Snitches get Stitches and End up in Ditches: A Systematic Review of the Factors Associated with Whistleblowing Intentions

Nicholls, Adam R.; Fairs, Lucas R.W.; Toner, John; Jones, Luke; Mantis, Constantine; Barkoukis, Vassilis; Perry, John L.; Micle, Andrei V.; Theodorou, Nikolaos C.; Shakhverdieva, Sabina; Stoicescu, Marius; Vesic, Milica V.; Dikic, Nenad; Andjelkovic, Marija; Muñoz-Guerra Revilla, Jesús; Grimau, Elena García; Martínez, Miguel A.E.; Amigo, Javier A.; Schomöller, Anne

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631538

Snitches get Stitches and End up in Ditches: A Systematic Review of the Factors Associated with Whistleblowing Intentions

Nicholls, Adam R.; Fairs, Lucas R.W.; Toner, John; Jones, Luke; Mantis, Constantine; Barkoukis, Vassilis; Perry, John L.; Micle, Andrei V.; Theodorou, Nikolaos C.; Shakhverdieva, Sabina; Stoicescu, Marius; Vesic, Milica V.; Dikic, Nenad; Andjelkovic, Marija; Muñoz-Guerra Revilla, Jesús; Grimau, Elena García; Martínez, Miguel A.E.; Amigo, Javier A.; Schomöller, Anne

Authors

Professor Adam Nicholls A.Nicholls@hull.ac.uk
Professor of Psychology/ Leader of the Sport Psychology and Coaching Group

Lucas R.W. Fairs

Dr John Toner John.Toner@hull.ac.uk
Lecturer in Sports Coaching and Performance

Luke Jones

Constantine Mantis

Vassilis Barkoukis

John L. Perry

Andrei V. Micle

Nikolaos C. Theodorou

Sabina Shakhverdieva

Marius Stoicescu

Milica V. Vesic

Nenad Dikic

Marija Andjelkovic

Jesús Muñoz-Guerra Revilla

Elena García Grimau

Miguel A.E. Martínez

Javier A. Amigo

Anne Schomöller

Abstract

Blowing the whistle on corruption or wrongdoing can facilitate the detection, investigation, and then prosecution of a violation that may have otherwise gone undetected. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify the factors that are associated with intentions to blow the whistle on wrongdoing. We searched Academic Search Premier, CINAHL Complete, Education Research Complete, ERIC, Medline, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Regional Business News, and SPORTDiscus in January 2020. The quality of evidence was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Of the 9,136 records identified, 217 studies were included in this systematic review. We identified 8 dimensions, 26 higher-order themes, and 119 lower-order themes. The whistleblowing dimensions were personal factors, organizational factors, cost and benefits, outcome expectancies, the offense, reporting, the wrongdoer, and social factors. Based on the findings, it is apparent that organizations should empower, educate, protect, support, and reward those who blow the whistle, in order to increase the likelihood on individuals blowing the whistle on corruption and wrongdoing. A combined approach may increase whistleblowing intentions, although research is required to test this assertion. From a policy perspective, more consistent protection is required across different countries.

Citation

Nicholls, A. R., Fairs, L. R., Toner, J., Jones, L., Mantis, C., Barkoukis, V., …Schomöller, A. (2021). Snitches get Stitches and End up in Ditches: A Systematic Review of the Factors Associated with Whistleblowing Intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 631538. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631538

Journal Article Type	Review
Acceptance Date	Jun 22, 2021
Online Publication Date	Oct 5, 2021
Publication Date	Oct 5, 2021
Deposit Date	Jun 24, 2021
Publicly Available Date	Jun 24, 2021
Journal	Frontiers in Psychology
Electronic ISSN	1664-1078
Publisher	Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	12
Article Number	631538
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631538
Keywords	Intentions; Organizational; Reporting; Whistleblower; Wrongdoing
Public URL	https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3793145

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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2021 Nicholls, Fairs, Toner, Jones, Mantis, Barkoukis, Perry, Micle, Theodorou, Shakhverdieva, Stoicescu, Vesic, Dikic, Andjelkovic, Grimau, Amigo and Schomöller. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2021 Nicholls, Adam R.; Fairs, Lucas R.W.; Toner, John; Jones, Luke; Mantis, Constantine; Barkoukis, Vassilis; Perry, John L.; Micle, Andrei V.; Theodorou, Nikolaos C.; Shakhverdieva, Sabina; Stoicescu, Marius; Vesic, Milica V.; Dikic, Nenad; Andjelkovic, Marija; Muñoz-Guerra Revilla, Jesús; García Grimau, Elena; Martínez, Miguel A.E.; Amigo, Javier A.; Schomöller, Anne. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.