Abstract
Studies have shown that internal whistleblowing could be utilized as an effective way to stop an organization’s unethical behaviors. This study investigates the relationship between ethical leadership and internal whistleblowing by focusing on the mediating role of employee-perceived organizational politics and the moderating role of moral courage. An analysis of data collected at three phases indicates that employee-perceived organizational politics partly mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and internal whistleblowing. Also, moral courage is found to moderate the effect of employee-perceived organizational politics on internal whistleblowing and the indirect effect of ethical leadership on internal whistleblowing via employee-perceived organizational politics. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
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Conflict of interest
Author Jin Cheng declares that she has no conflict of interest. Haiqing Bai declares that he has no conflict of interest. Xijuan Yang declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Measurements
Ethical Leadership From Brown et al. (2005)
My department manager…
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EL1.
Listens to what department employees have to say.
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EL2.
Disciplines employees who violate ethical standards.
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EL3.
Conducts his/her personal life in an ethical manner.
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EL4.
Has the best interests of employees in mind.
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EL5.
Makes fair and balanced decisions.
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EL6.
Can be trusted.
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EL7.
Discusses business ethics or values with employees.
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EL8.
Sets an example of how to do things the right way in terms of ethics.
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EL9.
Defines success not just by results but also the way they are obtained.
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EL10.
Asks “what is the right thing to do?” when making decisions.
Moral Courage From May et al. (2014) and Gibbs et al. (1986)
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MC1.
I would stand up for a just or rightful cause, even if the cause is unpopular and it would mean criticizing important others.
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MC2.
I will defend someone who is being taunted or talked about unfairly, even if the victim is only an acquaintance.
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MC3.
I would only consider joining a just or rightful cause if it is popular with my friends and supported by important others. (RC)
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MC4.
I would prefer to remain in the background even if a friend is being taunted or talked about unfairly. (RC)
Perception of Organizational Politics From Kacmar and Carlson (1997)
Factor 1: General Political Behavior
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POP1.
People in this organization attempt to build themselves up by tearing others down.
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POP2.
There has always been an influential group in this department that no one ever crosses.
Factor 2: Go Along to Get Ahead
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POP3.
Employees are encouraged to speak out frankly even when they are critical of well-established ideas.(RC)*
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POP4.
There is no place for yes-men around here; good ideas are desired even if it means disagreeing with superiors. ( RC)*
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POP5.
Agreeing with powerful others is the best alternative in this organization.
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POP6.
It is best not to rock the boat in this organization.
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POP7.
Sometimes it is easier to remain quiet than to fight the system.
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POP8.
Telling others what they want to hear is sometimes better than telling the truth.
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POP9.
It is safer to think what you are told than to make up your own mind.
Factor 3: Pay and Promotion Policies
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POP10.
Since I have worked in this department, I have never seen the pay and promotion policies applied politically.(RC)*
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POP11.
I cannot remember when a person received a pay increase or promotion that was inconsistent with the published policies.(RC)*
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POP12.
None of the raises I have received are consistent with the policies on how raises should be determined.
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POP13.
The stated pay and promotion policies have nothing to do with how pay raises and promotions are determined.
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POP14.
When it comes to pay raise and promotion decisions, policies are irrelevant.
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POP15.
Promotions around here are not valued much because how they are determined is so political.
* represents item which is removed because it is less appropriate in this study.
Internal Whistleblowing From Park et al. (2005)
If you found wrong doing in your workplace, what would you do about it?
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IW1.
I would report it to my immediate supervisor.
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IW2.
I would report it to an upper level of management in the organization.
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IW3.
I would use the official reporting channels inside of the organization.
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IW4.
I would report it by using internal procedures.
Appendix 2
See Table 5.
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Cheng, J., Bai, H. & Yang, X. Ethical Leadership and Internal Whistleblowing: A Mediated Moderation Model. J Bus Ethics 155, 115–130 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3517-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3517-3