Dilemmas of Mafia Organizations
In his book “Le organizzazioni mafiose. La mano visibile dell’impresa criminale”, Maurizio Catino offers an innovative perspective on how organized crime groups should be faced. In the introduction, he asserts that these peculiar associations behave as an “organizational phenomenon” characterized by a hierarchical structure, people who act collectively, a set of goals, and a clear distinction between members and external actors. To reach the highest rate of efficiency, Mafia groups must face several trade-offs concerning different organizational aspects.
LARGE vs. SMALL
The dimension of a Mafia organization has crucial consequences on its functioning. From the point of internal cohesion, having a limited number of members brings more advantages since too many actors involved could make the decision-making process more complicated and long. Nevertheless, few members means also a thinner margin for growth. In fact, firms generally aim to grow by implying more resources, investing in new sectors, and acquiring access to different markets. This would not be possible without hiring new employees. This applies the same to mafia associations. A larger dimension means increasing the income and imposing over other groups. Simultaneously, it raises control and coordination expenses and exposure to police attention.
SAFETY vs. EFFICIENCY
The second greatest dilemma of Mafia groups is maintaining secret their business and the necessity to communicate between internal and external actors. Regarding this topic, there are three main issues:
- To communicate with other members without being intercepted by the police;
- To identify other members without being identified by non-members;
- To promote the organization keeping secret its businesses.
The prime solution adopted is dividing the association into comparts. The group is split into different sub-groups that have access only to the necessary information to conduct their business (this also reduces the risk of being betrayed by members). Nevertheless, the greater the division the lesser will be the efficiency.
CONCEALMENT vs. VISIBILITY
The trade-off between the need for secrecy and visibility is linked to the previous topic. Obviously, Mafia groups are illegal and, for this reason, they must keep their businesses secret, otherwise the police would tackle them. Contemporary, to maintain their credibility and reputation, organized crime associations must be visible to potential enemies and clients. The major concern linked to the concealment/visibility problem is communication. Efficient communication is essential to issue orders and spread information, moreover in the case of Mafia groups characterized by Superordinate Coordination Bodies or SCB (Click here to have more information about SCB). The favored form of contact is face-to-face: it is hard to intercept and it is the fastest way to reach agreements. Conversely, it forces bosses to leave their shelters exposing them to multiple dangers.
CENTRALIZATION vs. DECENTRALIZATION
This topic has already been addressed in a previous article. To sum up, the organizational order of a Mafia association not only determines the internal division of hierarchical roles but also influences the power and effectiveness of the group itself. In fact, the SCB improves the coordination and mitigates conflicts among the Basic Organizational Units or BOU favoring a centralization and homogenization process. Conversely, in a decentralized association, the independent gangs are free to make decisions reducing the capability to adopt strategic and long-term decisions. Anyway, a model based on a federation of clans and superordinate coordination bodies has a major issue: it is extremely vulnerable to police tackling. Having a hierarchical organizational chart makes it easier for law enforcement to set strategic priorities and target leaders directly.
VIOLENCE vs. RESTRAINT
Violence is a crucial tool both to exercise the role of master and to offer protection. Nevertheless, excessive violence or hitting the wrong targets means a loss of social consensus and more exposure to police investigation. For example, after the Cosa Nostra killings in the 80s and 90s, many social movements against Mafia arose and the Italian state adopted a strong response against it. Even in this case, the structural organization of a Mafia association has an influence. Indeed, ‘Ndrangheta has always utilized violence as its ultimate weapon preferring other instruments to solve internal or external issues. This has been possible thanks to their SCB which mitigates conflicts among the BOU and coordinates their actions.
RECRUITMENT: PARENTAL vs. COMPETENCE
The main organizational dilemma regarding recruitment concerns how much should be preferred employment solutions based on blood instead of those founded on merit. The first criterion ensures greater trust among members, reduces transaction costs, and favors cooperation between different groups. At the same time, problems may arise about family feuds or when the interests of the organization are overshadowed. Furthermore, blood-based recruitment becomes a problem of resource dependence: the heredity-based selection criterion indeed does not ensure the quality of membership. Instead, the second modality of recruitment ensures more competence and quality allowing the selection of more adequate people into the organization. ‘Ndrangheta is the only organized crime organization that is completely based on recruitment of blood relations.
TRUST vs. WARINESS
Finally, trust vs. wariness is probably the most complicated trade-off organized crime groups must solve. Indeed, both are essential in order to conduct illegal businesses, but, at the same time, too much trust or wariness can lead to the destruction of the group. Mafia members cannot trust third parties to solve problems but only their fellows. However, the danger of a traitor is always incumbent so being alert constantly could be fundamental to protect the association. Contemporary, being too wary may lead to paranoia and the overcontrol of associates’ actions obstructing the normal conduction of businesses. Having said that, Mafia bosses must create an environment based on solidarity and reciprocal trust without forgetting traitors can be already within the group.
The main source for the article is the book “Le organizzazioni mafiose. La mano visibile dell’impresa criminale” by Maurizio Catino (2020).
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