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Whistle-Blowing Systems and Legitimacy Theory: A Study of the Motivation to Implement Whistle-Blowing Systems in German Organizations

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  • Esther Pittroff

Abstract

Until now, there has been no theoretical foundation that explains why organizations implement whistle-blowing systems. By understanding whistle-blowing systems as an instrument that is desired by society, the legitimacy theory could be transferred to the whistle-blowing concept. A survey of German managers shows that legitimacy theory may be supported. Further insights into legitimacy theory are given by the motivation for the design of the implemented systems. The survey shows that, in particular, the implementation of external whistle-blowing systems is seemingly not driven by desired effectiveness. This supports legitimacy theory, since it reveals that external systems are symbolic rather than substantive systems. However, the results do not hold for internal whistle-blowing systems because the implementation of internal systems is ostensibly driven by power theories. The results are interesting for the planned statutory whistleblower protection as they reveal a partially restrained attitude toward whistle-blowing. Whistle-blowing systems are not effective if management is not convinced of their benefits. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Esther Pittroff, 2014. "Whistle-Blowing Systems and Legitimacy Theory: A Study of the Motivation to Implement Whistle-Blowing Systems in German Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 399-412, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:124:y:2014:i:3:p:399-412
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1880-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Halpin Lisa & Dundon Tony, 2017. "Whistle-blowing and the employment relations implications of the ‘Protected Disclosures Act 2014’ in the Republic of Ireland," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 36(3), pages 221-232.
    2. Hengky Latan & Christian M. Ringle & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour, 2018. "Whistleblowing Intentions Among Public Accountants in Indonesia: Testing for the Moderation Effects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 573-588, October.
    3. Hussein A. Abdou & Nouran N. Ellelly & Ahmed A. Elamer & Khaled Hussainey & Hassan Yazdifar, 2021. "Corporate governance and earnings management nexus: Evidence from the UK and Egypt using neural networks," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 6281-6311, October.
    4. Wim Vandekerckhove, 2018. "Whistleblowing and Information Ethics: Facilitation, Entropy, and Ecopoiesis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 15-25, September.
    5. Lee, Gladys & Xiao, Xinning, 2018. "Whistleblowing on accounting-related misconduct: A synthesis of the literature," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 22-46.
    6. Esther Pittroff, 2016. "Whistle-blowing regulation in different corporate governance systems: an analysis of the regulation approaches from the view of path dependence theory," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 703-727, December.
    7. Samuel Adomako & Mai Dong Tran, 2023. "Doing well and being responsible: The impact of corporate social responsibility legitimacy on responsible entrepreneurship," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1794-1804, July.
    8. Gladys Lee & Esther Pittroff & Michael J. Turner, 2020. "Is a Uniform Approach to Whistle-Blowing Regulation Effective? Evidence from the United States and Germany," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 553-576, May.

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