الواسطة والفساد في إدارة المال والأعمال: دراسة إقليمية مقارنة

Abstract

Pulling Strings and corruption in doing business: a regional comparative study. The objective of this research is to analyse the relationship between feelings towards “Al-Wasta” (pulling strings) behavior and acceptance of corruption by employees and managers of organizations. The main results of this study are summarized as follows: 1- There is a strong positive correlation, especially among the males, between the nature of the general feelings towards “Al-Wasta” and corruption acceptance. This implies that the individuals, who have positive feelings towards Al-Wasta, tend to accept corruption practices more than the individuals who have negative feelings towards “Al-Wasta”. 2- The general mean of the sample’s attitude towards corruption acceptance is centered on the middle point of the used scale. This result does not correspond to the reviewed studies and to the “International Transparency” reports about corruption in the Arab world. This result can be explained by the fact that it is difficult to accept openly the existence of corruption in the Arab countries especially if we know that “save face” is one of the most important values in the Arab world. However, corruption is morally rejected by the participants.