Approaches to the Empirical Study of Convenience Theory for White-Collar Crime

ABSTRACT

Convenience theory suggests that members of the elite in society commit financial crime in their professional roles when alternative actions require too much effort. Convenience is a relative concept where white-collar crime is chosen over legitimate actions when there is a strong economical motive, ample organizational opportunities, and acceptance of deviant behavior. To study convenience theory, four investigations are presented in this article: statistical sample of white-collar criminals, autobiographies by white-collar criminals, internal investigations of white-collar crime, and student elicitation on white-collar crime. The strongest relationship within convenience theory seems to be the effect from willingness to commit crime based on deviant behavior on organizational opportunity to commit white-collar crime.

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Petter Gottschalk

PETTER GOTTSCHALK is professor in the department of leadership and organizational behavior at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, Norway. He has been chief executive officer at several companies. He is educated in Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Dr. Gottschalk has published extensively on fraud examinations, police investigations, knowledge management, white-collar crime, and convenience theory.