Psychological Factors Related to Employees' Theft in the Convenience Store Industry

William Terris · John W. Jones

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Deception detection and forensic psychology Crime Patterns and Interventions Ethics in Business and Education

Abstract

Four studies are presented that examine various aspects of theft in the convenience store industry. Study 1 was a survey of both managers' ( n = 24) and retail clerks' ( n = 54) opinions on how and why convenience store employees steal. Results showed that the most frequently used theft techniques involved various ways of stealing cash from a register. Major reasons for employees' theft included financial need, low wages, revenge, and thrill-seeking. Major perceptions about why some employees never steal included fear of apprehension and personal honesty. Study 2 ( N = 61) showed that convenience store employees with more tolerant attitudes toward theft and violence, as measured by a pre-employment psychological test, the Personnel Selection Inventory, were more likely to engage in theft and other types of counterproductive behavior. Study 3 showed that the use of the inventory for 19 months by a 30-unit convenience store chain, for the purpose of screening out potential employee thieves and other counterproductive employees, was reliably more effective in reducing company shrinkage than a pre-employment polygraph procedure that was used for 23 months. Finally, Study 4 showed that the inventory had no adverse impact upon any protected group. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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References

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2008Cognitions, Emotions, and Evaluations: An Elaboration Likelihood Model for Workplace Aggression 1994The Validity and Fairness of Alternatives to Cognitive Tests 1996Predicting counterproductivity among drug store applicants 1987The impact of pre-employment integrity testing on employee turnover and inventory shrinkage losses 1986The prediction of employee counterproductivity through attitude assessment 1999

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