The effects of scandal on organizational deviance: The case of the FBI

This article is an inquiry into the role of scandal in controlling organizational deviance. It examines the dynamics of scandal and the limits of the scandal process in producing organizational reform. The history of scandal and reform in the FBI (1950–83) provides the empirical basis for the inquiry.

It is concluded that a strategy of increasing public access to “normally” concealed organizational information, which would strengthen public disclosure of organizationally deviant practices, is also a strategy for controlling organizational deviance. The study finds that some aspects of organizational structure and process are more subject to change through the mechanism of scandal than other aspects.