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This paper aims to generate new research directions at the intersection of accounting, whistleblowing and publicness: defined as the attainment of public goals, interests and values.

A problematising review is used to challenge and rethink the existing accounting and whistleblowing literature by incorporating readings from the public interest and public value literature. The paper draws on the work of Dewey (1927), Bozeman (2007) and Benington (2009) to open up new ways of theorising relations between accounting, whistleblowing and publicness.

Firstly, the paper develops a public interest theoretical framework which shows whistleblowing is a public value activity that moves organisational wrongdoing into the public sphere where it is subject to democratic debate and dialogue required to reconcile the public's interests with what the public values. Secondly, this framework provides one answer to continuing questions in the literature of how to define accountings relationship to the public interest. Finally, the paper suggests this conceptual framework be used to stimulate debate on whether and how one should expand existing accounting and accountability knowledge boundaries to incorporate the broader social, political and moral concerns highlighted by whistleblowers acting in the public interest.

Accounting and whistleblowing research has ignored the theoretical implications of whistleblowing in the public interest. The paper shows how accounting and accountability can respond to the challenges of a shifting and intangible public interest by providing a conceptual framework to guide current and future theoretical questions of how accounting is connected to the public interest.

The purpose of this paper is to consolidate research in whistleblowing, wrongdoing prevention and enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks with the goal of creating a more comprehensive and effective framework for the prevention of wrongdoings.

A gap analysis based on organizational learning theory (OLT) is performed between the research fields of whistleblowing, wrongdoing prevention and ERM to identify enhancements that are needed for effective wrongdoing prevention.

ERM is an incomplete framework for wrongdoing prevention which omits the components of prevention and learning. A culture of continuous learning is required to minimize the experience component of learning and maximizing sharing. Storytelling can be used to protect individuals and provide transparency. The stakeholder dimension must be expanded beyond the borders of the legal entity to include all stakeholders. Every stakeholder experiences the climate of wrongdoing prevention differently, and the evaluation of these different perspectives is essential in establishing a culture of prevention. Personal psychological safety is a critical element in empowering stakeholders to discuss and address wrongdoings. Standards established through professional associations enable innovations to diffuse more quickly throughout society than legislation. Standards and standard setting processes that are able to adapt to changes in societal expectations proactively help organizations to independently protect stakeholders. Global standards are needed to overcome incongruences between countries and cultures.

The effectiveness of a prevention framework is difficult to measure. Declining incidence of wrongdoing within an institution is an incomplete picture. Rare and severe types of wrongdoing, and their prevention throughout society should require a more concerted, centralized approach which could be modeled upon the health system’s national centers for disease prevention. By combining the dimensions of the learning organization questionnaire(Marsick and Watkins, 2003) and Whistleblowing and Wrongdoing statistics, organizations should be able to develop complex KPIs and be able monitor their development over time. Researchers should be able to use the same strategy to confirm the assertions made here will improve the safety and security of all stakeholders.

Organizations which use ERM frameworks may be unable to effectively prevent wrongdoings and protect stakeholders from the consequences of such wrongdoings. The shortcomings identified here provide specific clear points that organizations can address to be more effective in preventing wrongdoings. Any one of these actions and the scope of their impact within the organization and their environment represent substantial challenges for all stakeholders. Like the ascent of a great mountain, the planning of the each step taken and thorough understanding of the challenges faced along the path to each waypoint are essential to reach the summit and the achieve the objective.

This paper advocates for changes that may take decades or generations to fully accept: inter-organizational sharing; stronger use of guidelines instead of legislation; and enhanced transparency on all organizational levels. The resources required to drive change on this scale are considerable with the private sector and public sectors having unique needs and requiring potentially different approaches.

The novelty lies in the identification of shortcomings in ERM frameworks to effectively prevent wrongdoing, through the integration of OLT, Whistleblowing and Wrongdoing Literature and the COSO Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

Through state-of-the-art insights on whistleblowing in India, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of sociocultural dynamics in whistleblowing.

A review of literature on wrongdoing and whistleblowing in India revealed various aspects of the national context pertinent to different stages of the phenomenon. Thematic analysis of these dimensions, allowing for a nomothetic approach, resulted in identifying six sociocultural themes common across wrongdoing and whistleblowing.

Sociocultural dynamics impacting the emergence, persistence and recognition of wrongdoing, the decision to blow the whistle, engagement in whistleblowing and the outcomes of whistleblowing encompass social relationships, power distribution, materialistic considerations, sense of propriety and fairness, public/civic orientation and ideological leanings. These factors coexist with international influences, institutional framework, workplace ethos and individual orientation. The presence of wrongdoing and the trajectory of whistleblowing in India are affected by the aforementioned factors.

The paper is based on secondary data rather than empirical endeavours.

By underscoring the relevance of contextual dynamics, in particular sociocultural factors, in the whistleblowing process, the paper indicates an important basis for appropriate interventions to manage wrongdoing and encourage whistleblowing while protecting whistleblowers and ensuring attention to rectifying wrongdoing and sanctioning offenders.

Apart from providing a contemporary and comprehensive overview of whistleblowing in India, the paper uncovers the significance of sociocultural factors which have been overlooked so far in the substantive area. Moreover, a contextualised process model of whistleblowing is proposed based on the analysis. In subsuming temporality, context and outcomes for all stakeholders, the model displays complexity and causality, emphasising holism.

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.

The purpose of this study is to examine the key predictors of whistleblowing intention of accountants within the organization. By relying on the benefit-to-cost differential theory, this study examines the influence of professional skepticism, cognitive styles and perceived organizational support on whistleblowing intentions while controlling for the effect of some demographic variables on the estimated results. Further, the authors ascertain whether the threat of retaliation moderates the relationship between professional skepticism and whistleblowing intentions.

Data was obtained from professional accountants licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana by means of self-administered questionnaires. The partial least square-structural equation modeling technique was used to test for the hypothesized relationships in this study.

The results of this study suggest the intention to report wrongdoing within the organization is influenced by individuals’ level of professional skepticism, cognitive style and the perception that they will have the backing of their organization in reporting wrongdoing. Moreover, the authors also find females and individuals who have advanced in age to have greater motivation to report wrongdoing in the organization.

This study contributes to whistleblowing literature by highlighting the effect of professional skepticism on whistleblowing intentions. Also, this study provides empirical support for the applicability of the benefit-to-cost differential theory to the whistleblowing literature.

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.

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.

Whistleblowing is one of the most imperative instruments to unveil wrongdoing. The purpose of this study is to explore the whys and wherefores of undertaking the act of whistleblowing by Indian nurses. This study also delves into the reasons that would stimulate the nurses' whistleblowing intentions and, on the contrary, the reasons that would keep them silent on encountering any wrongdoing.

This study incorporates interpretative phenomenological analysis, a qualitative method aiming to provide a detailed examination of the personal lived experiences of the nurses. This technique helps to understand the individual perspective of nurses. It, thus, allows the researchers to generate common themes from the data giving insightful and in-depth knowledge about the same.

The findings of this study suggest that nurses felt a sense of morality and responsibility toward the hospital, which motivated them to raise their voices to the concerned authorities within their organizations before reaching out to external agencies. The other motivators include peer and management support regarding the surety that appropriate action would be taken if reporting is done against the wrongdoer. On the other side, job loss or fear of harassment from peers and supervisors demotivates and discourages them from involving in the act of whistleblowing, especially in cases where they had dependents.

This study implies that hospitals/health-care units should provide an affirmative organizational culture to the nurses through sensitivity training that spreads awareness and a sense of responsibility. Also, setting favourable examples would help nurses gain motivation from the organization's past experiences. Having independent agencies to investigate whistleblowing complaints can be more encouraging than in-house management. Additionally, assurances by the government to protect the interest of the nurses who blow the whistle through anonymous whistleblowing and stringent rules for the job security of whistleblowers need to be aligned.

This study highlights the whistleblowing intention of Indian employees of the health-care sector, that is, nurses, which is the pioneer research work in the Indian context. In India, the profession of nurses is subjugated by females; hence, this study would contribute to the literature by looking at whistleblowing through gender predisposition. As the work of nurses is wholly based on patient advocacy, the ethical dilemma of raising their voices or remaining silent is very natural. This study brings about specific concerns related to the whistleblowing of women nurses and talks about the solutions that can be undertaken to encourage them to engage in the act of whistleblowing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Using learning and knowledge is important for organizations hoping to prevent wrongdoings and their harmful consequences. It is crucial to consider the varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives of different stakeholders in order to build a culture of prevention that focuses on personal psychological safety and diffusion of knowledge needed to help raise awareness and increase the effectiveness of prevention efforts.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Using learning and knowledge is important for organizations hoping to prevent wrongdoings and their harmful consequences. It is crucial to consider the varied and sometimes conflicting perspectives of different stakeholders in order to build a culture of prevention that focuses on personal psychological safety and diffusion of knowledge needed to help raise awareness and increase the effectiveness of prevention efforts.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers’ hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.