Workplace fraud and theft in SMEs: Evidence from the mobile telephone sector in Nigeria

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate employee fraud within small enterprises in the Nigerian mobile phone sector. It also seeks to understand the key factors that motivate employees to engage in fraudulent behaviours against their employers, and the consequences of these fraudulent behaviours on small businesses (SMEs) in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical study involves the use of quantitative research. Data were collected through structured questionnaires from 159 business owners, sales representatives, cashiers and suppliers. Frequency distribution, percentages, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the collected data. Findings: The findings from this research show a significant relationship between personal and organisational factors and employee theft. Particularly, organisational factors made the strongest positive contribution to employee theft. The research also revealed that employee theft had significant effects on employers but less significance on employees. In addition, the research revealed that many businesses did not have preventive measures against employee theft in their firms. The findings of this study were compared with existing literature. Originality/value: This study shows the relationship between different factors that could cause an employee to engage in fraudulent behaviours, particularly in SMEs in Nigeria.