Digitalization and government corruption in developing countries: towards a framework and research agenda

Research focusing on the nexus between digital technologies and government corruption in developing countries has reported mixed findings and painted an incoherent picture. Through a review of 90 relevant studies published over the last two decades we develop an inductive framework that connects 7 defining themes: (1) the broader socioeconomic context of developing countries (2) anti-corruption strategies and strategizing in developing countries (3) digitalization processes (4) strategic role of digital technologies and modalities of anti-corruption change (5) formative structures of government organizations (6) barriers within government organizations and (7) positive and negative effects of digitalization on corruption. Deriving from this framework, we highlight under-researched concerns and outline a research agenda to (1) clarify the links between anti-corruption strategizing and digitalization interventions (2) explicate the materialization of corruption in specific organizational domains, work systems, and processes in developing countries, their embedded nature in the organizational and broader context, and the modalities by which digitalization comes to affect or be affected by it (3) uncover digitalization enabled capabilities and dynamic capabilities in the fight against corruption and (4) embrace methodological diversity such as more processual and long-term studies; ethnographic studies, and methods that bridge quantitative and qualitative insights by exploring novel measures and evidence sources