Understanding Predatory Organised Crime through Network Governance Theory

Abstract

The objective of this article is twofold: first, to examine the meaning of predatory organised crime (POC), which is defined according to the network governance theory, and, second, to identify the key elements that POC groups need in order to start, grow and expand. POC is a type of organised crime that occurs mostly in developing countries and that feeds on fraud, financial blackmail and shakedowns. This practice imposes heavy financial costs and physical dangers on legal businesses and represents the most detrimental hindrances to the economic growth. The network governance theory helps explain the necessity of flexible organisational structures in a global, fast-changing world. A key finding in this analysis is that POC groups tend to be successful, thanks to network governance; they practice a form of co-ordination characterised by informal social systems rather than by bureaucratic structures within groups and formal contractual relationships between them.