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Exploring a Public Interest Definition of Corruption: Public Private Partnerships in Socialist Asia

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…“a gentleman seeks virtue, a small man seeks land. A gentleman seeks justice, a small man seeks favours…” (The Analects: Confucius 2014: Chap. 4.11)

Abstract

As conventionally understood, corruption relies on a set of universally agreed rules that determine what constitutes the appropriate allocation of organizational resources. This article explores whether rule-based approaches to corruption are applicable where business organizations, such as public private partnerships (PPPs), and the public fundamentally disagree about what constitutes an appropriate allocation of resources. Drawing on empirical research about PPPs in Vietnam, this article compares how government, business organizations, and the public conceptualize the transfer of public assets into private ownership. It argues that a public interest approach to corruption is needed where PPPs privatize public assets within the law, but against the express wishes of the public.

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Funding

This study was funded by a research grant in 2016 from the United Nations Development Program, Vietnam.

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Correspondence to John Gillespie.

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Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 2 and 3.

Table 2 Interview list: Lào Cai case study
Table 3 Interview list: Hưng Yên case study

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Gillespie, J., Van Nguyen, T., Nguyen, H.V. et al. Exploring a Public Interest Definition of Corruption: Public Private Partnerships in Socialist Asia. J Bus Ethics 165, 579–594 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-04101-8

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