New Tools for Old Habits: How Whistleblowing Works in Organizations

Abstract

Whistleblowing in private and public sector organizations has gained momentum in the last decade. Most theories seeking to explain why some employees report wrongdoings largely disregard the interaction between the cognitive and emotional components of this decision. Our article addresses this gap in the literature and proposes a theoretical model that was initially developed in cognitive psychology and accounts for such an interaction. We explore empirically its relevance in the case of private and public sector employees in Romania, which is the least likely case for the use of whistleblowing. We use data from semi‐structured interviews conducted with employees from the private and public sector. The key findings contribute to the debates on whistleblowing as a specific regulator in organizations: emotions and cognition have high explanatory power; the irrational beliefs matter in developing emotional and behavioral consequences for potential whistleblowers; and the organizational support is crucial in disputing these irrational beliefs.