological Quarterly, 20, 517–528.
Paternoster, R., Bushway, S., Brame, R., and Apel, R. (2003). The effect of teenage employment on delinquency and problem behaviors. Social Forces, 82, 297–335.
Piquero, N.L., Exum, M.L., and Simpson, S.S. (2005). Integrating the desire-for-control and rational choice in a corporate crime context. Justice Quarterly, 22, 252–280.
Ploeger, M. (1997). Youth employment and delinquency: reconsidering a problematic relationship. Criminology, 35, 659–675.
Reed, G.E. and Yeager, P.C. (1996). Organizational offending and neoclassical criminology: challenging the reach of a general theory of crime. Criminology, 34, 357–382.
Ruggiero, M. (1984). Work as an impetus to delinquency: an examination of theoretical and empirical connections. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Irvine.
Ruggiero, M., Greenberger, E., and Steinberg, L.D. (1982). Occupational deviance among adolescent workers. Youth and Society, 13, 423–448.
Safron, D.J., Schulenberg, J.E., and Bachman, J.G. (2001). Part-time work and hurried adolescence: the links among work intensity, social activities, health behaviors, and substance use. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 425–449.
Sampson, R.J. (2006). How does community context matter? Social mechanisms and the explanation of crime rates. In P.H. Wikström & R.J. Sampson (Eds.), The Explanation of Crime: Context, Mechanisms and Development (pp. 31–60). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sampson, R.J., Raudenbush, S., and Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: a multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918–924.
Schoenhals, M., Tienda, M., and Schneider, B. (1998). The educational and personal consequences of adolescent employment. Social Forces, 77, 723–762.
Shover, N. and Bryant, K.M. (1993). Theoretical explanations of corporate crime. In M.B. Blankenship (Ed.), Understanding Corporate Criminality (pp. 141–176). New York: Garland.
Shover, N. and Hochstetler, A. (2006). Choosing White-Collar Crime. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Staff, J. and Uggen, C. (2003). The fruits of good work: early work experiences and adolescent deviance. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 40, 263–290.
Steffensmeier, D. (1989). On the causes of “white-collar” crime: an assessment of Hirschi and Gottfredson’s claims. Criminology, 27, 345–358.
Steinberg, L. and Dornbusch, S.M. (1991). Negative correlates of part-time work in adolescence: replication and elaboration. Developmental Psychology, 17, 304–313.
Steinberg, L., Fegley, S., and Dornbusch, S.M. (1993). Negative impact of part-time work on adolescent adjustment: evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 29, 171–180.
Steinberg, L.D., Greenberger, E., Garduque, L., Ruggiero, M., and Vaux, A. (1982). Effects of working on adolescent development. Developmental Psychology, 18, 385–395.
Sutherland, E.H. (1940). White-collar criminality. American Sociological Review, 5, 1–12.
Sutherland, E.H. (1947). Principles of Criminology (4th ed.). Chicago: J.B. Lippincott.
Sutherland, E.H. (1949). White Collar Crime. New York: Dryden Press.
Sutherland, E.H. (1983). White Collar Crime (uncut version). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Vaughan, D. (1992). The macro-micro connection in white-collar crime theory. In K. Schlegal and D. Weisburd (Eds.), White-Collar Crime Reconsidered (pp. 124–145). Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Vaughan, D. (1996). The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Vaughan, D. (1998). Rational choice, situated action, and the social control of organizations. Law and Society Review, 32, 23–61.
Victor, B. and Cullen, J. (1987). A theory and measure of ethical climate in organizations. Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, 9, 51–71.
Weisburd, D.,Wheeler, S.,Waring, E., and Bode, N. (1991). Crimes of the Middle Classes: White- Collar Offenders in the Federal Courts. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Weisburd, D., Waring, E., and Chayet, E.F. (2001). White-Collar Crime and Criminal Careers. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wheeler, S. (1992). The problem of white-collar crime motivation. In K. Schlegal & D. Weisburd (Eds.), White-Collar Crime Reconsidered (pp. 108–123). Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Wright, J.P. and Cullen, F.T. (2000). Juvenile involvement in occupational delinquency. Criminology, 38, 863–896.
Wright, J.P., Cullen, F.T., and Williams, N. (1997). Working while in high school and delinquent involvement: implications for social policy. Crime and Delinquency, 43, 203–221.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Apel, R., Paternoster, R. (2009). Understanding “Criminogenic” Corporate Culture: What White-Collar Crime Researchers Can Learn from Studies of the Adolescent Employment–Crime Relationship. In: Simpson, S.S., Weisburd, D. (eds) The Criminology of White-Collar Crime. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09502-8_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09502-8_2
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-09501-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-09502-8
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)