Whistleblowing

Whistleblowing occurs when an employee or stakeholder suspects or has evidence of wrongdoing committed by other organizational actors and reports it to someone else in an effort to expose or end the wrongdoing. Whistleblowing is generally related to significant acts of organizational wrongdoing rather than minor ethical violations. These major acts may involve activities that could physically or financially harm employees, consumers, or other stakeholders; would be considered major breaches of trust with the public; or are conducted at high levels of the company hierarchy.

Corporate reputation practitioners and scholars should understand that whistleblowing cases, particularly those that become public, can bring undue attention to an organization. In many ways, a whistleblowing case can become very much like an organizational crisis that must be addressed and ...