Whistleblowing intentions by public accountants in a non-Western society: The case of Japanese accountants

Abstract

This study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring whistleblowing intentions in a society where social harmony, respectfulness, and conformity to rules and norms are perceived as important. A survey of Japanese public accountants indicates attitudes, independence commitment, perceived behavioral control, personal cost of reporting, and personal responsibility for reporting significantly influence internal whistleblowing intentions. Contrary to previous studies, we found personal cost of reporting has significant positive relationship with internal whistleblowing intention, which is a reflection of the unique Japanese work culture. Furthermore, perceived organizational support has a significant positive relationship with internal whistleblowing, signifying that Japanese public accountants feel comfortable to blow the whistle internally when there is high support from the organization. However, the interactive results reveal a significant negative relationship between perceived organizational support and internal whistleblowing, suggesting that despite organizational values that support internal whistleblowing, there is less room for accountants to decide and act independently when faced with an ethical dilemma. For external whistleblowing, both personal factors and interactive results are not significant as accountants perceived it as a betrayal or rebellious act, and feared potential lawsuits. Overall, our results imply that the Japanese unique work culture mitigates the consistency between individual intentions and actual behavior.