Whistleblowing Policy and Practice, Volume I: Internal Aspects

Organizations are increasingly under pressure from policymakers to adopt procedures to handle disclosures in a more transparent and effective way, yet, we continue to see whistleblowers speak up and suffer for doing so. Why does this happen? This two-volume work examines the different perspectives on who is responsible for receiving and acting on whistleblowing disclosures, implementing processes and procedures, and even deciding who can be defined as a whistleblower, These debates are contingent on underlying ideas for how whistleblowing should be handled and what channel is most appropriate, where debates also persist.

While there is widespread agreement that whistleblowing is a good thing (a position we assume in this book) the purpose of this book is to draw out the debates around the who and the how, two of the important questions for business to consider when dealing with whistleblowing disclosures. This first volume explores whistleblowing from within the organization, exploring the internal organizational systems that can support or thwart whistleblowing attempts. It will be of great importance to academics and researchers of business ethics, HRM, corporate governance, leadership, strategy and corporate law.

Arron Phillips is a Lecturer in Corporate Governance and Business Ethics at Birkbeck, University of London, UK. He has been involved in researching whistleblowing for over a decade with a focus on external agents within the whistleblowing framework such as regulators and trade unions.

Meghan Van Portfliet is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder, USA. Her research centers on the topics of whistleblowing and organizational ignorance, and she has been invited to speak on her research in Canada, Indonesia, the UK, South Africa, the US and Ireland.