Lewicki's research project employed questionnaires and focus groups at a financial services organization, in the division that issues credit cards, processes statement, and investigates consumer fraud. All 1,000 members of the division received questionnaires. The response rate was excellent with 841 respondents. Behaviors derived from focus group discussions were distinguished as either honest or dishonest and further grouped into 19 categories 6 honest and 13 dishonest. Twenty-five percent of the incidents discussed were focused on honest behaviors and the remaining 75 percent were dishonest.
Effective communication is a key to many variables affecting honest behavior.
If people feel they have a conduit for concerns and their communications receive acknowledgment, then destructive behavior can be averted. Based on this study, Lewicki was able to create models of which factors are the primary predictors of minor theft, productivity lying, time theft, and major theft. The common factor in each case was the culture for dishonesty. Creating a culture for honesty and pride in the organization is an important inhibitor of dishonest behavior. Throughout his research, Lewicki has found that organizations that have better mechanisms for employee input have a better organizational dynamic.