Blowing the Whistle: Individual Persuasion under Perceived Threat of Retaliation

ABSTRACT: The effectiveness of the whistleblower as a control against misconduct and fraud is dependent on the willingness of the employee to report wrongdoings to the appropriate party. However, there is concern that a perceived threat of retaliation negatively affects one's attitude toward whistleblowing. The objective of this study is to examine whether the employee, even under threat of retaliation, can be persuaded to change his or her attitude toward blowing the whistle. The Elaboration Likelihood Model is used as the theoretical lens to investigate whether attitude change toward whistleblowing can occur and how perceived threat of retaliation impacts the persuasion process. This experimental study provides evidence that persuasive messages can change employee attitude toward whistleblowing but this change is most pronounced when persuasive messages are presented to employees who perceive a high threat of retaliation and are familiar with misconduct within the organization.