Abstract
This article uses a sample of 3076 employees working in the USA to examine the relationship between the frequency of unethical behavior that employees observe in their organization and their intention to whistleblow. The results confirm the expected curvilinear relationship based on the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct. This relationship is a combination of a diminishing negative relationship between the frequency of observed unethical behavior and the intention to whistleblow internally and a linear positive relationship between the frequency of observed unethical behavior and the intention to whistleblow externally. The beliefs of employees about how supportive their management is when handling whistleblowing reports moderates the relationship between the frequency of unethical behavior employees observe and their intention to whistleblow.
Highlights
There is a rich literature on whistleblowing in work settings
The bivariate correlations between the frequency of observed unethical behavior and the intended whistleblowing responses were all significant at p < 0.01: r = 0.09 for internal whistleblowing, r = 0.44 for external whistleblowing, and r = 0.37 for whistleblowing in general
This study examined the relationship between the frequency of unethical behavior observed by employees in their organization and their intention to whistleblow
Summary
There is a rich literature on whistleblowing in work settings. An individual’s morality and commitment, the intensity and type of unethical behavior, and the organizational culture and reporting infrastructure (Dungan et al 2019; Vadera et al 2009) are some of the individual, situational, and organizational antecedents that explain who, when, how, and to whom employees report unethical behavior. This article focuses on the frequency of observed unethical behavior as an antecedent of whistleblowing. This situational antecedent has not been identified and studied in the literature, we predict that it influences whether and how employees will blow the whistle. To test the above-mentioned relationships, we used a sample of 3076 employees working in the USA. Before presenting and discussing the results, we first define the concepts, develop the hypotheses, and explain the method used
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