Entrepreneurial Fraud: A Multidisciplinary Review and Synthesized Framework

Abstract

The practical relevance of entrepreneurial fraud has stimulated a wide array of research occurring in disciplinary silos. We take stock of the current state of the entrepreneurial fraud literature by conducting a multidisciplinary systematic literature review and synthesize the findings into a unified framework. Taking an inductive approach, our framework depicts the antecedents, inner workings, and ramifications of entrepreneurial fraud. Doing so, we reveal nuances in the inner workings of entrepreneurial fraud, such as variation in the focus and magnitude of deception used to obtain valuable resources from stakeholders and that fraud can service authentic entrepreneurial activities or nonentrepreneurial personal uses. Accounting for these distinctions reveals that fraud can result in a mixture of positive and negative consequences for perpetrators, victims, and societies.