The competing virtues of loyalty and courage: when ethical climate does not lead to whistleblowing

In this dissertation, given the importance of speaking up and the pervasive silence of employees when they see wrongdoing in the workplace, I examine the conditions that lead more employees to blow the whistle, either internally or externally. Because virtue ethics places emphasis on both the individual (moral character) and the situation (the commons), I rely upon this perspective to understand whistleblowing. In my theoretical model, I propose that organizational ethical climate, employees’ loyalty towards their organization, and moral courage influence their internal and external whistleblowing behaviors. More specifically, I propose that employees would be more likely to report the wrongdoing internally and less likely to disclose it externally if they experience higher degrees of organizational loyalty in an ethical climate. I also propose that moral courage positively influences both internal and external whistleblowing through the mediating role of felt responsibility and the moderating role of organizational ethical climate. Using eight studies, I tested the proposed conceptual model. In Study 1, I utilized the 2010 Merit Principles Survey (MPS) to examine the relationship between organizational ethical climate, loyalty, and whistleblowing. In Study 2, I conducted an exploratory examination of loyalty to adapt and expand pre-established loyalty scales in order to better capture loyalty as a virtue. I then used the updated scale in the subsequent studies. Studies 3 and 4 examined the theoretical model using survey and experimental designs. Study 5 employed an experimental design with a behavioral measure for whistleblowing. Studies 6, 7, and 8 tested the complete model to capture employees’ whistleblowing intentions and behaviors. Taken together, the results of my empirical studies provide support for my theoretical model, and internal and external whistleblowing behaviors are affected by loyalty, moral courage, and ethical climate under certain circumstances. Overall, this dissertation aims to provide a parsimonious, yet comprehensive model grounded in virtue ethics for examining whistleblowing behaviors to guide research and management practices.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference