CDBA Research Seminar: Associate Professor Pratyush Nidhi Sharma

Dear all,

Join us in welcoming Associate Professor Pratyush Nidhi Sharma to Trinity Business School on Friday, 6th of June 2025.

The seminar will take place in room 419 and via Zoom between 12 – 1 pm. Tea/coffee and sandwiches will be served during the seminar.

Please REGISTER HERE.

Seminar Title: Digital Institutions and Occupational Fraud

Abstract: How do a country’s digital institutions influence the magnitude of occupational fraud within firms? This study leverages and extends the institution-based view to examine this critical yet understudied question. We define digital institutions as the foundational structures and resources that shape a country’s digital environment, and distinguish it from others, along three key dimensions: (1) digital governance, (2) digital infrastructure, and (3) digital innovation. While strengthening digital institutions has become a priority for policymakers worldwide, their unintended consequences—such as the potential to facilitate occupational fraud within firms—remain insufficiently understood. Using a unique dataset of 3,974 cases from 41 countries, we find that stronger digital governance is associated with lower occupational fraud magnitude, whereas more extensive digital infrastructure is linked to higher fraud magnitude. Our analysis further uncovers the nuanced ways in which digital institutions influence the effectiveness of firm-level internal controls in deterring occupational fraud. Overall, policymakers must recognize that digital institutions are a “double-edged sword,” as developing digital infrastructure without reinforcing digital governance can negate efforts to control occupational fraud at the firm level.

Bio: Dr. Pratyush Nidhi Sharma is the H. Taylor Morrissette Endowed Faculty Fellow, Associate Department Head, and Associate Professor of Information Systems in the Department of Information Systems, Statistics and Management Science at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business. Dr. Sharma received a PhD in Information Systems from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Sharma has published in distinguished management research journals including the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Journal of Retailing, Decision Sciences, Public Management Review, AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Government Information Quarterly, International Journal of Information Management, Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Business Research, and others. His work on the development of predictive analytic techniques has been incorporated in the popular commercial statistical software, SmartPLS, and is available for broader use by academics and practitioners.

Photographs will be taken during this seminar and may be shared on social media. If you do not wish to appear, please notify tbs.research@tcd.ie.