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Value Sinks: A Process Theory of Corruption Risk during Complex Organizing.
James K Hazy1, Benyamin B Lichtenstein2, Dionysios S Demetis3
1Adelphi University, Garden City, NY.
Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and Life Sciences
|July 10, 2023
Summary
Corruption risk emerges from social system uncertainty and ethical ambiguity, not just individual ethics. Complexity science reveals how
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Complexity Science
- Organizational Behavior
Background:
- Traditional corruption theories focus on individual ethics and agency problems.
- Existing frameworks often overlook the systemic dynamics driving corruption.
- A gap exists in understanding corruption emergence within social systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a process theory of corruption emergence using complexity science concepts.
- To explain how uncertainty and ethical ambiguity contribute to corruption risk.
- To validate the theory across multiple scales within social systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing complexity science principles to model corruption dynamics.
- Defining corruption as emergent behavior exploiting system disequilibrium.
- Introducing the concept of a 'value sink' to explain systemic corruption.
Main Results:
- Corruption emerges from agents exploiting uncertainty and ethical ambiguity.
- Systemic corruption arises from amplified local interactions creating hidden value sinks.
- Value sinks reduce local uncertainty, attract participants, and persist as attractors.
Conclusions:
- The complexity science approach offers a novel perspective on corruption dynamics.
- Identified four distinct types of corruption risk.
- Proposed policy interventions and future research directions based on the theory.
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