Laddered motivations of external whistleblowers: The truth about attributes, consequences, and values

The purpose of this study was to explore the motivational structures of external whistleblowers involved in the decision to blow the whistle by applying MEC theory and the laddering technique. Using both soft and hard laddering methods, data were collected from 37 Korean external whistleblowers. Results revealed that the means-end chain of external whistleblow-ers was the hierarchical linkage among two concrete attributes (the power of external whistleblowing to make changes and its warning about the seriousness of wrongdoing to the public), two functional consequences (correcting a wrongdoing and making those who violated laws admit their offenses), and one terminal value (the truth). The extant whistleblowing literature has either made assumptions about whistleblowers’ motivations when developing models or has drawn indirect inferences from measures of other variables. Our study is the first with an explicit and empirical focus on whistleblowers’ motivations. The findings provide evidence of the motivational structures of external whistleblowers that consist of a set of complex paths linked by multi-layered motivators. This research will be helpful in designing and reviewing whistleblowing programs for organizations, regulatory agencies, and journalists

Valores do aditivo: o comportamento do consumidor de gasolina aditivada na perspectiva da Teoria das Cadeias Meios-Fins Values of the additive: the purchase behavior of midgrade gasoline consumers from the perspective of Means-End Chain Theory

O propósito da presente pesquisa foi identificar e descrever as relações associativas entre os valores, benefícios e atributos percebidos por consumidores de gasolina aditivada. Amparada pela Teoria das Cadeias Meios-Fins, a investigação acessou a estrutura cognitiva de tais consumidores mediante entrevistas em profundidade do tipo Laddering, por meio das quais se identificou 5 atributos, 22 benefícios e 13 valores pessoais. As inter-relações entre esses elementos foram representadas em um Mapa Hierárquico de Valores, a partir do qual 8 diferentes grupos de consumidores de gasolina aditivada puderam ser reconhecidos. A análise das motivações subjacentes aos valores pessoais citados revelou que parte considerável da opção por gasolina aditivada está relacionada à busca por estabilidade e conservação, o que sugere a existência de um nicho de mercado passível de atuação por parte das companhias distribuidoras. A partir dos resultados obtidos, implicações gerenciais e sugestões para futuras pesquisas foram apontadas.<br>The main objective of this research is to identify and describe the associative relationships among personal values, benefits, and attributes perceived by midgrade gasoline consumers. The laddering interview technique was used to access consumers' cognitive structure. Hence, it was possible to identify 5 attributes, 22 benefits, and 13 personal values. The inter-relationships among these elements were represented in a Hierarchical Value Map (HVM), from which eight different groups of midgrade gasoline consumers were identified. The analysis of motivations behind the mentioned personal values revealed that a relevant part of the option for midgrade gasoline is related to the search for stability and conservation, which suggests the existence of a niche market that can be explored by fuel companies. From those and other findings, managerial implications and suggestions for future studies were presented