Imperatives in informal organizational resource exchange in Central Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID7991558
AuthorsDavid Jancsics (0000-0002-5731-6394, City University of New York, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume6
Issue1
Pages59-68
Publication date2014-11-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Eurasian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1879-3665 • E-ISSN: 1879-3673
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1016/j.euras.2014.10.001
OpenAlexW2012680487
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited64

This paper challenges the mainstream social scientific approach that emphasizes “moral inferiority” in corruption and bribery in Central and Eastern Europe. We argue that in many cases, people participate in informal organizational resource exchanges not because of immorality or greed but rather because of powerful external forces. By using the case of contemporary Hungary to support this argument, this paper provides a systematic analysis of such imperatives. The findings of 50 in-depth qualitative interviews suggest that two main imperatives can be distinguished; macro-level social and meso-level organizational forces. Macro-level forces may be linked to historical paths, Hungary's socialist and pre-socialist social conditions, and its post-socialist welfare state development. Meso-level organizational forces are more general phenomena and can be found in many other countries in the world. Moreover, there are numerous categories within each theme. Some of them represent normative imperatives, while others are more material structural forces

Argument (complex analysis · Economics · Language change · Mainstream · Normative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Sociology · Welfare state · Corruption and Economic Development · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access