Organized Crime

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, Organized Crime has been mentioned in one podcast episode on School of Hard Knocks (May 2025). Used to illustrate how business principles (delegation, negotiation, incentives) can appear in illegal contexts.

Organized crime refers to groups of centralized enterprises that engage in, and aim to profit from, illegal activities. Some forms of organized crime exist simply to meet demand for illegal goods or to facilitate trade in products and services banned by the state, such as illegal drugs or firearms. In other cases, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, as when gangs extort protection money from shopkeepers.