Whistleblowing in Organizations: An Examination of Correlates of Whistleblowing Intentions, Actions, and Retaliation

Authors: Mesmer-Magnus, Jessica¹; Viswesvaran, Chockalingam²

Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 62, Number 3, December 2005 , pp. 277-297(21)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Whistleblowing on organizational wrongdoing is becoming increasingly prevalent. What aspects of the person, the context, and the transgression relate to whistleblowing intentions and to actual whistleblowing on corporate wrongdoing? Which aspects relate to retaliation against whistleblowers? Can we draw conclusions about the whistleblowing process by assessing whistleblowing intentions? Meta-analytic examination of 193 correlations obtained from 26 samples (N = 18,781) reveals differences in the correlates of whistleblowing intentions and actions. Stronger relationships were found between personal, contextual, and wrongdoing characteristics and whistleblowing intent than with actual whistleblowing. Retaliation might best be predicted using contextual variables. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Keywords: retaliation; retaliatory acts; organizational wrongdoing; organizational justice; whistleblowing; whistleblower characteristics; whistleblowing intentions

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-005-0849-1

Affiliations: 1: Email: magnusj@uncw.edu 2: Email: vish@fiu.edu

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