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Who Blows the Whistle and Why?

Author

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  • Marcia P. Miceli
  • Janet P. Near
  • Charles R. Schwenk

Abstract

This study examines the effects of a number of perceptual variables on internal auditors' reporting of wrongdoing by employees and managers in their organizations. Survey responses of 653 Directors of Internal Auditing who observed what they perceived to be incidents of wrongdoing show that they were less likely to report these incidents when they did not feel compelled morally or by role prescription to do so, when they evaluated their job performance as below average, or when they were employed by highly bureaucratic organizations. Also, the auditors were more likely to report incidents to external agencies (as opposed to authorities within the organization) when they felt that the public or their co-workers were harmed by the wrongdoing, the wrongdoing involved theft by relatively low-level workers, there were few other observers, or the organization was highly regulated.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcia P. Miceli & Janet P. Near & Charles R. Schwenk, 1991. "Who Blows the Whistle and Why?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 45(1), pages 113-130, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:45:y:1991:i:1:p:113-130
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Giovanni Garegnani & Emilia Merlotti & Angeloantonio Russo, 2015. "Scoring Firms’ Codes of Ethics: An Explorative Study of Quality Drivers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(4), pages 541-557, February.
    2. Mohammed Rawwas & Surendra Arjoon & Yusuf Sidani, 2013. "An Introduction of Epistemology to Business Ethics: A Study of Marketing Middle-Managers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 525-539, October.
    3. Bernardo de Abreu Guelber Fajardo & Ricardo Lopes Cardoso, 2014. "Does the Occasion Justify the Denunciation?: a Multilevel Approach for Brazilian Accountants," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 11(5), pages 24-48, October.
    4. Nadia Smaili & Paulina Arroyo, 2019. "Categorization of Whistleblowers Using the Whistleblowing Triangle," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 95-117, June.
    5. Barbara Culiberg & Katarina Katja Mihelič, 2017. "The Evolution of Whistleblowing Studies: A Critical Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(4), pages 787-803, December.
    6. Kim Loyens, 2013. "Towards a Custom-Made Whistleblowing Policy. Using Grid-Group Cultural Theory to Match Policy Measures to Different Styles of Peer Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 239-249, May.
    7. Hayden Teo & Donella Caspersz, 2011. "Dissenting Discourse: Exploring Alternatives to the Whistleblowing/Silence Dichotomy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 237-249, December.
    8. Shani Robinson & Jesse Robertson & Mary Curtis, 2012. "The Effects of Contextual and Wrongdoing Attributes on Organizational Employees’ Whistleblowing Intentions Following Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(2), pages 213-227, March.
    9. Kim Loyens & Wim Vandekerckhove, 2018. "Whistleblowing from an International Perspective: A Comparative Analysis of Institutional Arrangements," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-16, July.
    10. P. Cassematis & R. Wortley, 2013. "Prediction of Whistleblowing or Non-reporting Observation: The Role of Personal and Situational Factors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 615-634, October.
    11. Brennan, Niamh & Kelly, John, 2007. "A study of whistleblowing among trainee auditors," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 61-87.
    12. Muhammad Hariz Hamid & Zaleha Othman, 2015. "Whistleblowing and Voicing Dissent in Organizations," International Journal of Management Sciences, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 6(1), pages 8-15.
    13. Lee, Gladys & Xiao, Xinning, 2018. "Whistleblowing on accounting-related misconduct: A synthesis of the literature," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 22-46.
    14. Jingyu Gao & Robert Greenberg & Bernard Wong-On-Wing, 2015. "Whistleblowing Intentions of Lower-Level Employees: The Effect of Reporting Channel, Bystanders, and Wrongdoer Power Status," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 85-99, January.
    15. Anantawikrama Tungga Atmadja & Komang Adi Kurniawan Saputra & Daniel T.H. Manurung, 2019. "Proactive Fraud Audit, Whistleblowing and Cultural Implementation of Tri Hita Karana for Fraud Prevention," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 201-214.
    16. Near, Janet P. & Miceli, Marcia P., 2016. "After the wrongdoing: What managers should know about whistleblowing," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 105-114.
    17. Mehmet Emin Önder & Umut Akçıl & Necati Cemaloğlu, 2019. "The Relationship between Teachers’ Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Whistleblowing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, October.
    18. Stikeleather, Bryan R., 2016. "When do employers benefit from offering workers a financial reward for reporting internal misconduct?," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-14.

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