Corruption and business integrity: law, policy and company practices

Since the 1990s the international community has become acutely aware of the role of businesses in the growth of corruption globally and the debilitating effects of corruption on economic growth and development. A multitude of strategies from regulation in the form of international legal instruments and self-regulation in the form of codes of conduct through to training of employees and involvement of NGOs and citizens in tackling corruption have emerged and these have been vociferously advocated by international organizations, chambers of commerce and NGOs. This article examines the extent to which these strategies have impacted on the policies and practices of businesses through a survey of companies listed in The Times (London) which included all industry sectors with the exception of banking and finance. The survey findings indicate that despite the huge efforts in devising and publicising anti-corruption strategies by the international community these strategies seem to have had limited impact on the policies and practices of companies.