A Systematic Literature Review of Conceptual and Theoretical Perspectives on Social Understandings and Perceptions of Corruption

Corruption is a normative phenomenon difficult to conceptualize (Heindenheimer 1970; Johnston 1991; Gillespie & Okruhlik 1991; Cartier-Bresson 1992; Gardiner 1992; Kjellberg 1992; Jos 1993; Philp 1997; de Sousa 2002, 2008; Maciel & de Sousa 2018). This lack of consensus over its meaning has not impeded research in the field to progress, but it has made corruption more difficult to identify, categorize, measure and control. Conceptual imprecision had implications for the design of tentative measurements, the development of explanatory approaches and even the implementation of credible control policies. In order to address these concerns, this article presents a structured and systematic literature review focusing on the conceptualisation and measurement of corruption, with two core objectives in mind: to understand the prominence of the subject in the academic and epistemic communities, how it has evolved over time through different theoretical lenses; and to identify and critically discuss the key definitional elements and conceptual categories of the phenomenon. A literature review methodology and protocol will be adopted, describing in detail how the web-based literature search engines will be used to select, filter, structure and analyse the relevant literature.