DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/JEJA-RZ13
Defense Date
2011
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Business
First Advisor
Benson Wier
Abstract
ABSTRACT THE IMPACT OF MATERIALITY, PERSONALITY TRAITS, AND ETHICAL POSITION ON WHISTLE-BLOWING INTENTIONS By Karl Bryan Menk A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Dissertation Director: Dr. Benson Wier, Ph.D. Professor of Accounting, School of Business Throughout the previous decade, numerous scandals have been reported through employees engaging in whistle-blowing activities. The importance of whistle-blowing in a corporate environment is encouraged through the protections provided to employees engaging in whistle-blowing activities and has been identified as a significant factor in fraud prevention. Despite the importance of the role of whistle-blowing, employees are often hesitant to report a problem due to potential repercussions and retaliations. This study was motivated by the importance of whistle-blowing actions on businesses and the environment in which businesses operate as well as a desire to better understand the underlying causes of an individual’s decision to engage in whistle-blowing practices. This study examines the impact of personality traits, ethical position, and the materiality of a problem on an individual’s decision to engage in whistle-blowing activities. Participants were asked to evaluate a scenario involving the improper recording of revenues. In the high materiality scenario, the inappropriate revenues represented 10 percent of the annual revenues of the firm. Only 1 percent of the annual revenues were incorrectly reported in the low materiality scenario. The study tested multiple hypotheses using survey data collected from upper level accounting students attending a 4 year university. The results of this study indicate that the ethical position of an individual is the most strongly related to an individual’s intention to engage in whistle-blowing activities. The presence of more pro-social personality traits in the decision maker is also positively related to the decision to whistle-blow but not as significantly as ethical position.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
12-9-2011