The Economy and Corporations as Criminogenic Structures? Neglected aspects of theoretical perspectives on corporate deviance

The German debate about the causes of economic crime is dominated by approaches that focus on the doer's individual deficiency as well as criminal opportunities. The structural and cultural characteristics of economic life and the prevalent lifeworld of business establishments are overshadowed in this context. Against this background, the contribution provides an impetus for a criminological discussion on these aspects, which, in times of economic crises and financial meltdown, gain new relevance. Four conventional criminological theories are consulted to determine whether (and in what way) they can explain the characteristics of economic life that may lead to the development of conditions rife for corporate deviance.