SMR forum: Too many hands in the corporate cookie jar

Abstract

Theft by employees costs American businesses and their customers many billions of dollars each year. Despite concerted efforts to reduce the problem, it appears to continue to grow. Most of these efforts concentrate on limiting the opportunity to steal. However, because the motivations for theft are varied, preventing it often requires more than tighter security. In this paper, the authors explore the extent of the problem, its causes, motivations behind employee theft, and some cost-effective ways of reducing the incidence of theft.