ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
This study looks at the elements that influence people's intentions to engage in ethical whistleblowing, with a particular emphasis on building an organizational culture of integrity and accountability. It investigates the role of integrating educational efforts centered on whistleblowing ethics as a strategy of encouraging ethical behavior and increasing organizational transparency. Whistleblowing, or disclosing unethical or illegal action, is vital to encouraging transparency and ethical behavior. The study investigates the influence of variables such as magnitude of consequences, social consensus, proximity to wrongdoing, fear of retaliation, organizational commitment, and organizational ethical values in the emergence of whistleblowing intentions. Drawing on existing literature and theoretical frameworks, the study synthesizes empirical evidence and theoretical insights to provide a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of ethical whistleblowing intentions. To investigate this issue, quantitative data was collected from 150 citizen workers and convenience sampling. The findings highlight the significant relationship of importance of social consensus, proximity and organizational commitment and whistleblowing intention. The study concludes with implications for organizational practice and recommendations for future research in the field of whistleblowing and organizational ethics.
Alleyne, P. (2016). The influence of organisational commitment and corporate ethical values on non-public accountants’ whistle-blowing intentions in Barbados. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 17(2), 190–210. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-12-2013-0118.
Baird, J. E., Zelin, R. C., & Olson, K. C. (2016). Occupational fraud: A comparison of perceptions of law enforcement majors, accounting majors, and other business majors. Journal of Forensic & Investigative Accounting, 8(2), 275–287.
Baraz, A. B., & ?ivil, H. (2019). Turkish students’ attitudes and intentions towards whistleblowing [Türk Ö?rencilerin Me?ru ?hbarc?l??a Yönelik Tutum ve Niyetleri]. Stratejik ve Sosyal Ara?t?rmalar Dergisi, 101-122.
Barnett, T. (2001). Dimensions of moral intensity and ethical decision making: An empirical study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31(7), 1038–1057. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2001.tb02661.x.
Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.004.
Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., & Wadsworth, L. L. (2009). The impact of moral intensity dimensions on ethical decision-making: Assessing the relevance of orientation. Journal of Managerial Issues, Vol. 21(4), 534-551.
Chen, C.-P., & Lai, C.-T. (2014). To blow or not to blow the whistle: The effects of potential harm, social pressure and organizational commitment on whistleblowing intention and behavior. Business Ethics: A European Review, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12053.
Chiu, R. K. (2003). Ethical Judgment and Whistleblowing Intention: Examining the Moderating Role of Locus of Control. Journal of Business Ethics, 43(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022911215204.
Hunt, S. D., Chonko, L. B., & Wood, V. R. (1985). Organizational commitment and marketing. Journal of Marketing, 49(1), 112–126. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251181.
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610.
Mesmer-Magnus, J. R., & Viswesvaran, C. (2005). Whistleblowing in organizations: An examination of correlates of whistleblowing intentions, actions, and retaliation. Journal of Business Ethics, 62(3), 277–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-0849-1.
Miceli, M. P., & Near, J. P. (2005). Standing up or standing by: What predicts blowing the whistle on organizational wrongdoing? Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 24, 95–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-7301(05)24003-3.
Said, J., Alam, M. M., Mohamed, D. I. B., & Rafidi, M. (2017). Does job satisfaction, fair treatment, and cooperativeness influence the whistleblowing practice in Malaysian Government linked companies? Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 9(3), 220–231. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-06-2017-0053.
Sampaio, D. B. D., & Sobral, F. (2013). Speak now or forever hold your peace? An essay on whistleblowing and its interfaces with the Brazilian culture. BAR - Brazilian Administration Review, 10(4), 370–388. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1807-76922013000400002.
Shawver, T. (2011). The author is Associate Professor of Accounting at King’s College.162. 3(2), 162–190.
Tara, S. (2011). The Effects of Moral Intensity and Whistleblowing Behaviors of Accounting Professionals. Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting, 3(2), 161–190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0589-7.
Trongmateerut, P., & Sweeney, J. T. (2013). The influence of subjective norms on whistleblowing: A cross-cultural investigation. Journal of Business Ethics, 112(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1270-1.
Valentine, S., & Godkin, L. (2019). Moral intensity, ethical decision making, and whistleblowing intention. Journal of Business Research, 98(September 2017), 277– 288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.009.
Valentine, S., & Hollingworth, D. (2012). Moral Intensity, Issue Importance, and Ethical Reasoning in Operations Situations. Journal of Business Ethics, 108(4), 509–523. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1107-3.
Zainol, Z., Zollkefli, A. Q., Nasir, A. N., Zakaria, F. M., & Kamaruzaman, N. Z. (2018). Factors influencing whistleblowing intention among accountants in Malaysia. The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 79, 79-88. https://dx.doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2018.07.02.9.
Kassim, S. A., & Ghani, K. D. A. (2025). Fostering Ethical Whistleblowing Intentions: Cultivating Integrity and Accountability through Educational Integration. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 15(1), 1648–1656.
Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode