Analyzing determinants of whistleblowing intention with the gamification method

Abstract

Whistleblowing plays a critical role in building healthy transparent and responsible organizations. Whistleblowing can be challenging, however, as it may result in significant costs for the whistleblower. Facilitating whistleblowing that resists illegal and unethical behaviors within organizations requires management to enhance behavior while protecting whistleblowers. From the perspective of risk-taking, the current research examines which factors are associated with whistleblowing intention using an original approach, the gamification method. Accordingly, in addition to the effects of respondents’ characteristics including Big Five personalities, this research tests how the immediate supervisor’s sex and organizational size, which are randomly assigned by interactive webcomics using hypothetical situations and experimental questionnaires, affect whistleblowing intention. Logistic regression analysis shows openness is significantly associated with whistleblowing intention. In the hypothetical situation, whistleblowers are more likely to come forward if they have a supervisor of a different sex and/or are in a larger organization.