IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v19y2008i2p221-240.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Antecedents and Outcomes of Retaliation Against Whistleblowers: Gender Differences and Power Relationships

Author

Listed:
  • Michael T. Rehg

    (Department of Systems and Engineering Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433)

  • Marcia P. Miceli

    (McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057)

  • Janet P. Near

    (Department of Management, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405)

  • James R. Van Scotter

    (Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences, E. J. Ourso College of Business Administration, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803)

Abstract

Whistle-blowing represents an influence attempt in which organization member(s) try to persuade other members to cease wrongdoing; sometimes they fail; sometimes they succeed; sometimes they suffer reprisal. We investigated whether women experienced more retaliation than men, testing propositions derived from theories about gender differences and power variables, and using data from military and civilian employees of a large U.S. base. Being female was correlated with perceived retaliation. Results of structural equation modeling showed significant gender differences in antecedents and outcomes of retaliation. For men, lack of support from others and low whistleblower's power were significantly related to retaliation; for women, lack of support from others, serious wrongdoing, and the wrongdoing's direct effect on the whistleblower were significantly associated with retaliation. Retaliation in turn was negatively related to relationships with the supervisor for both men and women, and positively related to women's---but not men's---decisions to blow the whistle again, using external channels. We finish by discussing implications for theory and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael T. Rehg & Marcia P. Miceli & Janet P. Near & James R. Van Scotter, 2008. "Antecedents and Outcomes of Retaliation Against Whistleblowers: Gender Differences and Power Relationships," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 221-240, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:19:y:2008:i:2:p:221-240
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1070.0310
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1070.0310
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1070.0310?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frances J. Milliken & Elizabeth W. Morrison & Patricia F. Hewlin, 2003. "An Exploratory Study of Employee Silence: Issues that Employees Don’t Communicate Upward and Why," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(6), pages 1453-1476, September.
    2. Jarvis, Cheryl Burke & MacKenzie, Scott B & Podsakoff, Philip M, 2003. "A Critical Review of Construct Indicators and Measurement Model Misspecification in Marketing and Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 30(2), pages 199-218, September.
    3. Janet P. Near & Terry Morehead Dworkin & Marcia P. Miceli, 1993. "Explaining the Whistle-Blowing Process: Suggestions from Power Theory and Justice Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 393-411, August.
    4. Frances J. Milliken & Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison, 2003. "Shades of Silence: Emerging Themes and Future Directions for Research on Silence in Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(6), pages 1563-1568, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ki-Seoung Lee & Yoon-Seo Kim & Hyoung-Chul Shin, 2023. "Effect of Hotel Employees’ Organizational Politics Perception on Organizational Silence, Organizational Cynicism, and Innovation Resistance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Paraskevi Boufounou & Kallirroi Avdi, 2016. "Financial Crisis, Organizational Behavior and Organizational Silence in the Public Sector: A Case Study for Greece," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 66(1-2), pages 46-78, January-J.
    3. P. Cassematis & R. Wortley, 2013. "Prediction of Whistleblowing or Non-reporting Observation: The Role of Personal and Situational Factors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 615-634, October.
    4. María del Carmen Triana & Toyah L. Miller & Tiffany M. Trzebiatowski, 2014. "The Double-Edged Nature of Board Gender Diversity: Diversity, Firm Performance, and the Power of Women Directors as Predictors of Strategic Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 609-632, April.
    5. Erik Bijleveld & Joost Baalbergen, 2017. "Prenatal exposure to testosterone (2D:4D) and social hierarchy together predict voice behavior in bankers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(6), pages 1-13, June.
    6. Wu, Frances & Dixon-Woods, Mary & Aveling, Emma-Louise & Campbell, Anne & Willars, Janet & Tarrant, Carolyn & Bates, David W. & Dankers, Christian & Mitchell, Imogen & Pronovost, Peter & Martin, Graha, 2021. "The role of the informal and formal organisation in voice about concerns in healthcare: A qualitative interview study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    7. Allison Ballard & Patricia Easteal, 2016. "Australia’s National Anti-Bullying Jurisdiction: Paper Tiger or Velvet Glove," Laws, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Yuval Feldman & Orly Lobel, 2008. "Decentralized enforcement in organizations: An experimental approach," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(2), pages 165-192, June.
    9. Liu, Qian & Shao, Zhen & Fan, Weiguo, 2018. "The impact of users’ sense of belonging on social media habit formation: Empirical evidence from social networking and microblogging websites in China," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 209-223.
    10. Philippe Cohard, 2020. "Information Systems Values: A Study of the Intranet in Three French Higher Education Institutions," Post-Print hal-02987225, HAL.
    11. Joan-Lluis Capelleras & Ignacio Contín-Pilart & Martin Larraza-Kintana, 2011. "Publicly Funded Prestart Support for New Firms: Who Demands it and How it Affects Their Employment Growth," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(5), pages 821-847, October.
    12. Kusa, Rafał & Suder, Marcin & Duda, Joanna, 2023. "Impact of greening on performance in the hospitality industry: Moderating effect of flexibility and inter-organizational cooperation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    13. James R. Detert & Linda K. Treviño, 2010. "Speaking Up to Higher-Ups: How Supervisors and Skip-Level Leaders Influence Employee Voice," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 249-270, February.
    14. Florian M. Artinger & Sabrina Artinger & Gerd Gigerenzer, 2019. "C. Y. A.: frequency and causes of defensive decisions in public administration," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 12(1), pages 9-25, April.
    15. Christopher S. Tuggle & David G. Sirmon & Cameron J. Borgholthaus & Leonard Bierman & A. Erin Bass, 2022. "From Seats at the Table to Voices in the Discussion: Antecedents of Underrepresented Director Participation in Board Meetings," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 1253-1283, July.
    16. Deng, Qian (Claire) & Messinger, Paul R., 2022. "Dimensions of brand-extension fit," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 764-787.
    17. Schneider, Christian O. & Bremen, Philipp & Schönsleben, Paul & Alard, Robert, 2013. "Transaction cost economics in global sourcing: Assessing regional differences and implications for performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(1), pages 243-254.
    18. Sony, Michael & Naik, Subhash, 2020. "Industry 4.0 integration with socio-technical systems theory: A systematic review and proposed theoretical model," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    19. Nikola Milicevic & Ines Djokic & Nenad Djokic & Aleksandar Grubor, 2022. "Social Marketing in Promoting Sustainable Healthy Lifestyle among Student Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-14, February.
    20. Bediako, Isaac Asare & Zhao, Xicang & Antwi, Henry Asante & Mensah, Claudia Nyarko, 2018. "Urban water supply systems improvement through water technology adoption," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 70-77.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:19:y:2008:i:2:p:221-240. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.