Organization and organizationality of corruption

Abstract

Corrupt actors operate in an environment with numerous mechanisms designed to expose and punish their illegal behavior. Therefore, they organize their activity to reduce risk and uncertainty surrounding the situation, which takes place within and beyond a formal hierarchy. This article approaches the subject from a multidisciplinary perspective, applying theories of organization and organizationality—such as communicative constitution of organizations, social organization, partial organization, complete organization, neopatrimonialism, and patronage–to explain the organizing element of different forms of corruption. By introducing the ideas of the organization and organizationality, this study presents a new dimension of corruption and provides new insight into the scholarship on the topic.