A configurational approach to explain non-market strategies in emerging economies

Drawing on the strategy tripod, this study investigates the configurations of various combinations of antecedents linked to a high or low probability of firms' engagement in corruption in emerging economies. Based on the analysis of data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey on 777 firms and using a novel methodological approach (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis), we found that less foreign ownership is relevant to explain both low and high or low probability of firms' engagement in corruption. Interestingly, a path shows that high e-governance and great press freedom are linked to a high likelihood of a firm's engagement in corruption. Also, we find that diversification and informal competition achieve different results when combined with different antecedents.