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1 – 10 of 136Fabian Maximilian Johannes Teichmann and Chiara Wittmann
The European Union’s Whistleblower Directive (WBD), or formally the “Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of…
Abstract
Purpose
The European Union’s Whistleblower Directive (WBD), or formally the “Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons reporting infringements of Union law” seeks to establish a uniform standard for whistleblowing protection across member state jurisdictions. Considering the international reach of the directive, it inevitably confronts divergent national attitudes towards whistleblowing. This paper aims to examine various cultural attitudes which have contributed to the common understanding of whistleblowing, under the directive.
Design/methodology/approach
The rhetoric on whistleblowing from a combination of business and national cultures is examined herein. A focus is cast on the information technology sector, which has traditionally protected trade secrecy over whistleblowing, under the guise of protecting of innovation. Moreover, the juxtaposition of American and German employment culture is testimony to the discrepancy in national narratives.
Findings
The WBD is both a symptom and a yardstick of modern employment culture in Europe. There are crucial clashes with trade secrecy which the directive has not resolved as well as an acknowledgement of the paradigm of legal thought which the directive pushes.
Originality/value
By reference to both business and national culture, this paper highlights the heterogenous conception of whistleblowing which the directive aims to reconcile. Whilst a vast amount of literature has covered isolated criticism of the WBD, a wider lens has not been cast to consider the pervasive influence of specific aspects on business culture.
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To describe the new EU Whistleblowing Directive and its implications.
Abstract
Purpose
To describe the new EU Whistleblowing Directive and its implications.
Design/methodology/approach
Describes organizations to which the Directive applies, the scope of reportable whistleblowing concerns, whistleblowers’ reporting channels and mechanisms, whistleblower protections, how organizations should respond to whistleblower reports and how organizations should prepare for the new rules.
Findings
The new Directive will require Member States to create rules for organizations with more than 50 workers, will mandate such organizations to implement whistleblowing hotlines for reporting a broad range of EU law violations, and will contain minimum standards on how to respond to and handle any concerns raised by whistleblowers.
Practical implications
Organizations in the EU can and should start taking initial steps to prepare for the new rules as soon as possible. There will likely be some differences among whistleblower rules in individual EU Member States.
Originality/value
Practical guidance from experienced corporate, technology, media, telecommunications and compliance lawyer.
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The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of whistleblowers and to determine whether whistleblowing legislation would encourage those individuals to bring to light some…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of whistleblowers and to determine whether whistleblowing legislation would encourage those individuals to bring to light some illegal or unethical behaviour that otherwise would remain in the shadows.
Design/methodology/approach
Having identified whistleblowing correlation, a survey was carried out in Cyprus of actual whistleblowers and could-have-been whistleblowers.
Findings
Males between 46 and55 years of age, regardless of whether they have dependents or hold senior positions in organizations are significantly more likely to blow the whistle. However, could-have-been whistleblowers did not go ahead because they felt that the authorities would not act on their information.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the sensitive nature of the research topic and the fact that only whistleblowers or intended whistleblowers could participate in the study, the sample size is limited as a result. This, in turn, limits both the number of respondents in each category (actual and intended) as well as constrains the statistical analysis that could be carried out on the data.
Practical implications
It remains to be seen whether EU Member States shall implement the European Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union Law, in its entirety by the due date, namely December 2021.
Originality/value
This study provides a literature review of whistleblowing and reports an original survey against the backdrop of the European Directive.
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Fabian Maximilian Teichmann and Chiara Wittmann
This paper aims to enlighten the shortcomings of the EU Whistleblowing Directive 2019/1973, which could interfere negatively with its successful national implementation. In focus…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to enlighten the shortcomings of the EU Whistleblowing Directive 2019/1973, which could interfere negatively with its successful national implementation. In focus is the tension between companies potentially attempting to hide misconduct and disgruntled employees taking advantage of generous protection under the directive.
Design/methodology/approach
With an extensive literary basis, this paper explores articles of the EU Whistleblowing Directive 2019/1973 under five areas of the so-called “weakness.” With view to Germany and Austria, the difficulty of implementing the directive is highlighted and likewise with view to Switzerland, a potential solution is presented.
Findings
The Whistleblowing Directive 2019/1973 overshoots its target by protecting whistleblowers without considering the wider public interest. There are specific points of arbitrary definition which demand resolution to ensure a successful national implementation.
Originality/value
This is a multifaceted discussion of a highly contentious ethical debate. Through an exploration of specific points of the Directive, it is possible to present why there are points of contention in the first place, and also the difficulty of implementing the principle of proportionality. The issue at the heart of the matter is balancing the protection of trade secrets with the fundamental necessity of whistleblowing as a means of last resort.
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Edith O. Nwosu, Uchechukwu Nwoke, Collins Chikodi Ajibo, Fochi Nwodo and Ikenna Okoli
This paper aims to analyze the importance and application of whistleblowing in the fight against fraud in Nigeria’s capital market.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the importance and application of whistleblowing in the fight against fraud in Nigeria’s capital market.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from existing legislation and literature in the area, the paper (by adopting a doctrinal approach), analyzes the application of whistleblowing in the Nigerian capital market.
Findings
As a result of an inadequate legislative framework (a structure consisting mainly of mere policy directives and voluntary codes), whistleblowing is seldom used in Nigeria’s capital market.
Originality/value
This paper extends the body of knowledge in the area of whistleblowing in Nigeria’s capital market by not only identifying the non-utilization of the concept but also offers creative suggestions, which will help it is to normalize as a regulatory tool for reducing fraud in this sector.
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Fabian Teichmann, Sonia Ruxandra Boticiu and Bruno S. Sergi
This study aims to illustrate how bribery and fake news in Eastern European countries can affect businesses across Europe. Countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to illustrate how bribery and fake news in Eastern European countries can affect businesses across Europe. Countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Hungary represent sizeable and potential markets. Thanks to their European Union membership and low labor costs, these markets could offer many investment opportunities to international managers. Consequently, this study focuses on the challenge of corruption encountered by international managers and the necessary precautions before committing financial resources to these countries.
Design/methodology/approach
For this study, 10 informal interviews with presumed providers of illegal services were used to investigate the previously unexplored innovative research question. Informal interviews were conducted with individuals who can be assumed to have experience or knowledge in the field of corruption in multinational corporations.
Findings
The results show the potential impact of corruption on international managers in Eastern Europe.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by examining two forms of corruption: bribing journalists to publish fake news to harm commercial rivals and bribing public officials to manufacture legal proceedings against business competitors. The following will also highlight how a corrupt judicial system can have implications abroad and what problems this may raise for mutual legal assistance.
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The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the extent of protection available for whistleblowers in South African criminal cases.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the extent of protection available for whistleblowers in South African criminal cases.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper first provides a brief background of crime in South Africa and argues that the concept of the whistleblower is just a buss word or collective noun. The methodology of this paper consists of a literature review of whistleblowers and relevant laws that can be used to protect whistleblowers in South African criminal cases.
Findings
This paper concludes that the existing law as primarily contained in the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 provides appropriate protection for whistleblowers in South African criminal cases.
Research limitations/implications
Whistleblowers provide information on criminal, civil and disciplinary wrongdoings. This study focuses on the protection of whistleblowers pursuant to mainly the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper lies in the approach to the handling of whistleblowers in South African criminal cases. This is the first research done with the emphasis on the use of mainly the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 to protect whistleblowers in South African criminal cases. The contribution of the study is that, by using this approach, it can provide protection and save lives, and it may enhance the willingness of whistleblowers to blow the whistle, which will be beneficial to the community of South Africa as a whole.
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Elina Karpacheva and Branislav Hock
Foreign whistleblowers are foreign citizens who help national enforcement authorities to sanction both foreign-based corporations and home-based corporations that engage in…
Abstract
Purpose
Foreign whistleblowers are foreign citizens who help national enforcement authorities to sanction both foreign-based corporations and home-based corporations that engage in economic crime. This paper aims to investigate the expansion of US law in the area of transnational economic crime by discussing the case of foreign whistleblowers.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper has been developed from a literature review carried out as part of a wider study into policing international bribery.
Findings
This paper shows that extraterritorial application of US whistleblowing laws is part of a broad trend associated with extraterritorial enforcement of US anti-corruption statutes such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The extraterritorial reach of the FCPA and other statutes allowed the USA to become the leader in sanctioning US corporations as well as non-US corporations for economic crime. In effect, some US enforcement practices have become the standard that has influenced law and law enforcement in other countries as well as internal compliance of corporations.
Originality/value
In spite of the profound impact foreign whistleblowing has on the effectiveness of national anti-corruption enforcement, this topic has been largely neglected by academic research. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to provide an overview of the role of foreign whistleblowers and the significant impact foreign whistleblowing has for legal reform in European countries and internal compliance of corporations in Europe and beyond.
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Albert Puni and Sam Kris Hilton
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of power distance culture (PDC) on whistleblowing intentions (WI) by examining the moderating effect of gender on the causal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of power distance culture (PDC) on whistleblowing intentions (WI) by examining the moderating effect of gender on the causal relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used descriptive and cross-sectional survey design. Data were obtained from 300 employees of the selected organizations in Ghana and analyzed by using descriptive statistics, correlational and hierarchical regression techniques.
Findings
The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between PDC and WI, and such relationship is moderated by gender. The study also revealed that high PDC is the prevailing culture in the organizations surveyed, indicating low tendency of reporting corporate wrongdoing. However, the result of the moderation analysis indicates being a female worker in a PDC has a stronger influence on WI than being a male. Additionally, whistleblowers are likely to report their coworkers than leaders in high PDC organizations, but they are rather likely to report their leaders than coworkers in low PDC organizations.
Originality/value
This paper makes a significant contribution to the existing whistleblowing literature by establishing how gender moderates the influence of organizational culture on whistleblowing and recommends how to improve organizational ethos to facilitate whistleblowing in high-power distance societies.
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Muhammad Kashif Aslam, Muhammad Saeed Akhtar, Muhammad Waheed Akhtar, Muhammad Asrar-ul-Haq, Jawad Iqbal and Muhammad Usman
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the social information processing theory, which is extended by the (1) effect of whistleblowing education on whistleblowing intentions…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the social information processing theory, which is extended by the (1) effect of whistleblowing education on whistleblowing intentions, (2) simultaneous examination of the indirect relationship between whistleblowing education and whistleblowing intentions via moral identity and (3) relativism in influencing this mediation.
Design/methodology/approach
Multi-wave data collected at three internals from bank employees (n = 294) were analyzed to test the proposed model.
Findings
Results of the study demonstrate that whistleblowing education favorably influences whistleblowing intentions directly as well as through moral identity. Relativism serves as the buffer in the indirect effects of whistleblowing education on whistleblowing intentions through moral identity attenuating these indirect effects in individuals with dominant relativism level.
Originality/value
This study strives to extend the whistleblowing education and whistleblowing intentions literature by unpacking a moral identity mechanism through which whistleblowing education kindles whistleblowing intention and relativism as boundary condition to attenuate such motivation.
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