From these studies have emerged two consistent themes which can form the basis for further research and exploration. Groups engaged in criminal enterprise are loosely structured, flexible, and highly adaptable to environmental impacts. These enterprises respond readily to the growth or decline of a market for a particular illicit good or service or to the availability of new distributors and manufacturers. For example, when cocaine became an attractive drug of choice in the early 1970s, many drug distribution syndicates responded by adding cocaine to marijuana shipments or by replacing marijuana with cocaine. In yet another example, in Kentucky with the institutionalization of inter-track wagering, bookmakers have made a marked shift from horse racing to sporting events.
Organized crime is a business and has many similarities to businesses in the legal market.
However, because organized crime conducts its business in the illegal marketplace, it is subject to a series of constraints which limit and define organizational structure, size, and mode of operation. Small, fragmented enterprises tend to populate illegal markets . As Reuter has pointed out, it is the employees of the illicit enterprise who are the greatest threat to the continuation of the enterprise because they make the best witnesses against the enterprise. In addition, geographic scope in organized crime is also limited. This is true for the same reasons.