Title: Two students and a professor discover what every business person should know about Industrial Security Firms

Authors: Maris Stella Swift, Travis Cornwell, Joseph Woods

Addresses: Management Department, Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University, 401 Fulton Street West, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA. ' Management Department, Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University, 401 Fulton Street West, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA. ' Management Department, Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University, 401 Fulton Street West, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA.

Abstract: Data theft has been a growing global problem for employers for many years. Studies have long recognised that the weakest link regarding corporate theft is company employees. This paper looks at the use of Industrial Security Firms (ISFs) to catch thieving employees and protect companies from future theft. The authors describe the basic functions of ISFs and explain the legal and technical methods that are used by such firms. The authors also discuss employee privacy rights and use a film and case study to emphasise the basic points of the paper.

Keywords: corporate investigation techniques; corporate surveillance; data theft; electronic surveillance; employee privacy rights; employee surveillance; employee theft; industrial security firms; business governance; business ethics; economic crime prevention.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2010.029560

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2010 Vol.5 No.1/2, pp.112 - 127

Published online: 30 Nov 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article