From Norms to Tools: Capturing Business Corruption in Quantitative Survey Design

This paper contributes to debates on the design of anticorruption tools within public institutions by examining how corruption norms at the business–state interface can be systematically captured through quantitative research instruments. It develops the conceptual and methodological foundations for two complementary survey tools: a Czech-specific corruption module for the 2026 ISSP Role of Government survey, focused on public attitudes toward business corruption, and a nationally representative survey of businesses examining organisational practices and normative boundaries in interactions with the public sector. The paper starts from the premise that the effectiveness of anticorruption instruments—such as office-ethics frameworks, internal accountability mechanisms, and whistleblowing arrangements—depends not only on formal rules but also on shared norms that define what is perceived as acceptable, unavoidable, or illegitimate in public–private exchanges. Drawing on secondary analyses of established international surveys and relevant theoretical literature, the paper identifies systematic blind spots in existing measurement approaches, particularly regarding informal norms, compliance ambiguity, and organisational boundary-work in business contexts. The core contribution lies in translating these conceptual insights into survey design choices. The paper outlines how validated items are adapted to ensure comparability and theoretical alignment, while new items are developed to capture normatively ambiguous practices that often fall outside standard definitions of corruption but directly affect the functioning of preventive and remedial anticorruption tools. Special attention is given to how different framings of responsibility, justification, and risk shape the perceived legitimacy of reporting mechanisms and internal controls. By making explicit the normative assumptions embedded in survey instruments, the paper offers methodological guidance for designing quantitative tools that better reflect the organisational realities of corruption prevention and provide more actionable evidence for public institutions and policymakers.