Mafia Organizations
The Visible Hand of Criminal Enterprise

'Mafias are complex organizations that face many of the same managerial challenges as legitimate enterprises. Maurizio Catino is well qualified to bring insights from the vast organizational theory literature to understand how Mafias deal with these challenges. While drawing heavily on the many lengthy confessions of members of mafias in Sicily and Southern Italy, a strength of the book is its coverage of mafias in the United States, China and Japan. This is an important addition to the already rich literature on Mafias.' Peter Reuter, University of Maryland

'Catino offers a fascinating study of the practices of Mafias, making a compelling case for analyzing Mafias from an organizational perspective. With its rich detail and refreshing analytical clarity, the book is an important contribution to our understanding of the role of organized crime in contemporary economies.' Jens Beckert, Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and editor of The Architecture of Illegal Markets

'Books on mafias have been available for decades. However, most are descriptive and tend to highlight the most horrific aspects of mafias: the killings or intergang rivalries that have led to public violence. In Mafia Organizations, Catino takes a more temperate approach by arguing that understanding mafias is copiously illuminated by drawing from organizational theory … This book is an innovative contribution to understanding mafias and other OCGs … Summing Up: Essential. Graduate students through faculty.' J. P. Hoffmann, Choice

'This is a dense and serious book that is highly recommended for anyone who would like to understand the organizational codes of mafia groups. An important scholarly investigation, it unveils the organizational structure that plays a vital role in mafia groups across the world.' Baris Cayli, Rutgers

'Those eager for a technical, theory-driven approach to studying mafia organizations will definitely find this book interesting and enjoyable.' Joel Baum, Administrative Science Quarterly

'This book is a classic in organizational theory and criminal justice. It would be useful for graduate school in public administration or teaching classes in political science and organized crime. Law enforcement should read this book as well, and to be honest, so should the bad guys.' James Timothy Linehan, International Criminal Justice Review

'… the book is an invaluable read for students and scholars in the field who will find a copious amount of fodder for their future research. One must also not forget, given the clandestine nature of mafia operations, that compiling the vast amount of disaggregated information and data on mafia families of the chosen regions is a tall order. And for that, Catino richly deserves praise. Written lucidly … the book overall is a valuable repository of scholarly knowledge on both organizational theories and the mafia.' Yugank Goyal, American Journal of Sociology