Responses to Allegations Case

Abstract

After allegations of criminal entrepreneurship by abuse of public funds, the suspected entrepreneur became subject to inquiries by corporate investigators. The private investigators suggested serious fraud had occurred, and the police started a criminal investigation. After a while, the police terminated their investigation and closed the case. An investigative journalist then repeated the allegations, and once more the suspect had to respond to fraud accusations, this time in the media. This chapter presents his responses. In terms of compliance, there was not sufficient evidence that he and his firm had violated laws and regulations. However, in terms of conformance, he might have violated norms and values. Therefore, this chapter contributes to the emerging research stream on conformance rather than compliance, where conformance refers to meeting societal and other informal norms and obligations. Here the social license to operate refers to the extent of stakeholder acceptance of business operations, where the media is included as an important stakeholder.