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Whistleblowing as a Protracted Process: A Study of UK Whistleblower Journeys

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  • Wim Vandekerckhove

    (University of Greenwich)

  • Arron Phillips

    (University of Greenwich)

Abstract

This paper provides an exploration of whistleblowing as a protracted process, using secondary data from 868 cases from a whistleblower advice line in the UK. Previous research on whistleblowing has mainly studied this phenomenon as a one-off decision by someone perceiving wrongdoing within an organisation to raise a concern or to remain silent. Earlier suggestions that whistleblowing is a process and that people find themselves inadvertently turned into whistleblowers by management responses, have not been followed up by a systematic study tracking the path of how a concern is repeatedly raised by whistleblowers. This paper provides a quantitative exploration of whistleblowing as a protracted process, rather than a one-off decision. Our research finds that the whistleblowing process generally entails two or even three internal attempts to raise a concern before an external attempt is made, if it is made at all. We also find that it is necessary to distinguish further between different internal (e.g. line manager, higher management, specialist channels) as well as external whistleblowing recipients (e.g. regulators, professional bodies, journalists). Our findings suggest that whistleblowing is a protracted process and that this process is internally more protracted than previously documented. The overall pattern is that whistleblowers tend to search for a more independent recipient at each successive attempt to raise their concern. Formal whistleblower power seems to determine which of the available recipients are perceived as viable and also what the initial responses are in terms of retaliation and effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Wim Vandekerckhove & Arron Phillips, 2019. "Whistleblowing as a Protracted Process: A Study of UK Whistleblower Journeys," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 201-219, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:159:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-017-3727-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-017-3727-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jason MacGregor & Martin Stuebs, 2014. "The Silent Samaritan Syndrome: Why the Whistle Remains Unblown," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 120(2), pages 149-164, March.
    2. Joanne Jones & Gary Spraakman & Cristóbal Sánchez-Rodríguez, 2014. "What’s in it for Me? An Examination of Accounting Students’ Likelihood to Report Faculty Misconduct," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(4), pages 645-667, September.
    3. Heungsik Park & John Blenkinsopp & M. Oktem & Ugur Omurgonulsen, 2008. "Cultural Orientation and Attitudes Toward Different Forms of Whistleblowing: A Comparison of South Korea, Turkey, and the U.K," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(4), pages 929-939, November.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Olesen, 2022. "The Birth of an Action Repertoire: On the Origins of the Concept of Whistleblowing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 13-24, August.
    2. Sarah Brooks & John Richmond & John Blenkinsopp, 2023. "Applying a Lens of Temporality to Better Understand Voice About Unethical Behaviour," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(4), pages 681-692, December.
    3. Thomas Olesen, 2024. "Breaking Out of the Cocoon: Whistleblowing Opportunities Under Conditions of Normalized Wrongdoing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 93-105, April.
    4. Dina El-Bassiouny & Amr Kotb & Hany Elbardan & Noha El-Bassiouny, 2023. "To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle? An Islamic Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 385-404, October.
    5. Muel Kaptein, 2022. "How Much You See Is How You Respond: The Curvilinear Relationship Between the Frequency of Observed Unethical Behavior and The Whistleblowing Intention," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(4), pages 857-875, February.
    6. Emilie Hennequin, 2023. "Whistleblowing as a Career Crisis: Recovering from Retaliatory Job Loss through a Process of Bifurcation," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(2), pages 545-562, April.
    7. Nadia Smaili & Wim Vandekerckhove & Paulina Arroyo Pardo, 2023. "Handling Whistleblowing Reports: The Complexity of the Double Agent," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(2), pages 279-292, August.
    8. Luca Andriani & Gaygysyz Ashyrov, 2022. "Corruption and life satisfaction: Evidence from a transition survey," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 511-535, November.
    9. Laura William & Wim Vandekerckhove, 2023. "Fairly and Justly? Are Employment Tribunals Able to Even Out Whistleblowing Power Imbalances?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 365-376, January.
    10. Marion Brivot & Mélanie Roussy & Yves Gendron, 2024. "The Riskification of Internal Auditors’ Ethical Deliberation: An Emerging Third Logic Between Norms and Values?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 691-712, September.
    11. Wim Vandekerckhove, 2022. "Is It Freedom? The Coming About of the EU Directive on Whistleblower Protection," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 1-11, August.
    12. Kate Kenny & Marianna Fotaki, 2023. "The Costs and Labour of Whistleblowing: Bodily Vulnerability and Post-disclosure Survival," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 341-364, January.
    13. Pietro Previtali & Paola Cerchiello, 2022. "Organizational Determinants of Whistleblowing. A Study of Italian Municipalities," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 903-918, December.

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