The Theory of Successful Criminal Entrepreneurs
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THE THEORY OF SUCCESSFUL CRIMINAL ENTREPRENEURS Khaled Alnkhailan BA Criminology and Criminal Justice MA Sociology Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Law Queensland University of Technology 2017 Keywords Criminal entrepreneurs, organised crime, non-hierarchical structured organised crime, modus essendi, modus operandi, modus vivendi, leadership, vision, brokerage, bribery, blackmail, mentors, role models, human capital, the theory of successful criminal entrepreneurs. The theory of successful criminal entrepreneurs i ABSTRACT As typological category, criminal entrepreneurs have a different modus operandi from most traditional criminals. This study develops a theory of successful criminal entrepreneurs, operating in non-hierarchically structured organised crime. Successful criminal entrepreneurs cannot be described through classic criminological theories such as low self-control theory. The theory of successful criminal entrepreneurs provides an understanding of the leadership of criminal entrepreneurs which includes vision, leadership style and orientation, in addition to their identity. The theory also provides an understanding of the operational approaches used by successful criminal entrepreneurs in addition to the use of their social networks. The theory of successful criminal entrepreneurs argues that successful criminal entrepreneurs start their careers with a clearly defined vision. Criminal entrepreneurs then lead people towards their vision with a charismatic leadership style, employing social and personal orientation. The operational approaches adopted by criminal entrepreneurs for success in fulfilling their visions include filling a gap in the market, brokerage, bribery and blackmail. These operational approaches are associated with both the location of the criminal entrepreneur in the network and the embedded resources within their network. Among the various networks that criminal entrepreneurs are part of, they occupy both a brokerage position, and a central position within their network of speciality, such as an illegal gambling network. The embedded resources in the criminal entrepreneur networks include criminals, police, politics, money laundering and gang capital, in addition to mentors who can provide the necessary human capital for the success of the criminal entrepreneur’s career. The theory of successful criminal entrepreneurs ii Table of Contents Statement of Original Authorship ......................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ xii 1. Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 2. Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................... 9 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Why organised crime? ............................................................................................... 10 2.3 Why a theory? ........................................................................................................... 12 2.4 Defining organised crime .......................................................................................... 14 2.5 The structure of organised crime ............................................................................... 17 2.6 Understanding organised crime ................................................................................. 19 2.7 Organisation theory ................................................................................................... 19 2.8 Illicit enterprise ......................................................................................................... 20 2.9 Social network theory................................................................................................ 21 2.10 Routine activity theory .............................................................................................. 24 2.11 Low self-control theory ............................................................................................. 25 2.12 Connecting the dots ................................................................................................... 26 2.13 A brief historical background of the study of entrepreneurship ................................ 27 2.14 The origin of the word ‘entrepreneur’ ....................................................................... 27 2.15 Entrepreneurship ....................................................................................................... 28 2.16 Adopted theories used to understand entrepreneurship............................................. 31 2.17 Criminal entrepreneurship ......................................................................................... 34 2.18 Successful criminal entrepreneurs ............................................................................. 37 2.19 Howard Marks ........................................................................................................... 39 2.20 Sammy Gravano ........................................................................................................ 41 2.21 Jack Herbert............................................................................................................... 42 2.22 Vision ........................................................................................................................ 43 2.23 Leadership style......................................................................................................... 44 2.24 Leadership orientation ............................................................................................... 47 2.25 Connecting the dots ................................................................................................... 47 2.26 The operational approaches ....................................................................................... 49 2.27 Avoiding conflicts and having representatives ......................................................... 49 2.28 Delegation ................................................................................................................. 50 2.29 Brokerage .................................................................................................................. 51 The theory of successful criminal entrepreneurs iii 2.30 Bribery ....................................................................................................................... 52 2.31 Blackmail .................................................................................................................. 54 2.32 Connecting the dots ................................................................................................... 55 2.33 Social capital ............................................................................................................. 56 2.34 Mentorship, role models, literature, personal experience and strength ..................... 58 2.35 Human capital ........................................................................................................... 60 2.36 Connecting the dots ................................................................................................... 61 2.37 Smith’s framework .................................................................................................... 62 2.38 The gap in the literature and research questions ....................................................... 65 2.39 Research questions .................................................................................................... 66 2.40 Summary ................................................................................................................... 67 3. Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................ 71 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 71 3.2 Smith’s criminal entrepreneur framework ................................................................ 71 3.3 Modus essendi ........................................................................................................... 72 3.3.1 Identity ............................................................................................................... 73 3.3.2 Calculation mechanism ...................................................................................... 77 3.3.3 Leadership .......................................................................................................... 79 3.3.4 Vision ................................................................................................................. 79 3.3.5 Leadership style ................................................................................................. 81 3.3.6 Coding Leadership Styles .................................................................................. 82 3.3.7 Leadership orientation ....................................................................................... 84 3.4 Modus operandi ......................................................................................................... 85 3.5 Modus vivendi ..........................................................................................................