How to mitigate corruption in emerging markets: The case of Russia

Russian CEOs are arguably the most experienced managers in the world when it comes to working in corrupt environments. For our analysis, we gathered data from the CEOs and owners of 111 local and international companies operating in Russia. We asked them to assess their experiences with informal practices, including the extent to which their businesses are dependent on informal deals and the strategies they deploy to mitigate business corruption. The list of specific practices and strategies assembled in the pilot interviews and media content analysis has been cross-checked with the existing typologies of corruption in post-communist societies and verified through in-depth interviews. This study presents the outcomes of our analysis, one of which is that companies tend to blame officials for corrupt activities while hiding their own internal corruption from public view. Both are dependent on the industry in which they operate, however. The paper also includes the approach we developed to understand the less reprehensible but more widespread forms of corruption such as collusion, conflict of interest, cronyism and nepotism, fraud, gifts and hospitality, lobbying, abuse of power or office, and influence peddlin

“Doing Business in Russia: Informal practices and Anti-Corruption Strategies”

To understand corporate corruption in Russia and to develop both anti-corruption policies at the macro level and anti-corruption strategies at the enterprise level effectively we need to move beyond the predominant corruption paradigm and to disaggregate its measurement. The article outlines the results of a pilot survey of CEO of companies operating in Russian regions with regard of their use of informal practices

The union recognition dispute at McDonald’s Moscow food-processing factory

NoThis article reports on the union recognition dispute that took place at the MacDonald's food-processing plant in Moscow. It examines this dispute in the context of McDonald's employment practices worldwide, the interventions made by international and local unions, and Russian government bodies. Despite these interventions it became impossible to either organise the workforce or establish a collective agreement. The case illustrates the difficulties facing both local unions and global union federations when confronted by intransigent multinational companies, especially in low-skilled sectors in transitional economies