Economic corruption is a phenomenon that holds an important position in political and economic literature, and governments have consistently placed the promise of reducing it on their agendas. This phenomenon has always been sensitive and provocative for the public, to the extent that the occurrence of its instances is regarded as a sign of managerial incompetence and fuels public anger. Therefore, policymakers have continually sought to identify the factors influencing the emergence of this phenomenon in order to prevent the formation of corruption and economic scandals through preventive measures.

An examination of corruption cases shows that quasi-governmental companies, due to their dual public–private nature, create areas that facilitate the occurrence of corruption. Recognizing the significant role of quasi-governmental companies in the development of economic corruption, this research seeks to answer the question of what deficiencies exist within the structure of these companies that lead to the formation of economic corruption. Addressing this question enables a deeper understanding of the corruption phenomenon through a detailed and pragmatic perspective and provides insights for those responsible for corruption prevention.

The study adopts a qualitative approach and, based on thematic analysis of the text of 20 case files and 8 interviews, seeks to discover and identify patterns and themes emerging from the experiences of managers of quasi-governmental companies and the corruption cases related to them. The findings indicate that weak corporate governance, a destructive organizational culture, and flawed oversight are the three main factors and conditions for the occurrence of corruption in quasi-governmental companies.