DETECTING AND PREVENTING EMPLOYEES’ THEFT IN RETAIL
Blaženka Knežević, Mia Delić, Marko Jurčević · 2016
Theft represents one of the major factors of retail shrinkage because of which retail organizations deal with heavy financial losses. A significant number of thefts occurs inside the organization and is committed by employees. As it causes significant losses to companies, employees’ theft cannot be ignored. The level of the employees’ theft increases over time in various companies and various markets. The most important method when preventing this kind of theft is an efficient supply management system. However, existing supply management systems have not been entirely successful in preventing employees' theft. This study aims to investigate personal attitudes of the respondents towards theft, penalties for theft crimes, perception on reporting thefts, and the possible procedures for theft preventing and detecting. The survey is done as a pilot on small sample in order to give an insight into this problem from the perspective of managers, retail section employees, supervisors, and security personnel of retail organizations in the Republic of Croatia. The questionnaire consists of three segments: (1) personal ethical and moral attitudes towards thefts, (2) managerial point of view regarding employment procedures, education of employees and other preventing actions, and (3) employees’ perception on theft motives and punishment methodologies. The results of this pilot research are indicative and will be used for further broader empirical research on larger sample of retail companies.