The mafia cannot delegate power without inviting internal challenge.

Evidence

Even if owners were able to monitor managers, who would protect the former from the latter? But if the owner remained sufficiently powerful to exercise control, that would be tantamount to remaining in charge. This dilemma explains why the mafia is notoriously populated by underlings rather than managers, and even they must be kept in their place to diminish the likelihood of an internal challenge. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 162

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s Gambetta/Schelling reading frame: the owner-underling dilemma is a principal-agent failure that pushes the mafia toward private protection rather than a manager-led firm.