Whistleblowing behaviour at work: a study among non-executive public servants in Malaysia
Keywords:
Whistleblowing behavior, environment concern, availability of producer, attitude.
Abstract
This paper will explore some of the key antecedents that drive non-executive public servants whistleblowing intention in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia was ranked 62 among 180 countries in the Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2017. Whistleblowers can be considered as valuable resource for organizations and can be beneficial for deterring corporate wrongdoing and questionable acts. However, past literature on whistle-blowing is mostly focused on answering factors relating to why whistle-blowing occurs, the consequences and characteristics of the whistleblowers and there is a dearth of research on the perception of public sector employees towards whistleblowing behaviors. The present study attempts to fill the research gap by focusing on lower-level non-executive employees as potential whistle-blowers in the public sector. This was a quantitative research and using a survey method, data was collected from a sample of 100 public servants in Kuala Lumpur. The AMOS software developed for analyzing the Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) and SPSS were used. Based on the standardized path coefficients of the structural model, the findings revealed that only attitude and subjective norms have a significant impact towards whistleblowing behavior. However, the results show no direct relationship exists between perceived behavioral control and whistleblowing behavior. The findings supported the results from some earlier studies and also bring out several new ideas such as the importance of attitude towards whistleblowing in Kuala Lumpur. The findings will also provide theoretical and practical implications for policymakers, organizations and institutions to facilitate and support whistle-blowing with the intention of improving accountability and good governance. Employers should take measures to implement internal policies to provide sufficient protections and incentives to potential whistle blowers to encourage internal whistle-blowing.
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References
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Alkhateeb, M. (2018). Multiple Representations in 8th Grade Mathematics Textbook and the Extent to which Teachers Implement Them. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 14(1), 137-145.
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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.
Anggraini, F. R. R., & Siswanto, F. A. J. (2016). The Role of Perceived Behavioral Control and Subjective Norms to Internal Auditors' Intention in Conveying Unethical Behavior: A Case Study in Indonesia. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 5(2), 141.
Apaza, C. R., & Chang, Y. (2011). What makes whistleblowing effective: Whistleblowing in Peru and South Korea. Public Integrity, 13(2), 113-130.
Awang, Z. (2012). Research methodology and data analysis. Selangor, Malaysia: Penerbit Universiti Teknologi MARA Press.
Beard, D. F. (2007). Retaliation: unlawful, unethical, or just to be expected?. Strategic Finance, 89(2), 32.
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Berry, B. (2004). Organizational culture: A framework and strategies for facilitating employee whistleblowing. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 16(1), 1-11.
Bogdanović, M., & Tyll, L. (2016). Attitude of Management students towards whistleblowing: Evidence from Croatia. Central European Business Review, 5(1), 45.
Brink, A. G., Lowe, D. J., & Victoravich, L. M. (2017). The public company whistleblowing environment: Perceptions of a wrongful act and monetary attitude. Accounting and the Public Interest, 17(1), 1-30.
Brown, J. O., Hays, J., & Stuebs Jr, M. T. (2016). Modeling accountant whistleblowing intentions: Applying the theory of planned behavior and the fraud triangle. Accounting and the Public Interest, 16(1), 28-56.
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Dreher, A., & Herzfeld, T. (2005). The economic costs of corruption: A survey and new evidence.
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Kaplan, S. E., & Schultz, J. J. (2007). Intentions to report questionable acts: An examination of the influence of anonymous reporting channel, internal audit quality, and setting. Journal of Business Ethics, 71(2), 109-124.
Kashif, M., Zarkada, A., & Ramayah, T. (2018). The impact of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on managers’ intentions to behave ethically. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 29(5-6), 481-501.
Latan, H., Ringle, C. M., & Jabbour, C. J. C. (2018). Whistleblowing intentions among public accountants in Indonesia: testing for the moderation effects. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(2), 573-588.
Lavena, C. F. (2016). Whistle-blowing: individual and organizational determinants of the decision to report wrongdoing in the federal government. The American Review of Public Administration, 46(1), 113-136.
Liyanarachchi, G., & Newdick, C. (2009). The impact of moral reasoning and retaliation on whistle-blowing: New Zealand evidence. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(1), 37-57.
Lovell, A. (2003). The enduring phenomenon of moral muteness: suppressed whistleblowing. Public Integrity, 5(3), 187-204.
“More whistleblowers are coming forward” (2017, 21 Spetember). More whistleblowers are coming forward. Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/21/ more-whistleblowers-are-coming-forward-/ (Accessed February 12, 2018)
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.
Near, J. P., Rehg, M. T., Van Scotter, J. R., & Miceli, M. P. (2004). Does type of wrongdoing affect the whistle-blowing process?. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(2), 219-242.
Oh, L. B., & Teo, H. H. (2010). To blow or not to blow: An experimental study on the intention to whistleblow on software piracy. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 20(4), 347-369.
Pallant, J. (2011). SPSS Survival manual: a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS. Crows Nest. New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
Park, H., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2009). Whistleblowing as planned behavior–A survey of South Korean police officers. Journal of business ethics, 85(4), 545-556.
Park, H. S., & Levine, T. R. (1999). The theory of reasoned action and self‐construal: Evidence from three cultures. Communications Monographs, 66(3), 199-218.
Pemandu, (2011). Government Transformation Programme. Fighting Corruption. Retrieved
from: http://gtp.pemandu.gov.my/gtp/Fighting_Corruption- (Accessed January 12. 2018).
Ponnu, C. H., Naidu, K., & Zamri, W. (2008). Determinants of whistle blowing. International review of business research papers, 4(1), 276-298.
Rothwell, G. R., & Baldwin, J. N. (2006). Ethical climates and contextual predictors of whistle-blowing. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 26(3), 216-244.
Rustiarini, N. W., & Sunarsih, N. M. (2017). Factors Influencing the Whistleblowing Behaviour: A Perspective from the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Asian Journal of Business and Accounting, 10(2), 187-214.
Salleh, K., & Yunus, N. S. (2015). Encouraging factors for whistleblowing in public sector: Malaysian case evidence.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for business students. Pearson education.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Siddiquee, N. A. (2010). Combating corruption and managing integrity in Malaysia: A critical overview of recent strategies and initiatives. Public Organization Review, 10(2), 153-171.
Schwarzer, R. (2014). Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. Taylor & Francis.
Trongmateerut, P., & Sweeney, J. T. (2013). The influence of subjective norms on whistle-blowing: A cross-cultural investigation. Journal of business ethics, 112(3), 437-451.
Varelius, J. (2009). Is whistle-blowing compatible with employee loyalty?. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(2), 263-275.
“Whistleblowing: Doing things the right way” (2012, 4 October). Whistleblowing: Doing things the right way. Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2012/10/04/ whistleblowing--doing-the-right-thing-the-right-way/ (Accessed March 11 2018).
Winardi, R. D. (2013). The influence of individual and situational factors on lower-level civil servants’whistle-blowing intention in indonesia. Journal of Indonesian economy and business, 28(3), 361-376.
Zakaria, M., Razak, S. N. A. A., & Yusoff, M. S. A. (2016). The Theory of Planned Behaviour as a Framework for Whistle-Blowing Intentions. Review of European Studies, 8(3), 221.
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods. Cengage Learning.
Ajzen, I. (1987). Attitudes, traits, and actions: Dispositional prediction of behavior in personality and social psychology. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 20, pp. 1-63). Academic Press.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behaviour.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.
Alkhateeb, M. (2018). Multiple Representations in 8th Grade Mathematics Textbook and the Extent to which Teachers Implement Them. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 14(1), 137-145.
Alleyne, P., Hudaib, M., & Pike, R. (2013). Towards a conceptual model of whistle-blowing intentions among external auditors. The British Accounting Review, 45(1), 10-23.
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.
Anggraini, F. R. R., & Siswanto, F. A. J. (2016). The Role of Perceived Behavioral Control and Subjective Norms to Internal Auditors' Intention in Conveying Unethical Behavior: A Case Study in Indonesia. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 5(2), 141.
Apaza, C. R., & Chang, Y. (2011). What makes whistleblowing effective: Whistleblowing in Peru and South Korea. Public Integrity, 13(2), 113-130.
Awang, Z. (2012). Research methodology and data analysis. Selangor, Malaysia: Penerbit Universiti Teknologi MARA Press.
Beard, D. F. (2007). Retaliation: unlawful, unethical, or just to be expected?. Strategic Finance, 89(2), 32.
Bedi, R. S. (2018). Malaysia drops two points in corruption index. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/02/22/malaysia-drops-two-points-in-corruption-index/ (Accessed May 12, 2018).
Berry, B. (2004). Organizational culture: A framework and strategies for facilitating employee whistleblowing. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 16(1), 1-11.
Bogdanović, M., & Tyll, L. (2016). Attitude of Management students towards whistleblowing: Evidence from Croatia. Central European Business Review, 5(1), 45.
Brink, A. G., Lowe, D. J., & Victoravich, L. M. (2017). The public company whistleblowing environment: Perceptions of a wrongful act and monetary attitude. Accounting and the Public Interest, 17(1), 1-30.
Brown, J. O., Hays, J., & Stuebs Jr, M. T. (2016). Modeling accountant whistleblowing intentions: Applying the theory of planned behavior and the fraud triangle. Accounting and the Public Interest, 16(1), 28-56.
Camerer, L. (2001). Protecting whistle blowers in South Africa: The Protected Disclosures Act, no 26 of 2000.
Cavana, R. Y., Delahaye, B. L., & Sekaran, U. (2001). Applied business research: Qualitative and quantitative methods. John Wiley & Sons Australia.
Daft, R.L. (2006). The new era of management. International edition. Australia: South Western Thompson
Dasgupta, S., & Kesharwani, A. (2010). Whistleblowing: a survey of literature. The IUP Journal of Corporate Governance, 9(4), 57-70.
Dreher, A., & Herzfeld, T. (2005). The economic costs of corruption: A survey and new evidence.
Eaton, T. V., & Akers, M. D. (2007). Whistleblowing and good governance. The CPA Journal.
Government Transformation Programme (2018). (Online) Available from: http://gtp.pemandu.gov.my/gtp/Fighting_Corruption-@-Fighting_Corruption_Overview (Assesed May 20, 2018).
Gundlach, M. J., Douglas, S. C., & Martinko, M. J. (2003). The decision to blow the whistle: A social information processing framework. Academy of management Review, 28(1), 107-123.
Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S.E., Slocum, J., Staude, G. & Associates (2001). Management. Cape
Town: Oxford University Press.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis (Vol. 6).
Johan, S. (2018). Whistleblowers need more protection to combat wrongdoing. Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/a-humble-submission/2018/02/22/(Accessed May 11, 2018)
Kaplan, S. E., & Schultz, J. J. (2007). Intentions to report questionable acts: An examination of the influence of anonymous reporting channel, internal audit quality, and setting. Journal of Business Ethics, 71(2), 109-124.
Kashif, M., Zarkada, A., & Ramayah, T. (2018). The impact of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on managers’ intentions to behave ethically. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 29(5-6), 481-501.
Latan, H., Ringle, C. M., & Jabbour, C. J. C. (2018). Whistleblowing intentions among public accountants in Indonesia: testing for the moderation effects. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(2), 573-588.
Lavena, C. F. (2016). Whistle-blowing: individual and organizational determinants of the decision to report wrongdoing in the federal government. The American Review of Public Administration, 46(1), 113-136.
Liyanarachchi, G., & Newdick, C. (2009). The impact of moral reasoning and retaliation on whistle-blowing: New Zealand evidence. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(1), 37-57.
Lovell, A. (2003). The enduring phenomenon of moral muteness: suppressed whistleblowing. Public Integrity, 5(3), 187-204.
“More whistleblowers are coming forward” (2017, 21 Spetember). More whistleblowers are coming forward. Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/21/ more-whistleblowers-are-coming-forward-/ (Accessed February 12, 2018)
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.
Near, J. P., Rehg, M. T., Van Scotter, J. R., & Miceli, M. P. (2004). Does type of wrongdoing affect the whistle-blowing process?. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(2), 219-242.
Oh, L. B., & Teo, H. H. (2010). To blow or not to blow: An experimental study on the intention to whistleblow on software piracy. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 20(4), 347-369.
Pallant, J. (2011). SPSS Survival manual: a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS. Crows Nest. New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
Park, H., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2009). Whistleblowing as planned behavior–A survey of South Korean police officers. Journal of business ethics, 85(4), 545-556.
Park, H. S., & Levine, T. R. (1999). The theory of reasoned action and self‐construal: Evidence from three cultures. Communications Monographs, 66(3), 199-218.
Pemandu, (2011). Government Transformation Programme. Fighting Corruption. Retrieved
from: http://gtp.pemandu.gov.my/gtp/Fighting_Corruption- (Accessed January 12. 2018).
Ponnu, C. H., Naidu, K., & Zamri, W. (2008). Determinants of whistle blowing. International review of business research papers, 4(1), 276-298.
Rothwell, G. R., & Baldwin, J. N. (2006). Ethical climates and contextual predictors of whistle-blowing. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 26(3), 216-244.
Rustiarini, N. W., & Sunarsih, N. M. (2017). Factors Influencing the Whistleblowing Behaviour: A Perspective from the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Asian Journal of Business and Accounting, 10(2), 187-214.
Salleh, K., & Yunus, N. S. (2015). Encouraging factors for whistleblowing in public sector: Malaysian case evidence.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research methods for business students. Pearson education.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Siddiquee, N. A. (2010). Combating corruption and managing integrity in Malaysia: A critical overview of recent strategies and initiatives. Public Organization Review, 10(2), 153-171.
Schwarzer, R. (2014). Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. Taylor & Francis.
Trongmateerut, P., & Sweeney, J. T. (2013). The influence of subjective norms on whistle-blowing: A cross-cultural investigation. Journal of business ethics, 112(3), 437-451.
Varelius, J. (2009). Is whistle-blowing compatible with employee loyalty?. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(2), 263-275.
“Whistleblowing: Doing things the right way” (2012, 4 October). Whistleblowing: Doing things the right way. Retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2012/10/04/ whistleblowing--doing-the-right-thing-the-right-way/ (Accessed March 11 2018).
Winardi, R. D. (2013). The influence of individual and situational factors on lower-level civil servants’whistle-blowing intention in indonesia. Journal of Indonesian economy and business, 28(3), 361-376.
Zakaria, M., Razak, S. N. A. A., & Yusoff, M. S. A. (2016). The Theory of Planned Behaviour as a Framework for Whistle-Blowing Intentions. Review of European Studies, 8(3), 221.
Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods. Cengage Learning.
Published
2019-02-27
How to Cite
Binti Dalan, S. N., Kartar Singh, D. J., Selvanathan, D. M., & Harbindar Jeet Singh, J. (2019). Whistleblowing behaviour at work: a study among non-executive public servants in Malaysia. Amazonia Investiga, 8(18), 337-350. Retrieved from https://www.amazoniainvestiga.info/index.php/amazonia/article/view/316
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