Retaliatory effect on whistle blowing intentions: a study of Indian employees

Purpose - This paper attempts to find the essence of whistleblowing in organizational structures, to reflect on whistleblowing mechanism and the perception of whistleblowing in the working class of a country. Whistleblowing is exhibited as one of the quintessential elements of corporate governance to prevent or detect inundating corporate frauds. This study examines the whistleblowing intentions and its precursors with the knowledge of repercussions, in context of Indian employees. Design/methodology/approach - Primary data has been analysed herein using a structured questionnaire from 396 Indian employees of public and private sector companies of India using, multiple regression analysis. Findings - It provides evidence that personal factors like organizational commitment, locus of control impact whistleblowing intentions vary by the type of fraud the employee encounters. The study presents a case for variation of considerable extent in non-financial fraud and financial fraud. Further, the kind of organization the employee is working in is an essential antecedent for whistleblowing behaviour of an employee. It highlights higher the perceived power or status held by the wrongdoer; higher would be an employee’s intentions to blow the whistle against him. Practical implications - It would help managers in developing an environment which would encourage the employees by creating a self-check mechanism in the organization for improved conduct and better corporate governance. The shreds of evidence show that locus of control plays a vital role in moderating the impact of other antecedents on whistleblowing intentions of the employees. Originality/value - Organization’s expectation from the employees to blow the whistle against wrong doing also makes the organization responsible for protecting the employee from the retaliation, which could follow after the act of whistleblowing. Also, prompts for imbibing ethical conduct throughout the organizational hierarchy.