State of Whistleblowing Research: A Thematic Analysis

Abstract

The relative starring role of whistleblowing incidences in exposing the corporate wrongdoings and money laundering to combat corruption impeding the development of the economy offers a platform to explore the whistleblowing literature and map the state of scholarship in different national and international journals in the period 2012–2018. It also provides a gap analysis assessment through thematic analysis of the ghettoized articles and brings into focus the possible research lacunas. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that much evolvement has set in motion in terms of many articles published in a varied range of peer-reviewed journals on a myriad of themes focusing mainly on the USA. However, whistleblowing research in India as the cohort is still in its infancy. The convergence of the importance of specific topics such as regulatory mechanisms and reforms, incentives and awards system for promoting the whistleblowing activities as an anti-corruption instrument, and the other fundamental driving forces triggering or hindering the whistleblowing intent signals the presence of the collective body of knowledge in this field. This study may contribute constructively to escalating the advanced research particularly on Indian perspective in order to bring more clarity to streamline the whistleblowing policies and mechanisms with full proof protections against retaliation involved in detecting and disclosing the corrupt practices.

Snitches Get Stitches and End Up in Ditches: A Systematic Review of the Factors Associated With Whistleblowing Intentions

“…Given the importance of whistleblowing in revealing wrongdoing (e.g., Whitaker et al, 2014;Blenkinsopp et al, 2019;Mehrotra et al, 2020), it is important that most, if not all, employees or members from an organization have strong intentions to report any wrongdoing they encounter. Although some of the findings from this systematic review were equivocal, there appears to be a number of steps that organizations can take to maximize the likelihood of individuals blowing the whistle on wrongdoing.…”

“…Whistleblowing has brought several scandals to light in healthcare (Blenkinsopp et al, 2019), finance (Mehrotra et al, 2020), and sport (Whitaker et al, 2014). A widely used and accepted definition of whistleblowing is the "disclosure by organization members.…”

“…This might be because whistleblowing research has taken place in very diverse subject areas. Further, reviews on whistleblowing have tended to focus on one discrete area such as healthcare (e.g., Blenkinsopp et al, 2019) or financial corruption (e.g., Mehrotra et al, 2020). As such, scholars have failed to review the literature across all domains in which whistleblowing research has taken place.…”

A Bibliometric Study on Corporate Transparency and Disclosures

“…Moreover, it is also of concern when the information is distributed unevenly among the firm’s stakeholders (Luan & Tien, 2020). According to Luan and Tien (2020) and Mehrotra et al (2020), corporate openness and disclosure standards in emerging markets have evolved dramatically. Appropriate, transparent and timely disclosures can allow investors and organizational contributors to make educated decisions regarding enterprises.…”

Whistleblowing in the travel industry: A research in the context of idealism and affective commitment

“…This tool primarily functions as a means to advance communities, organizations, or societies (Lewis, 2006), while also serving as a safeguard against ethical transgressions (Anvari et al, 2019;Chen et al, 2023). The results yield societal benefits (Latan et al, 2018), fostering a culture of accountability and honesty in society (Mehrotra et al, 2020), and addressing unethical behaviour (Berentsen et al, 2008;Kenny et al, 2019). Remaining silent or failing to react may lead to increased ethical violations, underscoring the importance of encouraging and promoting individuals to report such incidents (Miceli & Near, 1994;Farooqi et al, 2017).…”