Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Management
Advisor
Franz Gottleib
Abstract
Employee fraud is a crime committed against an employer and results in the loss of a small business's assets, revenues, and reputation. Leaders of small businesses who fail to prevent employee fraud may experience decreased profitability and reputational loss in their community. Grounded in Bandura’s social cogitative theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies that leaders of small businesses use to prevent employee fraud. Data were collected from five small-business leaders in the southeastern United States who applied strategies to prevent employee fraud through interviews and reviews of business documents and archival records. Applying Akinyode and Khan’s five-step data analysis process revealed three emergent themes: ethical leadership, ethical culture, and internal controls. A key recommendation for leaders of small businesses is to prevent fraud by modeling ethical leadership and promoting an ethical culture. The implications for positive social change include the potential to develop symbiotic relationships with other local businesses and law enforcement to increase awareness of local fraud activities and develop mitigation strategies to prevent fraud events. This may enhance fraud prevention in small businesses and enable businesses to hire more employees. The additional employment may increase tax revenues in the local community to benefit the employees, small businesses, and the local community.
Recommended Citation
Chand, Israel, "Strategies small-business leaders use to prevent employee fraud" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13259.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13259
