To Blow the Whistle or Not: Motivators of Internal Whistleblowing Intention in Malaysian Financial Institutions and the Mediating Role of Organisational Identification

Lim, Michelle Sue Yee (2023) To Blow the Whistle or Not: Motivators of Internal Whistleblowing Intention in Malaysian Financial Institutions and the Mediating Role of Organisational Identification. Masters thesis, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

The discussion of unethical practices in organisation governance practices was widespread for many decades. This is evident in the loss of public confidence while resulting in a downfall of economic growth. Several scholars and practitioners have emphasised the importance of whistleblowing in preventing and addressing unethical practices within an organisation. While whistleblowing laws and policies exist to encourage and protect whistleblowers, unfair retaliation and adverse effects on whistleblowers make whistleblowing practices seldom implemented. This study intends to examine the effect of authentic leadership, ethical climate, and superior-subordinate relationship (guanxi) on the employees’ internal whistleblowing intention and how organisational identification mediated these relationships. To achieve the objectives of this research, a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional method have been employed using 200 employees who are currently working in Malaysian financial institutions. The data obtained are then analysed via Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM, namely SmartPLS). The research findings reveal that authentic leadership builds strong organisational identification which subsequently results encourage internal whistleblowing intention. Meanwhile, ethical climate and superior-subordinate relationship (guanxi) found no correlations towards the employees’ internal whistleblowing intention, however, these relationships are fully mediated by the organisational identification. This study contributes to the literature by serving as a reference for academicians and other researchers to establish a more comprehensive model for the internal whistleblowing intention in the context of Malaysian financial institutions. Furthermore, this incorporates the role of organisational identification as a mediator to inspect the underlying reasons that motivate employees to be involved in the whistleblowing. From a practical IV perspective, this study urged that managers who wish to promote internal whistleblowing through increased organisational identification should build authentic leadership skills through high transparency, self-awareness, and integrity.