Culture and corruption: An experimental comparison of cultural patterns on the corruption propensity in Poland and Russia
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14773708221081017 |
| Author | Alexander Fürstenberg,Sebastian Starystach,Andrzej Uhl |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Culture and corruption: An
experimental comparison
of cultural patterns on the
corruption propensity in
Poland and Russia
Alexander Fürstenberg
Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Heidelberg University,
Germany
Sebastian Starystach
Institute of Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science, Charité,
Germany
Andrzej Uhl
Faculty of Law, Heidelberg University, Germany
Abstract
The development of effective anti-corruption measures relies on a sound understanding of under-
lying country-specific cultural patterns of corruption. However, finding these patterns faces the
problem of ecological fallacies when tracing back the results of comparative macro-studies to
the national level or of using ex-post explanations for cultural variances in experimental research
designs. Thus, we ask how cultural patterns can explain country differences in the propensity
to act corrupt without neglecting the aforementioned problems. Based on institutional theory,
we model path-dependent cultural patterns at the macro, meso and micro levels promoting pro-
pensity to act corrupt in Poland and Russia. The results of experimental data gathered from stu-
dents in Poland and Russia show that the extent to which legal nihilism and ethical dualism are
institutionalized at the macro level, as well as the micro factors of gender-specific socialization
and studying law, has a significant effect on the propensity to act corrupt.
Corresponding author:
Alexander Fürstenberg, Max-Weber-Institute of Sociology, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences,
Heidelberg University, Bergheimer Straße 58, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany.
Email: alexander.fuerstenberg@mwi.uni-heidelberg.de
Article
European Journal of Criminology
2023, Vol. 20(5) 1719–1739
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14773708221081017
journals.sagepub.com/home/euc
Keywords
Corruption, culture, experimental research, institutional theory
Introduction
When developing anti-corruption measures, international NGOs and multinational
corporations face the challenge of country-specific differences concerning both the
propensity to act corrupt as well as tackling its consequences (Achathaler et al.,
2011). The same anti-corruption measures can effectively lower the levels of corrup-
tion in certain countries, but produce little effect in others. The effectiveness of
anti-corruption measures therefore seems to depend not only on their (technical)
implementation, but also on local corruption-promoting mechanisms (European
Commission, 2020).
While several cultural factors promoting corruption have been identified (Dimant,
2014; Frank, 2004), the question remains as to which of these mechanisms unfold in
country-specific contexts. This is not least due to the methodological obstacles: Firstly,
the country-specific conclusions concerning the causes of corruption may be subject to
an ecological fallacy, since they draw upon results of comparative macro-studies
(Brewer and Venaik, 2012; 2014). Secondly, experimental research designs on cultural
effects on corruption propensities often use ex-post explanations of culture to explain
empirical variances (Banuri and Eckel, 2012; Nonnenmacher and Friedrichs, 2013). In
both cases, arguments regularly refer to the level of corruption measured by aggregated
corruption indices. Thus, they do not distinguish between different forms of corrupt prac-
tices on the meso and micro level and corresponding mechanisms to explain corruption
(Knack, 2007).
Against this background, we ask how country-specific cultural patterns on the macro,
meso, and micro level can be integrated into an approach to explain corrupt practices
which addresses the aforementioned problems. To this end, we present an empirical
multilevel explanatory model, which draws upon corruption research conducted within
sociology, economics, and political science, to supplement criminological literature,
that has to date focused on theoretical aspects of corruption (Brooks, 2016) and individual
criminogenic mechanisms (Button et al., 2018; Köbis et al., 2017).
Therefore, we first summarize the central findings of macro-studies and studies with
experimental designs concerning cultural factors on corruption and outline their meth-
odological problems. To overcome these, we develop an approach to cultural influences
on corruption based on institutional theory. Using the example of Poland and Russia, we
then proceed to include path-depending cultural patterns promoting corruption and
extend the macro-cultural perspective on corruption by hypotheses on meso and micro
factors. While Poland and Russia share the cultural heritage of real socialism, they
differ in the way they have handled its consequences and in corresponding political as
well as economic trajectories. Drawing on this, we depict an experimental design to
test our hypotheses and present our empirical results for Poland and Russia. We critically
discuss our proposed theoretical and methodological approach alongside our empirical
findings. Concluding these findings, we refer to further extensions and application
areas of our approach.
1720 European Journal of Criminology 20(5)
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