Corporate deviance is organizational deviance occurring on the behalf of the corporation in the course of working in it. Many corporate deviant acts occur as an outcome of the often-conflicting goals of profit maximization and free competition.
This paper attempts to analyze various classifications of corporate violations, corporate harms, corporate victimizations, and corporate victims. It suggests that various kinds of corporate victimization cause different kinds of harm, and hurt different kinds of victims to different degrees; in most corporate victimization cases there are multiple victims, i.e., besides direct victimization, indirect victimization also takes place; there is also a widescale inter-organizational victimization occurring among corporations.
The paper also reviews the possibilities for the individualization of the victims, personalization of the offenders, and the personalization of harms as they relate to corporate deviance. The combined classifications may be helpful for further conceptualization of the various aspects of corporate deviance.
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