Whistle-Blowing

Whistle-blowing occurs when a member of an organization discloses information regarding immoral and often illegal practices taking place within the organization. Whistle-blowers may make reports to authorities either within the organization (internal whistle-blowing—e.g., to internal auditors) or to individuals or entities outside the organization (external whistle-blowing—e.g., to the media or auditing agencies). Whistle-blowing may be considered a form of prosocial or organizational citizenship behavior that ultimately benefits others as well as organizational integrity. However, whistleblowers are often subject to acts of retaliation (e.g., employer/coworker reprisal, public criticism, [Page 1666]termination), which destroys reputations and careers, despite a patchwork of federal and state legislation that is meant to offer protection.

Research suggests that several demographic and personality variables are associated with whistle-blowing behavior. According to a recent meta-analysis ...