Description

Organizational Crime in NASA and Among Its Contractors: Using a Newspaper as a Data Source

Jurg Gerber and Eric Fritsch’s research carries on the muckraking tradition that has long played a prominent role in American progressive social thought. Although corporate law breaking is perceived to be common, the authors note that data are difficult to obtain (e.g., the Crime Index does not include any corporate crimes). This article builds on an earlier project in which the authors developed a method for estimating the extent of corporate crime by using The Wall Street Journal. Here the earlier focus on one corporation and its violations in securing contracts from the Department of Defense has been expanded to all corporations that have received contracts from NASA. Using the regional press, the extent of violations and their consequences (or the absence thereof) for the corporations are documented for the period 1980 to 1989. The analysis also focuses on organizational law breaking by NASA and its officials. The authors explore the implications of their findings for future research on organizational crime.

crime, corporate; u.s. national aeronautics and space administration; white collar crime; newspapers; corruption in business; corruption in government; government contracts

Citation: Social Justice Vol. 22, No. 1 (1995): 75-88