Towards the Design of Effective Whistleblowing Systems

Whistleblowing systems serve as a vehicle for change, empowerment, and ethical/social responsibility. Organizational whistleblowing is a socially complex phenomenon that impacts people and organizations across various disciplines and sectors. Whistleblowing is a high-stakes act involving the dissemination of highly sensitive information about multiple actors with tangling stakes/interests. These features inherently make the task of designing effective whistleblowing systems (WS) a challenging one. To address this, our paper develops key design objectives (DO’s) for effective WS. We do this by conducting a qualitative literature review of whistleblowing research and by availing elements from design science methods and stakeholder theory. We present four key DO’s for effective WS, which we support with a whistleblowing news dataset. This paper serves as a first step in developing design principles (DP’s) for effective WS. This research contributes to a growing discourse on organizational whistleblowing in the IS community

Understanding the Whistle-blowing Intention to Report Breach of Confidentiality

We examine the factors that encourage employees to whistle-blow wrongdoings in relation to confidentiality breaches. We investigate how their anticipated regret about remaining silent changes over time, how such changes influence their whistle-blowing intentions, and what employee characteristics and organizational policies moderate this relationship. Drawing on attribution theory, we develop three hypotheses. Our experiment findings show that: 1) employees’ perceptions of the controllability and intentionality (but not stability) of the wrongdoing act affect how their anticipated regret evolves, 2) anticipated regret increases employees’ whistle-blowing intentions, 3) anticipated regret has a stronger effect on whistle-blowing intentions when organizations implement policies that promote efforts to protect information confidentiality, and 4) employees with information technology knowledge have a stronger intention to whistle-blow. Theoretically, our study extends the organization security literature’s focus to individuals’ whistle-blowing and highlights an IS research agenda around whistle-blowing in relation to confidentiality breaches. Practically, it informs organizations about how to encourage employees to whistle-blow when they observe confidentiality breaches

EMPLOYEE INTENTION TO WHISTLEBLOW INFORMATION SECURITY POLICY VIOLATION

Insider abuse has always been a significant threat to information security management in organization. In order to address this issue, in this research we propose whistleblowing as another complementary measure to other existent approaches to strengthen the internal information security management. In particular, we focus on an investigation of employee intention to whistle-blow information security policy (ISP) violation. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior and rational choice theory, we develop a theoretical model to understand the factors at the organizational and individual levels that might influence whistleblowing attitude and whistleblowing intention. Through a survey-based empirical investigation, we anticipate the results to enhance our existing knowledge on management of insider abuse against information security policy within organizations

Whistleblowing as a countermeasure strategy against food crime

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to undertake a two-phase desktop review of literature sources in order to conceptualise, frame, and critique existing whistleblowing models and strategies and consider how whistleblowing strategies form part of an effective food crime management system (FCMS) especially for small and medium sized organisations. Design/methodology/approach Existing literature from academic sources, financial, healthcare, food industries has been reviewed and critiqued in order to construct a conceptual framework that can inform future empirical research. Findings Whistleblowing strategies can form an effective part of a FCMS. Appropriate regulatory protection of those who whistleblow is crucial to not only safeguard individuals but also to mitigate food crime and protect consumers from loss and potential harm. Barriers to whistleblowing exist and if these are not addressed then individuals will be reluctant to report food crime. Further empirical research is required to assess the influence of these and other factors identified in this research and how they can be overcome. Originality/value The framework will provide food industry practitioners with guidance on the effective application of whistleblowing strategies within a FCMS

Prospect Theory in Public Administration: does it matter in the Whistleblowing context?

The act of blowing the whistle is seen worldwide as a fundamental instrument to tackle the diffusion of a wide range of illicit phenomena that take place inside public and private organizations. The continuous evolution of the UE and US legislations confirms this view; nevertheless, whistleblowing rates are still very low. This discrepancy between the huge legislative efforts and the poor results in terms of witnesses’ trust towards the whistleblowing instruments explains the academics’ active interest and their awareness about the need for further research, in order to understand what prevents people from reporting and which policies could be effective to change their behavior and convince them to actively expose themselves. Among the instruments that influence the propensity to report, this thesis focuses on the role that information provision can have in shifting the individual beliefs and attitudes, as perfect and common information is an assumption that rarely holds in real life. Such incomplete knowledge partially explains why agents with the same self-declared willingness to report may act differently when they witness a misconduct in their working environment. Given the role of subjective perceptions and knowledge –and the fact that the same given information could provoke very different individual responses depending on how it has been framed and perceived– this thesis combines the whistleblowing literature with psychology theories (e.g. Cognitive Theory, Prospect Theory), in order to better interpret the processes behind the whistleblowing decision. Specifically, the aim is to test the role of how information is provided in terms of its framing, in order to understand if only the content matters or also its presentation, in light of the Prospect Theory findings. Given the importance of the agents’ active involvement, the content of such information concerns the concrete individuals’ benefits (costs) for whistleblowers from an economic and psychological perspective if they do (not) report a case of misconduct. One of the novelties of this work is that it constitutes a converging point between two streams of literature, that respectively analyze the relevance of Prospect Theory in the Public Administration context and in the whistleblowing panorama. In terms of methodology, in order to better test the effectiveness of this policy, the chosen approach consists in the exploitation of experimental designs. Thanks to this setup it is possible to infer causality, and claim whether the framing of the economic and psychological consequences for the civil servants if they do (not) report actually influences their behavior. The three chapters represent the different stages of analysis of the phenomenon of interest, ranging from the introduction to the topic and the related literature, the development of an experiment to test a new and specific hypothesis and the replication of the same survey, in order to better generalize and provide conclusions in light of an increased external validity. These stages are organized as follows: • Chapter 1 reviews all the contributions that analyze determinants of whistleblowing through experimental designs, to better understand the topic and provide the state of the art about how this approach has already been exploited. Particular attention is given to those papers that manipulate elements linked to public sector contexts; • Once a general panorama has been obtained, the second chapter empirically tests in a specific context if the individual attitude towards reporting some wrongdoing is influenced by whether and how the information has been delivered; • Given that experimental contributions are able to infer causality but, at the same time, can suffer from limited external validity, chapter 3 focuses on replicating the same experiment in another context and testing whether national culture matters and to what extent

The Role of Moral Reasoning on the Effects of Incentive Schemes and Working Relationships on Whistleblowing: An Audit Experimental Study

This study examines the role of moral reasoning in strengthening the working relationship and incentive schemes on the likelihood of reporting accounting fraud. This study predicts that higher moral reasoning or being exposed to incentive schemes are more likely to cause someone to be a whistleblower. However, individuals with a close working relationship with wrongdoers will exhibit a lower propensity to blow the whistle than those with no close working relationship. Finally, moral reasoning is expected to interact with working relationships and incentive schemes to affect the propensity to blow the whistle. Based on a lab-experiment with 147 participants, this study documents that the simple effect of moral reasoning, the working relationship, or an incentive scheme is (marginally) significant. Similarly, the combination of moral reasoning and the working relationship significantly improves the tendency to blow the whistle. However, the combined effects of moral reasoning vs. the working relationship and moral reasoning vs. the working relationship vs. incentive scheme are not significant. This paper confirms previous studies which found that moral reasoning significantly alters the whistleblowing intention but that the impact of moral reasoning is not robust for incentive schemes and working relationships. Some limitations should be considered, namely the textual scenarios of the experimental design, working experiences, and the omission of personal orientation and the personal cost of reporting

A Literature Review of Fraud Risk Management in Micro Finance Institutions in Ghana

Due to the recent financial crisis, micro finance institutions cannot afford to be indifferent to fraud risk management practices in the battle for survival, financial sustainability and self-sufficiency. Microfinance institutions serve some of the world’s most financially challenged population who otherwise would not have access to financial services. This paper is a theoretical study on effective fraud risk management in micro finance institutions in Ghana. The study adopts exploratory approach by reviewing and analyzing the views of scholars and practitioners in the area of fraud risk management. The research revealed that corrupt board of directors, senior management and employees, weak systems of internal control, policies and procedures, weak regulatory institutions, greed on the part of culprits, inadequate staffing, inadequate training and retraining, ineffective internal and external audit functions and a macro-economic environment that eulogises wealth irrespective of how it is made constitute aids to fraud in micro finance institutions in Ghana. The researchers recommend that microfinance institutions and Bank of Ghana must ensure the creation of a culture of transparency and integrity among staff members and clients; and educate clients on their rights and ensure there is a mechanism for whistle-blowing. Keywords: Fraud, Micro finance institutions, Ghana, Internal control, Audit

Supporting nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students to raise concerns with the quality of care: a review of the research literature

Background This article reports aspects of a systematic literature review commissioned by the UK Council of Deans of Health. The review collated and analysed UK and international literature on pre-registration healthcare students raising concerns with poor quality care. The research found in that review is summarised here. Objective To review research on healthcare students raising concerns with regard to the quality of practice published from 2009 to the present. Data Sources In addition to grey literature and Google Scholar a search was completed of the CINAHL, Medline, ERIC, BEI, ASSIA, PsychInfo, British Nursing Index, Education Research Complete databases. Review Method Sandelowski and Barroso's (2007) method of metasynthesis was used to screen and analyse the research literature. The review covered students from nursing, midwifery, health visiting, paramedic science, operating department practice, physiotherapy, chiropody, podiatry, speech and language therapy, orthoptist, occupational therapy, orthotist, prosthetist, radiography, dietitian, and music and art therapy. Results Twenty three research studies were analysed. Most of the research relates to nursing students with physiotherapy being the next most studied group. Students often express a desire to report concerns, but factors such as the potential negative impact on assessment of their practice hinders reporting. There was a lack of evidence on how, when and to whom students should report. The most commonly used research approach found utilised vignettes asking students to anticipate how they would report. Conclusions Raising a concern with the quality of practice carries an emotional burden for the student as it may lead to sanctions from staff. Further research is required into the experiences of students to further understand the mechanisms that would enhance reporting and support them in the reporting process

Whistleblowing disclosure in leading sustainability corporations : a content analysis of whistleblowing policies

Despite the academic and legal progressive efforts to encourage corporate whistleblowing, a set of thorough and practical guidelines on creating and maintaining an efficient internal whistleblowing system is yet lacking, namely regarding the design and content of the whistleblowing policies (Gao & Brink, 2017). Corporate whistleblowing systems are central to an ethical organization's culture (M. S. Schwartz, 2013) and sustainability (S&P Global, 2022). Based upon Hassink et al. (2007) research, this study performed a content analysis on public whistleblowing information from ten large corporations for the purpose to answer the question “How are sustainable-world-leading corporations, in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods industry, managing whistleblowing?” The findings reveal that the disclosed whistleblowing information is scattered and heterogeneity in the implementation of whistleblowing systems, with discrepancies in both the level and content of the disclosure. Notwithstanding, some topics were disclosed with greater evenness namely the guarantee of confidentiality, the possibility of anonymous reporting, the protection of the whistleblower against retaliation and the pledge of a serious investigation. Overall, there is room for improvement in the design of whistleblowing policies, both in terms of fostering communication and transparency as well as the level of formality involved. This research answers Gao & Brink (2017) call for research into the differences and trends in corporate whistleblowing structures, besides having practical relevance for corporations that still lack whistleblowing policies or to those that intend to benchmark and strengthen their own.Apesar dos crescentes esforços académicos e legislativos que procuram fomentar a denúncia corporativa Ȯ whistleblowing Ȯ poucos são os estudos sobre como implementar e manter um sistema de denúncia interno eficiente, especificamente através do design e conteúdo das políticas de whistleblowing, elemento esse fundamental para uma cultura organizacional ética (M. S. Schwartz, 2013) e sustentável (S&P Global, 2022).Tendo por base o estudo de Hassink et al.,(2007), foi realizado uma análise de conteúdo das informações publicadas referentes ao whistleblowing de dez grandes corporações com o intuito de responder à questão “Como é que as corporações líderes mundiais em sustentabilidade, no setor de Bens de Consumo de Movimento Rápido, estão a gerir a denúncia corporativa?”. Os resultados revelam que a informação divulgada se encontra dispersa, havendo uma heterogeneidade na implementação de sistemas de whistleblowing, com discrepâncias tanto no nível de reporte quanto no conteúdo da divulgação. Não obstante, os tópicos de maior consenso foram relativos à confidencialidade da denúncia, a possibilidade de anonimato, a proteção do denunciante contra a retaliação e o compromisso de uma investigação séria. Sucintamente, há espaço para melhorias no design das políticas de whistleblowing, sendo pertinente fomentar a comunicação e níveis de divulgação assim como o respetivo grau de formalidade. Este estudo responde ao apelo de Gao&Brink (2017) de estudos sobre as diferenças e tendências nos mecanismos de denúncias corporativas tendo também relevância de cariz prático, nomeadamente para empresas que carecem de políticas de denúncia e para aquelas que as pretendem comparar e fortalece