Workplace Theft: A Proposed Model and Research Agenda

Abstract

Agreement is widespread that theft in the workplace is a serious problem (Greenberg, 2002, Weber, Kurke & Pentico, 2003). While employee theft has always been costly to businesses, the enhanced security climate in more recent times has made this topic more important than ever. While a great deal is known about individual and situational factors associated with employee theft, prior research has failed to develop and test a comprehensive model of workplace theft. Many of the studies dealing with employee theft have examined only a few correlates of employee theft concurrently (e.g., Greenberg, 2002, Weber et al., 2003) rather than including multiple correlates and testing them systematically.Robinson and Bennett (1995) called for additional research attention to activities concerning deviant workplace behaviors. They pointed out that while the understanding of prosocial (positive) employee behaviors such as organizational citizenship is fairly comprehensive, the understanding of deviant behavior is less. The purpose of this research is to build a more comprehensive model of one type of deviant workplace behavior, workplace theft, by extending prior research to include additional variables that may help us to better understand and control employee theft. The authors' contention is that theft in the workplace is a much more complex issue than previously treated in the literature and that the research area may benefit from findings in related areas of investigation.A Review of the Workplace Theft LiteratureResearch on antecedents and other correlates of employee theft have focused on two broad categories of factors: individual (personality) factors and situational factors. Both are important and have practical implications for businesses. Organizations can test for individual characteristics associated with low theft activity by using selection and detection devices such as information on applications, the polygraph, honesty tests, and references (Murphy, 1993). Individual factors are variables that employers largely cannot control; employers may only be able to react to them. Situational factors (strong policies about theft, safeguards, etc.) are much more under control of employers.Individual Factors Associated with Employee TheftThe propensity for employees to steal seems to be related to the individual's need, opportunity, skills, and attitude toward committing an illegal act (Murphy, 1993). Some employees seem to steal simply for the thrill of it (Latham, 2001). Others steal for other employees (Osland, 1997), perhaps due to peer pressure. Research shows consistently that employees who have fewer stakes in the organization are more likely to steal. This lack of commitment has been measured in various ways: turnover intentions (Frazee, 1996; Thomas, Walper, Scott, & Jones, 2001), affective organizational commitment (Sims, 2002); part time rather than fulltime (Flynn, 1995), and tenure (Sims, 2002).The way in which the employee conforms to the attitudes and behaviors of the work group also plays a significant role in workplace theft. When exposed to a work group that condones theft, a worker who feels strong identification with the group will be more likely to steal (Murphy, 1992). Sims (2002) partially explained workplace dishonesty using Social Bonding Theory (Hirschi, 1969). The greater the social bond in a group, the greater the likelihood of conforming to group norms. Social bonding depends on employees' attachment to workers and family members, commitment to the property or achievement they value and stand to lose if they do not conform, involvement with positive rather than negative organizational behaviors, and belief in society norms.Another consistent finding is that workplace theft is closely associated with feelings of mistreatment by the employer (Greenberg & Scott, 1996). One form of mistreatment that has long been identified as a correlate of workplace theft is pay dissatisfaction or perceptions of pay inequity (Greenberg, 1990, Hollinger & Clark, 1983). …