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The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act sets new whistleblowing standards for internal accountants and external auditors who fail to resolve differences internally with top management on financial reporting matters. Whistleblowers are eligible to receive a financial reward under Dodd-Frank if they “voluntarily” provide “original” information and meet other criteria. Interpretation 102-4 of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code establishes reporting obligations for external auditors to meet the requirements of Dodd-Frank. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the standards to better understand the whistleblowing process. A review of the literature identifies areas of concern in deciding whether to blow the whistle. The paper contributes to the literature by integrating thoughts, ideas, and issues raised by prior researchers and considerations specific to the whistleblowing process. The analysis results in the proposal of specific unanswered questions about the process that can guide future researchers.

The topic of whistleblowing is achieving prominence as a question of social policy. Some influential voices are suggesting that far from whistleblowing — informing on organisations —, being socially undesirable, it may in certain circumstances be an activity deserving high praise. Inevitably it entails huge risks to the activist, and these risks need to be personally and carefully considered. John Banham, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, wrote in support of the Social Audit report on the subject (Winfield 1990), and a committee established by the Speaker of the House of Commons has suggested the possibility of honouring whistleblowers in the British Honours system for their good corporate citizenship. There have also been landmark reports in America, Australia and Canada (Leahy 1978, Electoral and Administrative Review Commission 1990, Ontario Law Reform Commission 1986).

Whistleblowers have been credited for uncovering financial scandals in companies globally, including Enron, Olympus Corporation, and WorldCom. Despite increasing support and incentives for whistleblowing, there generally remains reluctance to blow the whistle. Thus, the purpose of this study is to review: (1) the determinants of internal and external whistleblowing on accounting-related misconduct, (2) U.S. whistleblowing legislation on accounting-related misconduct and related research, and (3) the effects of whistleblowing on firms and whistleblowers. Within each area, suggestions for future research are offered.

This paper aims to explore the key factors which influence whistleblowing intentions of teachers working with higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. Both internal and external whistleblowing intentions of the HEI teachers are studied by examining their relative intentions to report a potential wrongdoing to the authorities within the management of the institution and to the external statutory bodies. The reporting intentions of the HEI teachers are measured through the use of three vignettes related to academic frauds. Whistleblowing intentions are proposed to be determined by the individual, organizational and situational factors.

Survey method of descriptive research design has been used to obtain the primary data regarding the individual, organizational and situational variables deemed to influence HEI teachers’ internal and external whistleblowing intentions. A self-administered structured questionnaire is used as survey instrument for primary data collection. The respondents’ internal and external whistleblowing intentions are measured through the use of three vignettes related to academic frauds. Non-parametric tests such as Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test and Spearman correlations have been used to test the research hypotheses.

The study has found that the HEI teachers are more likely to blow the whistle internally if there is a proper communication channel in their organization for reporting wrongdoings. However, they do not hesitate to blow the whistle externally in the absence of internal reporting channel, especially in those cases of wrongdoings where they perceive the cost of reporting to be high. The high status of the wrongdoer and high costs of reporting discourage the teachers to blow the whistle internally. However, if the wrongdoer holds a very powerful position in the organization, then the teachers prefer to report his wrongdoing to external agencies as they are afraid of the likely negative repercussions of reporting against him internally. In case of serious wrongdoings, the teachers intend to blow the whistle within the organization rather than going to external agencies probably because they do not want to spoil the image of their organization in the external world.

The first limitation is that because of the unavailability of pre-tested vignettes in the context of academic frauds, the study has used three vignettes which have been developed on the basis of few case studies. Second, the results showed the existence of social desirability bias across all the three vignettes. Also, the study has been conducted among teaching professionals; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to the professionals of other sectors.

The findings of the study may bring awareness to the board of management of HEIs, regarding the importance of whistleblowing in their educational institutions. They should encourage the teachers working with their institutions to report the wrongdoings internally as external reporting may cause damage to their institute’s reputation. Proper reporting mechanisms should be designed and shared with the employees as a part of institutional culture.

The Whistle Blowers Protection Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2011 should be amended to include the private sector employees, especially the teachers working in higher education sector. This will encourage the HEI teachers to report the academic frauds fearlessly which will put a serious check on the growing number of frauds and wrongdoings in the education sector.

Previous research studies have discussed the factors influencing whistleblowing intentions in the context of various non-academic organizations. However, existing research has not adequately provided a better understanding of the influencing factors of whistleblowing intentions in higher education sector. The present paper addresses this gap by empirically examining the key factors which influence HEI teachers’ intentions of blowing the whistle and reporting the wrongdoings occurring in their institutions, in Indian context. An attempt has been made to identify the influencing factors of both internal and external whistleblowing intentions by using three different vignettes related with academic frauds.

We review and summarize accounting literature that examines whistleblowing in the accounting context. We organize our review around the five determinants of whistleblowing identified by Near and Miceli (1995). The first determinant is characteristics of the whistleblower. Studies related to this determinant examine whistleblowers’ personality characteristics, moral judgment, and demographic characteristics. Studies related to the second determinant, characteristics of the report recipient, examine characteristics of the individual or individuals who receive the report and characteristics of the reporting channel. The third determinant is characteristics of the wrongdoer. Studies in this area focus on the wrongdoer’s power and credibility. Fourth, accounting studies related to characteristics of the wrongdoing examine factors that affect the dependence of the organization on the wrongdoing and evidence credibility. Studies related to the final determinant, characteristics of the organization, examine organizational perceptions of the appropriateness of whistleblowing, organizational climate, and organizational structure. For each determinant, we first summarize and analyze the findings of prior research, and then we present suggestions for future accounting research in whistleblowing.

This study investigates the relationship between leaders' ethical behaviors and internal whistleblowing among hotel employees through the mediation role of organizational virtuousness. According to the conceptual framework, ethical leadership creates a virtuous workplace and encourages whistleblowing.

A survey approach with responses of 442 employees from Egyptian five-star hotels was used. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses proposed based on leader–member exchange (LMX) and ethical leadership theories.

Ethical leadership has a favorable impact on organizational virtuousness and, as a result, has a significant impact on whistleblowing intention. The ethical leaders–subordinates' intents to whistleblow association partially mediated organizational virtuousness. To assist them in reporting ethics violations, most hotel employees require organizational characteristics, such as organizational climate and psychological empowerment, in addition to individual characteristics, such as moral bravery and ethical efficacy.

The conceptual framework of this paper adds a new guide for future research related to the hospitality literature, which is how employees' intent to internal whistleblowing. As such, senior management should serve as a moral role model for hotel employees, inspiring them to be moral and allowing them to participate in decision-making.

本研究擬透過組織德行所扮演的仲介角色，去探討領導者的道德行為與酒店員工間內部舉報的相互關係。根據有關的概念框架，領導倫理會為機構創造一個富有道德的工作場所，以及鼓勵員工互相舉報不當的行為。

研究採用調查方法進行，數據來自442名於埃及五星級酒店工作的僱員的回覆。研究人員以結構方程模型來測試研究的假設 － 研究的假設乃根據領導者－成員交換理論和倫理型領導理論而提出的。

領導倫理會給組織美德帶來積極的影響，因此，領導倫理也會給舉報動機帶來重要的影響。領袖－下屬舉報合夥人合乎道德的動機，對組織美德起著仲介作用。若要酒店僱員舉報違反道德規範的行為，除了僱員須有個人特質、如道德勇氣和倫理效能等之外，酒店亦須具備一些組織特徵、如組織氛圍和心理賦權等。

本研究的概念框架，給探討僱員作內部舉報行為的動機的學者提供新的指引，為餐旅業的研究提供方向。組織的高級管理人員應以身作則，為僱員建立道德典範，鼓勵他們遵循道德規範而行事，並容許他們參與決策。

The act of reporting illegal and unethical practices in the workplace has become an increasingly important issue for researchers and organizational management over the past several decades. This study tested a model of whistleblowing in which perceived organizational retaliation and upward communication satisfaction were hypothesized to act as predictors of types of whistleblowing intentions using a representative sample of employees working in Kirklareli, Turkey (n = 1,012). Structural equation modeling indicated that perceptions of upward communication satisfaction were positively associated to blowing the whistle to internal channels like immediate supervisor and upper management and negatively related to staying silent and external whistleblowing. In addition, perceived threat of retaliation from an organization was negatively related to blowing the whistle to internal channels and positively related to staying silent and external whistleblowing. The present study has contributed to our understanding of whistleblowing in a relatively new national context by clarifying its associations with perceived organizational retaliation and communication with management.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the effect of perceived ethical leadership and perceived distributive justice on internal whistleblowing intention through trust in leader as a mediator.

Following an empirical design, data were collected from 1,296 employees of Turkish financial institutions, located in Istanbul. To test four hypotheses structural equation modelling was applied.

Results reveal that trust in a leader fully mediates the positive effects of both ethical leadership and distributive justice on the internal whistleblowing intention.

This study enhances the understanding of the ethical leadership perception and distributive justice affecting the internal whistleblowing intention in Turkey that is a developing country. Although numerous studies on whistleblowing have been conducted, this study’s originality and contribution lay in the examination of trust in the leader as a missing link between the direct relations.

Whistleblowing has been receiving increased attention and support in recent times as a means of detecting and correcting wrongdoing in organizations. This study aims to examine perceptions, attitudes and consequences (actions and reactions) of whistleblowing, as well as the predictors of internal and external whistleblowing intentions, by using Graham’s (1986) model of principled organizational dissent in a small emerging and collectivist culture like Barbados.

The study utilized a self-administered survey of 282 accounting employees working in organizations in Barbados.

Results reveal that there is little awareness of whistleblowing legislation. Most respondents perceive whistleblowing as ethical and favor internal over external whistleblowing. Findings show that personal responsibility and personal costs significantly influence internal whistleblowing intentions, while personal costs influence external whistleblowing. Using qualitative data, several themes emerged as influencing whistleblowing: perceived benefits of whistleblowing, actual whistleblowing experiences (handling of reports), personal costs (climate of fear and hostility), perceived lack of anonymity and cultural norms.

Future research should control for social desirability bias and use more rigorous qualitative approaches such as face-to-face interviews and focus groups to gain in-depth opinions and feelings on the topic.

Whistleblowing can be achieved through such mechanisms as perceived organizational support, strong ethical codes of conduct, rewarding ethical behavior and promoting sound work ethics in organizations.

This paper explores whistleblowing in an emerging economy where there has been little research on the topic. Thus, this study supplements the existing research in emerging economies by examining the applicability of Graham’s (1986) model of principled organizational dissent.

Despite various regulatory frameworks to combat unethical conduct, fraud and corruption remain alarmingly high. While whistleblowing is an important mechanism to identify and prevent unethical conduct, there is a lack of empirical studies on this issue in the Malaysian context, especially whistleblowing within the audit firms. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the whistleblowing intention of external auditors in Malaysia and the factors influencing this intention.

Data were collected using a structured questionnaire that was sent by post to external auditors throughout Malaysia. Participants were selected using a convenience non-probability sampling technique. A total of 274 responses were analyzed. SmartPLS version 3.2.8 was used for the analysis.

Professional commitment and independence commitment had a positive influence on whistleblowing intention, supporting the argument that professional factors can increase the intention of the external auditors to whistleblow. Perceived behavioural control had a positive relationship with whistleblowing intention, while there is no evidence to indicate that attitude and subjective norms influence whistleblowing intention.

This study explored whistleblowing among external auditors in Malaysia by focussing on the professional factors of professional commitment and independence commitment, which were hypothesized to be key factors in intention to whistleblow. These factors were incorporated with a multi-component of attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, which were derived from the theory of planned behaviour. The findings have implications for the auditing profession because they provide a better understanding of the factors that influence the whistleblowing intention of external auditors.