General concepts and main contents of the study / Introduction

Chapter 1 presents the main concepts and definitions considered in the following analysis (corruption, corruption measures, corruption effects, Public Owned Enterprises-POEs) and the overall structure of the study. A specific focus is dedicated to the notion of hybrid organizations presented as simultaneously quasi-public subjects and enterprises. Due to the coexistence of private-oriented and publicoriented traits, POEs represent an interesting context of analysis in order to study the adoption of anticorruption and compliance measures on forms of control and accountability aiming at removing or mitigating the factors that make more difficult the accomplishment of their original assignments and results. Through a multi country-perspective, the study aims understanding the state of implementation of different anti-corruption and compliance measures in POEs in several European countries; a relatively new subject and one lacking in-depth theoretical and research exploration.