Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private Topics
Research on state corruption has flourished since the 1990s; however, studies focused on corruption within non-state organizations are still limited. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of 18,435 articles from the Web of Science database, covering the years 2002 to 2020. Using topic mode...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/7/186 |
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| author | Fabián Belmar Aldo Mascareño |
| author_facet | Fabián Belmar Aldo Mascareño |
| author_sort | Fabián Belmar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research on state corruption has flourished since the 1990s; however, studies focused on corruption within non-state organizations are still limited. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of 18,435 articles from the Web of Science database, covering the years 2002 to 2020. Using topic modeling Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), we analyzed the field of corruption research. Our analysis identified four main dimensions: state corruption as the predominant field, private-to-public corruption, private-to-private corruption, and technological–biological corruption. Our findings indicate that state corruption has a well-established research tradition, whereas private corruption remains underexplored. We highlight key conceptual limitations in understanding the mechanisms of non-state corruption and propose the idea of operational deviation from regular procedures to address these issues. This article concludes that further empirical research is needed on non-state corruption to develop a conceptual framework specific to this area, which features distinct characteristics from state corruption. Finally, we suggest implications for policy and practice based on our findings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a7f752ab9ed447b3b5f01d6aa9a1fadc |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj-art-a7f752ab9ed447b3b5f01d6aa9a1fadc2025-07-25T13:36:39ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982025-07-0115718610.3390/soc15070186Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private TopicsFabián Belmar0Aldo Mascareño1School of Government, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Peñalolén 8330015, ChileCentro de Estudios Públicos, Santiago 7500011, ChileResearch on state corruption has flourished since the 1990s; however, studies focused on corruption within non-state organizations are still limited. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of 18,435 articles from the Web of Science database, covering the years 2002 to 2020. Using topic modeling Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), we analyzed the field of corruption research. Our analysis identified four main dimensions: state corruption as the predominant field, private-to-public corruption, private-to-private corruption, and technological–biological corruption. Our findings indicate that state corruption has a well-established research tradition, whereas private corruption remains underexplored. We highlight key conceptual limitations in understanding the mechanisms of non-state corruption and propose the idea of operational deviation from regular procedures to address these issues. This article concludes that further empirical research is needed on non-state corruption to develop a conceptual framework specific to this area, which features distinct characteristics from state corruption. Finally, we suggest implications for policy and practice based on our findings.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/7/186corruptionstate corruptionprivate corruptionsystemic corruptionprocedural expectationsself-regulation |
| spellingShingle | Fabián Belmar Aldo Mascareño Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private Topics Societies corruption state corruption private corruption systemic corruption procedural expectations self-regulation |
| title | Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private Topics |
| title_full | Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private Topics |
| title_fullStr | Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private Topics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private Topics |
| title_short | Corruption: An Uneven Field of Research—Between State and Private Topics |
| title_sort | corruption an uneven field of research between state and private topics |
| topic | corruption state corruption private corruption systemic corruption procedural expectations self-regulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/7/186 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fabianbelmar corruptionanunevenfieldofresearchbetweenstateandprivatetopics AT aldomascareno corruptionanunevenfieldofresearchbetweenstateandprivatetopics |