CRIMINOGENIC GOVERNANCE: SYSTEMIC CORRUPTION RISKS AND CRIME IN THAILAND'S PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/acsr.2025.14Keywords:
Corruption Risk, Provincial Governance, Crime Prevention, COSO-ERM, ThailandAbstract
Corruption in provincial governance is increasingly recognized as a systemic mechanism that enables crime, rather than merely an ethical or administrative failure. This study investigates how corruption risks function as crime-enabling structures within Thailand's provincial administration, situated within a broader Asian context marked by persistent governance weaknesses. Integrating Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), the Governance-Risk-Compliance (GRC) model, and Stakeholder Participation Theory, this research conceptualizes corruption as systemic vulnerabilities with direct crime-enabling effects. A qualitative comparative case study was conducted across four Thai provinces, utilizing 28 semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, and field observations. Thematic coding, guided by ERM's structural, procedural, and behavioral risk dimensions, revealed that centralized authority and patronage networks foster limited oversight. Manipulation of procurement and discretionary regulations sustain collusion, while cultural tolerance of bribery normalizes corruption in bureaucratic routines. These interconnected risks transform corruption into a systemic mechanism facilitating fraud, money laundering, and organized crime. Comparative insights from Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines confirm this pattern across Asia, underscoring the urgency of integrated provincial governance reforms that combine risk-based monitoring, participatory oversight, and cultural change to prevent crime effectively.
Downloads
References
Attard, J., Orlandi, F., Scerri, S., & Auer, S. (2015). A systematic review of open government data initiatives. Government Information Quarterly, 32(4), 399-418.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis?. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328-352.
Callahan, C., & Soileau, J. (2017). Does enterprise risk management enhance operating performance?. Advances in Accounting, 37, 122-139.
Dávid-Barrett, E., & Fazekas, M. (2020). Anti-corruption in aid-funded procurement: Is corruption reduced or merely displaced?. World Development, 132, 105000.
Decarolis, F., & Giorgiantonio, C. (2022). Corruption red flags in public procurement: New evidence from Italian calls for tenders. EPJ Data Science, 11, 16.
Fazekas, M., Tóth, I., & King, L. (2016). An objective corruption risk index using public procurement data. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 22, 369-397.
Ferwerda, J., Deleanu, I., & Unger, B. (2017). Corruption in public procurement: Finding the right indicators. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 23, 245-267.
Gans-Morse, J., Borges, M., Makarin, A., Mannah-Blankson, T., Nickow, A., & Zhang, D. (2018). Reducing bureaucratic corruption: Interdisciplinary perspectives on what works. World Development, 105, 171-188.
Gnaldi, M., & Del Sarto, S. (2024). Measuring Corruption Risk in Public Procurement over Emergency Periods. Social Indicators Research, 172, 859-877.
González, L., Santomil, P., & Herrera, A. (2020). The effect of enterprise risk management on the risk and the performance of Spanish listed companies. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 26(3), 111-120.
Hochstetter, J., Vásquez, F., Diéguez, M., Bustamante, A., & Arango-López, J. (2023). Transparency and e-government in electronic public procurement as sustainable development. Sustainability, 15(5), 4672.
Jiménez, A., Hanoteau, J., & Barkemeyer, R. (2022). E-procurement and firm corruption to secure public contracts: The moderating role of governance institutions and supranational support. Journal of Business Research, 149, 640-650.
Karthick, V., Prabhakaran, J., Banu, P., & Kumar, U. (2023). Systematic Literature Review on GRC - A Study on Best Practices and Implementation Strategy in GRC. Samdarshi, 16(4), 3558-3570.
Khorana, S., Caram, S., & Rana, N. (2024). Measuring public procurement transparency with an index: Exploring the role of e-GP systems and institutions. Government Information Quarterly, 41(3), 101952.
Lisciandra, M., Milani, R., & Millemaci, E. (2022). A corruption risk indicator for public procurement. European Journal of Political Economy, 73, 102141.
Locatelli, G., Mariani, G., Sainati, T., & Greco, M. (2017). Corruption in public projects and megaprojects: There is an elephant in the room!. International Journal of Project Management, 35(3), 252-268.
Lyra, M., Damásio, B., Pinheiro, F., & Bacao, F. (2022). Fraud, corruption, and collusion in public procurement activities, a systematic literature review on data-driven methods. Applied Network Science, 7, 83.
Mahama, H., Elbashir, M., Sutton, S., & Arnold, V. (2022). Enabling enterprise risk management maturity in public sector organizations. Public Money & Management, 42(6), 403-407.
Marzuki, M., Majid, W., Bakar, H., Wahab, E., & Sanusi, Z. (2024). Risk management practices and potential fraudulent financial reporting: Evidence from Malaysia. Asian Journal of Accounting Research, 9(2), 116-126.
Moriña, A. (2021). When people matter: The ethics of qualitative research in the health and social sciences. Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(5), 1559-1565.
Neu, D., Everett, J., & Rahaman, A. (2015). Preventing corruption within government procurement: Constructing the disciplined and ethical subject. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 28, 49-61.
Nguyen, T., Bach, T., Le, T., & Le, C. (2017). Local governance, corruption, and public service quality: Evidence from a national survey in Vietnam. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 30(2), 137-153.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). Integrating responsible business conduct in public procurement. Retrieved from www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2020/12/integrating-responsible-business-conduct-in-public-procurement_6749e9ce/02682b01-en.pdf.
Palinkas, L., Horwitz, S., Green, C., Wisdom, J., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42, 533-544.
Parmar, B., Freeman, R., Harrison, J., Wicks, A., Purnell, L., & de Colle, S. (2010). Stakeholder theory: The state of the art. Academy of Management Annals, 4(1), 403-445.
Sharma, S., Sengupta, A., & Panja, S. (2019). Mapping corruption risks in public procurement: Uncovering improvement opportunities and strengthening controls. Public Performance & Management Review, 42(4), 947-975.
Suardi, I., Rossieta, H., Djakman, C., & Diyanty, V. (2024). Procurement governance in reducing corruption in the Indonesian public sector: A mixed method approach. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2393744.
Tarjo, T., Vidyantha, H., Anggono, A., Yuliana, R., & Musyarofah, S. (2022). The effect of enterprise risk management on prevention and detection fraud in Indonesia’s local government. Cogent Economics & Finance, 10(1), 2101222.
Transparency International. (2014). Curbing corruption in public procurement: A practical guide. Retrieved from www.transparency.org/en/publications/curbing-corruption-in-public-procurement-a-practical-guide.
Transparency International. (2023). Corruption Perceptions Index 2022. Retrieved from www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022.
van Noordt, C., & Misuraca, G. (2022). Artificial intelligence for the public sector: results of landscaping the use of AI in government across the European Union. Government Information Quarterly, 39(3), 101714.
Watcharothai, K. (2018). The studies for guideline protection of public procurement corruption in Thailand. International Journal of Crime, Law and Social Issues, 5(1), 153-163.
Wirtz, B., Weyerer, J., & Rösch, M. (2018). Citizen and Open Government: An Empirical Analysis of Antecedents of Open Government Data. International Journal of Public Administration, 41(4), 308-320.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kajohnsak CHAOKROMTHONG, Nittaya SINTHAO
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
.png)
