A Grounded Theory Analysis of Civil and Administrative Cases Pursued by the Security and Exchange Commission

Abstract

In the midst of the Great Depression, the U.S. government created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to help control questionable business practices and prevent future economic crises. The SEC remains responsible for the administration of securities laws and enforcement actions against violators but has increasingly gained enforcement capacities over its lifespan. This research uses a grounded theory approach to explore themes across the way the SEC proceedings against detected. Publicly available litigation releases available through the agency’s website are used. Overall, the SEC is observed to operate in a generally predictable and equitable manner in which most of those who are charged are ultimately sanctioned in some way. Particularly interesting interactions were observed between entities and sanctioning outcomes. 1