JUSTICE QUARTERLY VOLUME 22 NUMBER 2 (JUNE 2005) ISSN 0741-8825 print/1745-9109 online/05/020252-29 © 2005 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences DOI: 10.1080/07418820500089034 Integrating the Desire–for– Control and Rational Choice in a Corporate Crime Context Nicole Leeper Piquero, M. Lyn Exum, and Sally S. Simpson Taylor and Francis Ltd RJQY108886.sgm 10.1080/07418820500089034 Justice Quarterly 0741-8825 (print)/1745-9109 (online) Original Article 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd 22 2 000000June 2005 NicoleLeeper Piquero University of Florida, Center for Studies in Criminology and Law206 Walker HallPO Box 115950GainesvilleFL 32611-5950USA npiquero@ufl.edu The “rational choice” framework, with its focus on risks and rewards, is often used to explain corporate criminality. In this paper, we build on this framework by integrating the notion of “desire-for-control.” Although common to many psychologists, the desire-for-control, or the general wish to be in control over everyday life events, has not been examined for its relevance in understanding criminal activity generally, or within corporate offending in particular. After demonstrating the importance of desire-for-control in the corporate context, we use data from a sample of managers and MBA students to examine the extent to which desire-for-control relates to rational-choice considerations and corporate criminal decision-making. Results suggest that desire-for-control (1) influences the interpretation of rational-choice considerations and (2) is positively related to corporate criminality even after controlling for a number Nicole Leeper Piquero is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of Florida. Her current research focuses on the etiology of white-collar crime, personality dimensions and traits associated with white-collar and corporate crime decision- making, and white-collar crime victimization. She has recently completed a National Institute of Justice-funded evaluation of the causes and prevention of intellectual property theft. Her work has appeared in Justice Quarterly, Law and Society Review, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Youth and Society. M. Lyn Exum is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the Univer- sity of North Carolina at Charlotte. His interests include criminological theory and research meth- odology. He has previously published in the areas of rational-choice theory, shaming and social control, alcohol and aggression, and drug courts. Sally S. Simpson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland/College Park. Her main research interests focus on criminological theory, female offenders, and corporate crime etiology, prevention, and control. Her work on these subjects has appeared in a variety of criminol- ogy and sociology journals and in a recent book with Cambridge University Press (Corporate Crime, Law, and Social Control, 2002). Current research projects involve the WEV study (a multi-city study of incarcerated women’s experience of violence with Julie Horney, Candace Kruttschnett, and Rosmary Gartner), a project on corporate environmental compliance, and an evidence-based assessment of corporate crime intervention and control strategies for the Campbell Consortium Crime and Justice Group (CCJG). She is the current President of the White-Collar Crime Research Consortium (2004-2006). Correspondence to: Nicole Leeper Piquero, University of Florida, Depart- ment Criminology, Law and Society, 206 Walker Hall, PO Box 115950, Gainesville, FL 32611-5950, USA. E-mail: npiquero@ufl.edu