Janet P. Near

Can Illegal Corporate Behavior be Predicted? An Event History Analysis

A model of illegal corporate behavior was developed and tested for a 19-year period using event history analysis and data on clearly illegal acts. Results indicated that large firms operating in dy...

Whistle-Blowing: Myth and Reality

In this article, we attempt to separate myth from reality by reviewing research results pertinent to two questions: are whistle-blowers really crackpots and do most of them suffer retaliation following their actions? Because scholars interested in these questions have come from several different fields, and because integration is lacking among their perspectives, myth is often perpetuated. We try to ameliorate this situation by exploring the phenomenon from a broad interdisciplinary perspective and by reviewing the findings of recent empirical work in the area. Providing a realistic view of the problem is critical at this juncture, as organizations struggle to find mechanisms to deal with whistle-blowers and as legislators attempt to find policies to encourage whistle-blowing, in order to control illegal organizational behavior.

Correlates of Whistle-Blowers' Perceptions of Organizational Retaliation

1 Since whistle-blowing may also occur in nonbureaucratic organizations, our study was not limited to bureaucratic organizations. The process of public whistle-blowing and the organizational responses to it are explored, with particular emphasis on retaliation. Individuals who had filed complaints of unfair employment discrimination completed questionnaires about the organizational retaliation that followed their whistle-blowing. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that organizations were more likely to retaliate both against whistle-blowers who were valued by the organization because of their age, experience, or education, and against whistle-blowers whose cases lacked public support, than against other whistle-blowers.*

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

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 whistleblowers power were significantly related to retaliation; for women, lack of support from others, serious wrongdoing, and the wrongdoings 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 womens---but not mens---decisions to blow the whistle again, using external channels. We finish by discussing implications for theory and practice.

What Makes Whistle-Blowers Effective? Three Field Studies

Organization members face difficult choices when they encounter situations which they consider illegitimate, immoral, or unlawful, but lack corrective power. They can ‘blow the whistle’ to authorities, but often, their organizations do not change the objectionable practice. Circumstances under which whistle-blowers succeed in terminating perceived wrongdoing have not been studied, so this study tests portions of a preliminary model of effectiveness derived from power theories. Results from three field studies show that whistle-blowers perceive that wrongdoing is more likely to be terminated when: (i) it occurs less frequently, is relatively minor in impact, or has been occurring for a shorter period; and (ii) whistle-blowers have greater power - reflected in the legitimacy of their roles and the support of others. Implications for research and for would-be whistle-blowers, their organizations, and policy makers, are discussed.

Can Laws Protect Whistle-Blowers? Results of a Naturally Occurring Field Experiment

Data collected over three time periods, from 1980 to 1992, show massive changes in the ways in which federal employees reported wrongdoing and the effects on them for having done so. Laws intended to encourage whistle-blowing seem to have two desired effects: to reduce the incidence of perceived wrongdoing and to increase the likelihood of whistle-blowing. However, two unintended effects are also observed: perceived retaliation increased and whistle-blowers increasingly sought anonymity. The basic model predicting retaliation is essentially the same in the three time periods in which data were collected. Implications for research, practice, and the design of future legislation are discussed.

The Whistleblowing Process Retaliation and Perceived Effectiveness

Little empirical work has been completed on the whistleblowing process in organizations. This study examines questionnaire data from 72 respondents who blew the whistle on their employers with regard to alleged sex discrimination. Results indicate that whistleblowers considered the process to be more effective when their cases were determined to have merit and when they felt they had succeeded in changing managements attitudes. Retaliation by employer had little influence on whether the whistleblower considered the process to be effective. Further, retaliation was less likely to occur when the whistleblowers case was determined to have merit.

A Discriminant Analysis of Plateaued versus Nonplateaued Managers.

Abstract Managers who have reached a career plateau, beyond which further promotions are unlikely, are compared to managers who are still highly mobile. Discriminant analyses of survey data from 199 managers suggest that there are significant differences between plateaued managers and their nonplateaued counterparts. Specifically, plateaued managers are absent more frequently from work; they report poorer relationships with supervisors, lower levels of education, and impaired health.

A Comparison of Work and Nonwork Predictors of Life Satisfaction

The article focuses on a study which examined the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction in a multivariate context. The study indicated that job satisfaction and working condit...

Life Satisfaction and Student Performance

Although it seems intuitively obvious that the happy student will be a more productive student, empirical tests of that assumption are curiously sparse. We tested a model that included satisfaction...