Abstract
This research explored factors triggering employee theft at a manufacturing firm in Zimbabwe. Nine research participants, who were purposively sampled, participated in this qualitative research. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data from the nine research participants. The study found a range of factors that trigger employee theft at the case manufacturing firm in Zimbabwe. Research participants cited perceived injustice, economic hardships, a lack of control systems, and revenge as the four main factors that trigger employee theft. The current study recommends that managers at the case firm should understand the identified factors that trigger employee theft and implement specific measures to curb it. The study also recommends that the case manufacturing firm in Zimbabwe should pay competitive salaries, perform multiple background checks on new hires, improve security and control systems, and conduct regular audits to lower employee theft incidents. Lastly, the study recommends that workers should refrain from engaging in deviant behaviour because employee theft is considered to be serious misconduct that amounts to direct dismissal and can harm a worker's reputation once exposed.