How Surveillance in Retail Changes Theft Behavior

A study into retail theft shows that restaurant workers under surveillance are less likely to steal and that employee surveillance enhances a restaurant’s bottom line.

The study, Cleaning House: The Impact of Information Technology Monitoring on Employee Theft and Productivity, is the work of three academics: Lamar Pierce, an associate professor at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis; Daniel Snow, an associate professor at the Marriott School at Brigham Young University; and Andrew McAfee, a research scientist at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.