Accountants' Whistle-Blowing Intentions: The Impact of Retaliation, Age, and Gender

Australian Accounting Review

Volumn 21, Issue 2, 2011, Pages 167-182

  Liyanarachchi, Gregory A ^a   Adler, Ralph ^a  

^a LINCOLN UNIVERSITY   (New Zealand)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 79957932374     PISSN: 10356908     EISSN: 18352561     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1835-2561.2011.00134.x     Document Type: Article

References (68)

1. Applebaum, S.H., Grewal, K. and Mousseau, H. 2006, 'Whistle Blowing: International Implications and Critical Case Indicators', Journal of American Academy of Business, 10, 1: 7-13.
2. Ariely, D. 2009, 'The End of Rational Economics', Harvard Business Review, July-August: 78-84.
3. Armstrong, J.S. and Overton, T.S. 1977, 'Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys', Journal of Marketing Research, XIV, August: 396-402.
4. Arnold, B. 2006, 'Caslon Analytics Guide: Secrecy and Accountability', available at, last accessed 22 October 2009.
5. Arnold, D.F. and Ponemon, L.A. 1991, 'Internal Auditors Perceptions of Whistle Blowing and the Influence of Moral Reasoning: An Experiment', Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 10, 2: 1-15.
6. Australian Law Reforms Commission (ALRC), 2010, Secrecy Laws and Open Government in Australia, Report No. 112, available at, last accessed 4 September 2010.
7. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), 2010, 'Whistleblowers: Company Auditors' Obligations', available at , last accessed 3 September 2010.
8. Bok, S. 1980, 'Whistleblowing and Professional Responsibilities', in D. Callahan and S. Bok (eds), Ethics Teaching in Higher Education, Plenum Press, New York
9. Brennan, N. and Kelly, J. 2007, 'A Study of Whistleblowing Among Trainee Auditors', The British Accounting Review, 39: 61-87.
10. Brown, A.J. 2008, Whistleblowing in the Australian Public Sector: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations, ANU E Press, Canberra
11. Brown, A.J., Latimer, P., McMillan, J. and Wheeler, C. 2008, 'Best-Practice Whistleblowing Legislation for the Public Sector: the Key Principles', in A.J. Brown (ed.), Whistleblowing in the Australian Public Sector: Enhancing the Theory and Practice of Internal Witness Management in Public Sector Organisations, ANU E Press, Canberra: 261-88.
12. Clarke, F. and Dean, G. 2007, Indecent Disclosure: Gilding the Corporate Lily, Cambridge University Press, New York
13. Coate, C.J. and Frey, K.J. 2000, 'Some Evidence on the Ethical Disposition of Accounting Students: Context and Gender Implications', Teaching Business Ethics, 4, 4: 379-403.
14. Conroy, S.J., Emerson, T.L.N., and Pons, F., forthcoming, 'Ethical Attitudes of Accounting Practitioners: Are Rank and Ethical Attitudes Related?', Journal of Business Ethics, 91: 183-94.
15. De Maria, W. 1999, Deadly Disclosures: Whistleblowing and the Ethical Meltdown of Australia, Wakefield Press, South Australia
16. De Maria, W. 2006, 'Common Law-Common Mistakes: Protecting Whistleblowers in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa & the United Kingdom', International Journal of Public Sector Management, 19, 7: 643-58.
17. De Maria, W. 2008, 'Whistleblowers and Organizational Protestors: Crossing Imaginary Borders', Current Sociology, 56, 6: 865-83.
18. Emerson, T.L.N., Conroy, S.J. and Stanley, C.W. 2007, 'Ethical Attitudes of Accountants: Recent Evidence from a Practitioners' Survey', Journal of Business Ethics, 71: 73-87.
19. Fink, A. 1995, How to Sample in Surveys: The Survey Kit 6, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA
20. Gilligan, C. 1982, In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Woman's Development, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
21. Glazer, M.P. and Glazer, P.M. 1986, 'The Whistle-Blower's Plight', New York Times, August 13: A23.
22. Government Accountability Project (GAP) 2010, 'What is a Whistleblower?', available at, last accessed 2 September 2010.
23. Greenberger, D.B., Miceli, M.P. and Cohen, D. 1987, 'Oppositions and Group Norms: The Reciprocal Influence of Whistle-Blowers and Co-workers', Journal of Business Ethics, 7: 527-42.
24. Hall, D.T. 2002, Careers In and Out of Organizations, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA
25. Hall, D.T. and Moss, J.E. 1998, 'The New Protean Career Contract: Helping Organizations and Employees Adapt', Organizational Dynamics, Winter, 26, 3: 22-37.
26. Hoffman, J. 1998, 'Are Women Really More Ethical than Men? Maybe it Depends on the Situation', Journal of Management Issues, 10: 60-73.
27. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, 2009, Whistleblower Protection: A Comprehensive Scheme for the Commonwealth Public Sector, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
28. Hwang, D., Staley, B., Chen, Y.T. and Lan, J.-S. 2008, 'Confucian Culture and Whistle-Blowing by Professional Accountants: An Exploratory Study', Managerial Auditing Journal, 23, 5: 504-23.
29. Kaplan, S.E. and Schultz, J.J. 2007, 'Intentions to Report Questionable Acts: An Examination of the Influence of Anonymous Reporting Channel, Internal Audit Quality, and Setting', Journal of Business Ethics, 71: 109-24.
30. Kaplan, S., Pany, K. Samuels, J. and Zhang, J. 2009, 'An Examination of the Association Between Gender and Reporting Intentions for Fraudulent Financial Reporting', Journal of Business Ethics, 87: 15-30.
31. Keenan, J.P. 1995, 'Whistleblowing and the First-Level Manager: Determinants of Feeling Obliged to Blow the Whistle', Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 10, 3: 571-84.
32. Kwang, W.W. 2010, 'Proposed Malaysian Whsitleblower Act and Employer Liability', available at, last accessed 1 September 2010.
33. Latimer, P. 2006, 'Heroes or Traitors?', Monash Business Review, 2, 1: Review # 34.
34. Lewis, D. 2003, 'Whistleblowing Statutes in Australia: Is it Time for a New Agenda?', Deakin Law Review, 8, 2, available at, last accessed 17 June 2009.
35. Liyanarachchi, G. and Newdick, C. 2009, 'The Impact of Moral Reasoning and Retaliation on Whistle-Blowing: New Zealand Evidence', Journal of Business Ethics, 89: 37-57.
36. McManus, L. and Subramaniam, N. 2009, 'Ethical Evaluations and Behavioural Intentions of Early Career Accountants: The Impact of Mentors, Peers and Individual Attributes', Accounting & Finance, 49, 3: 619-43.
37. McPhail, K. and Walters, D. 2009, Accounting and Business Ethics, Routledge, London and New York
38. Mavin, S. 2001, 'Women's Career in Theory and Practice: Time for Change?', Women in Management Review, 16: 183-92.
39. Mayper, A.G., Pavur, R.J., Merino, B.D. and Hoops, W. 2005, 'The Impact of Accounting Education on Ethical Values: An Institutional Perspective', Accounting and the Public Interest, 5: 32-55.
40. Mesmer-Magnus, J.R. and Viswesvaran, C. 2005, 'Whistleblowing in Organizations: An Examination of Correlates of Whistleblowing Intentions, Actions, and Retaliation', Journal of Business Ethics, 62: 277-97.
41. Meyers, L.S., Gamst, G. and Guarino, A.J. 2006, Applied Multivariate Research, Sage Publications, Thousand Oakes, CA
42. th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Anaheim, CA
43. Miceli, M.P. and Near, J.P. 1989, 'The Incidence of Wrongdoing, Whistle Blowing, and Retaliation: Results of a Naturally Occurring Field Experiment', Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 2, 2: 91-108.
44. Miceli, M.P. and Near, J.P. 1994, 'Relationships Among Value Congruence, Perceived Victimization, and Retaliation Against Whistle-Blowers', Journal of Management, 20, 4: 773-94.
45. Miceli, M.P. and Near, J.P. 2002, 'What Makes Whistle-Blowers Effective? Three Field Studies', Human Relations, 55, 4: 455-79.
46. Miceli, M.P., Near, J.P., and Dworkin, T.M. 2009, 'A Word to the Wise: How managers and Policy-Makers can Encourage Employees to Report Wrongdoing', Journal of Business Ethics, 86: 379-96.
47. Near, J.P. and Miceli, M.P. 1985, 'Organizational Dissidence: The Case of Whistle-Blowing', Journal of Business Ethics, 4: 1-16.
48. Near, J.P. and Miceli, M.P. 1986, 'Retaliation Against Whistle Blowers: Predictors and Effects', Journal of Applied Psychology, 71: 137-45.
49. Near, J.P., Rehg, M.T., Van Scotter, J.R. and Miceli, M.P. 2004, 'Does Type of Wrongdoing Affect the Whistle-Blowing Process?', Business Ethics Quarterly, 14, 2: 219-42.
50. Parmerlee, M.A., Near, J.P. and Jensen, T.C. 1982, 'Correlates of Whistle-Blowers' Perceptions of Organizational Retaliation', Administrative Science Quarterly, 27: 17-34.
51. Ponemon, L. and Gabhart, D. 1990, 'Auditor Independence Judgements: A Cognitive-Development Model and Experimental Evidence', Contemporary Accounting Research, 7, Fall: 227-51.
52. Rest, J. 1986, Moral Development. Advance in Research and Theory, Praeger, New York
53. Ritter, B.A. 2006, 'Can Business Ethics be Trained? A Study of the Ethical Decision-Making Process in Business Students', Journal of Business Ethics, 68: 153-64.
54. Scharff, M.M. 2005, 'Understanding WorldCom's Accounting Fraud: Did Groupthink Play a Role?', Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 11, 3: 109-18.
55. Sholtens, M. T. 2003, 'Review of the Operation of the Protected Disclosures Act 2000: Report to the Minister of State Services', last accessed 7 April 2011.
56. Serwinek, P. J. 1992, 'Demographic and Related Differences in Ethical Views Among Small Businesses', Journal of Business Ethics, 11: 555-66.
57. Sikka, P. 2009, 'Financial Crisis and the Silence of Auditors', Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34: 868-73.
58. Sims, R.L. and Keenan, J.P. 1998, 'Predictors of External Whistleblowing: Organizational and Intrapersonal Variables', Journal of Business Ethics, 17: 411-21.
59. Slovin, D. 2006, 'Blowing the Whistle', The Internal Auditor, 63, 3: 45-49.
60. Soeken, K.L. and Soeken, D.R. 1987, A Survey of Whistle-blowers; Their Stressors and Coping Strategies, Association of Mental Health Specialists, Laurel, Md.
61. Tabachnick, B.G. and Fidell, L.S. 2007, Experimental Design Using ANOVA, Thomson, Belmont, CA
62. Transparency International 2009, Global Corruption Report 2009: Corruption and the Private Sector, Cambridge University Press, NY
63. Vinten, G. 1994, 'Whistleblowing - Fact and Fiction. An Introductory Discussion', in G. Vinten, (ed.), Whistleblowing: Subversion or Corporate Citizenship?, St. Martin's Press, New York: 3-20.
64. West, T., Ravenscroft, S.P. and Shrader, C.B. 2004, 'Cheating and Moral Judgment in the College Class-Room: A Natural Experiment', Journal of Business Ethics, 54: 173-83.
65. Whistleblowers Australia Inc. 2009, available at, last accessed 17 June 2009.
66. Winfield, M. 1990, Minding Your Own Business: Self-regulation and Whistleblowing in British Companies, Social Audit, London
67. Winfield, M. 1994, 'Whistleblowers as Corporate Safety Net', in G. Vinten (ed.), Whistleblowing: Subversion or Corporate Citizenship?, St. Martin's Press, New York: 21-32.
68. Zhang, J., Chiu, R. and Wei, L.-Q. 2009, 'On Whistleblowing Judgment and Intention: The Roles of Positive Mood And Organizational Ethical Culture', Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24, 7: 627-49.