Qualitative Analysis on Causative Indicators of Corruption in Infrastructure Procurement (IP) of Developing Countries

The formation of an effective anticorruption mechanism is dependent on the identification of corruption causes. Various studies have been conducted to understand the mechanism and causative indicators of corruption in the infrastructure sector to combat this ailment. However, there is a lack of research in developing countries. Therefore, this study examines the causes of corruption in infrastructure procurement in Pakistan. A two-step methodology was adopted-in step one, a thorough literature review of 43 articles was conducted, and 39 corruption causes were identified as a result. The identified corruption causes were grouped into five primary constructs – individual and social causes, project nature causes, regulatory causes, political causes and organisational causes. In step two, 34, semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry practitioners of infrastructure projects in Pakistan. The findings suggest that the most common corruption causes are regulatory, project nature and political causes. This study is a valuable addition to the current literature on corruption research. It provides deeper insight into causal indicators of corruption in infrastructure procurement in Pakistan.
The findings provide useful information to anti-corruption agencies, policymakers and industry practitioners for making anticorruption strategies.