Making Sense of Whistle-Blowing's Antecedents: Learning from Research on Identity and Ethics Programs

Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 553-586, 2009

35 Pages Posted: 13 Apr 2011

See all articles by Abhijeet K. Vadera

Abhijeet K. Vadera

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - College of Business

Ruth V. Aguilera

Northeastern University - Department of International Business and Strategy

Brianna Caza

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: october 13, 2009

Abstract

Despite a significant increase in whistle-blowing practices in work organizations, we know little about what differentiates whistle-blowers from those who observe a wrongdoing but chose not to report it. In this review article, we first highlight the arenas in which research on whistle-blowing has produced inconsistent results and those in which the findings have been consistent. Second, we propose that the adoption of an identity approach will help clarify the inconsistent findings and extend prior work on individual-level motives behind whistle-blowing. Third, we argue that the integration of the whistle-blowing research with that on ethics programs will aid in systematically expanding our understanding of the situational antecedents of whistle-blowing. We conclude our review by discussing new theoretical and methodological arenas of research in the domain of whistle-blowing.

Suggested Citation

Vadera, Abhijeet K. and Aguilera, Ruth V. and Caza, Brianna, Making Sense of Whistle-Blowing's Antecedents: Learning from Research on Identity and Ethics Programs (october 13, 2009). Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 553-586, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1808575

Abhijeet K. Vadera (Contact Author)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - College of Business ( email )

Champaign, IL 61820
United States

Ruth V. Aguilera

Northeastern University - Department of International Business and Strategy ( email )

Boston, MA 02115
United States

Brianna Caza

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

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