A View from the Top: Managers’ Perspectives on the Problem of Employee Theft in Small Businesses
Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This dissertation was a study of employee theft within small businesses focused upon understanding how these acts affect the owners and managers of small businesses, as well as understanding their perceptions of this problem.The problem of employee theft has received scholarly attention from multiple academic disciplines, and is also a common topic of discussion among business owners and managers, as well as within industry associations.However, employee theft occurring specifically within small businesses has received much less empirical attention, and almost no attention has been given to how these acts affect the owners and managers of small businesses.This study was an attempt to fill these gaps by studying the problem of employee theft within small businesses from the perspective of the owners and managers of those businesses.This study used a mixed-methods process of data collection, which required the collection and examination of quantitative and qualitative data obtained from a sample of small business owners and managers within the greater Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area.This study focuses mainly upon how elements of guardianship within the business influence opportunity structures for employee theft.However, when explored from the perspective of the owners and managers of small businesses, this examination of business guardianship also touches upon issues of target suitability and offender motivation.In total, this study provides important and unique information about a topic of importance to many academic disciplines, while also providing useful information for the actual owners and managers of small businesses.This study of employee theft within small businesses represents a valuable contribution to both researchers and practitioners interested in better understanding a serious problem that has the potential to threaten small businesses in the United States.
Author: Jay P. Kennedy
Institution: University of Cincinnati
Language: English
Subfield: Accounting
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2279866762