Self-Efficacy as an Intrapersonal Predictor for Internal Whistleblowing: A US and Canada Examination

Examining intrapersonal factors theorized to influence ethics reporting decisions, the relation of self-efficacy as a predictor of propensity for internal whistleblowing is investigated within a US and Canadian multi-regional context. Over 900 professionals from a total of nine regions in Canada and the US participated. Self-efficacy was found to influence participant reported propensity for internal whistleblowing consistently in both the US and Canada. Seasoned participants with greater management and work experience demonstrated higher levels of self-efficacy while gender was also found to be influential to self-efficacy. These individual traits, although related to self-efficacy, did not directly relate to propensities for internal whistleblowing. The findings demonstrate that self-efficacy could represent an important individual trait for examining whistleblowing issues. Internal whistleblowing is becoming an important organizational consideration in many areas of North America, yet there is relatively little research on the topic. Organizations seeking effective internal reporting systems should consider the influence of self-efficacy along with its potential reporting influence. By empirically testing an under-examined component of theory related to internal whistleblowing, this effort contributes to management literature, extending the knowledge beyond a US context, and provides recommendation for managing individual bias with internal reporting systems. Brent R. MacNab is a faculty member in the discipline of International Business with the University of Sydney. Brent’s research interests focus on examination of cross-cultural and intra-cultural phenomena as related to management and human interaction issues like cultural intelligence, ethics management and workplace motivation. He has received two Fulbright Awards (Canada, 2002 and NAFTA focus 2003) for examination of his research in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. In addition to faculty duties Brent also acts as a consultant to organizations examining issues related to cultural training and ethics management. Reginald Worthley is a faculty member with the University of Hawai'i at Manoa where he teaches coursework in applied quantitative analysis. He specializes in survey research on various cross-cultural issues. Recent studies include a web survey quantifying motivational drivers in the Japanese workplace, a comparative longitudinal study of managerial values in six countries and a NAFTA study of cultural identity as related to defined areas of ethics management.