Abstract:

A growing body of research examines how organisational integrity management systems (IMSs) shape behaviour and support regulatory compliance. Yet it remains unclear whether these systems substantively promote integrity and reduce corruption, or whether they instead generate operational and behavioural dysfunctions while maintaining a compliance veneer. Drawing on management control literature, we conceptualise IMSs as an integrity management package (IMP) structured through four levers of control (belief, boundary, diagnostic, and interactive systems) and use this framework as a meso-level analytical lens. We apply it to five in-depth case studies of major corruption scandals in high-risk sectors, including defence, critical infrastructure, healthcare, sports, and banking. Our cross-case analysis identifies a recurring systemic flaw: a consistent imbalance between IMP control levers. Organisations overwhelmingly prioritise formal boundary and diagnostic systems (i.e., rules and monitoring devices), while critically underinvesting in interactive and belief systems that promote dialogue and ethical culture. This disequilibrium creates a ‘compliance façade’: robust in form but weak in practice.

The study makes three key contributions. First, it puts forward a rich theoretical framework for analysing IMSs holistically. Second, it offers empirical evidence of a link between systemic control imbalances and ethical crises across the public-private spectrum. Finally, it translates these insights into an actionable blueprint for redesigning procurement, whistleblowing, and transparency mechanisms, thereby promoting more robust, theory-driven, evidence-based practice in the area of ethical governance and accountability in organisations.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Public Management and Governance

Keywords: Public management;Public administration;Public value;Public service(s)

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Dr. Denisse Rodriguez-Olivari