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International Handbook on Whistleblowing Research

International Handbook on Whistleblowing Research

Edited by A.J. Brown, Professor of Public Policy and Law and Program Leader, Public Integrity and Anti-corruption, Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University, Australia, David Lewis, Middlesex University, UK, Richard Moberly, Associate Dean for Faculty and Professor of Law, University of Nebraska College of Law, US and Wim Vandekerckhove, Senior Lecturer, Organizational Behaviour, University of Greenwich Business School, London, UK
In the modern age of institutions, whistleblowing is now established as one of the most important processes – if not the single most important process – by which governments and corporations are kept accountable to the societies they are meant to serve. This essential Handbook provides researchers and policy makers from around the world with a comprehensive overview of the state of our knowledge regarding this vital process. In addition to drawing from the last 30 years of progressively more systematic research into whistleblowing, it also provides cutting-edge analysis of the conceptual and practical challenges that researchers will want to confront in the next decade.

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Extent: 648 pp
Hardback Price: $295.00 Web: $265.50
Publication Date: 2014
ISBN: 978 1 78100 678 8
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Whistleblowing – the disclosure of wrongdoing by organizational insiders –is vital to modern public accountability and integrity across all organizations and societies. This important Handbook offers original, cutting-edge analyses of the conceptual and practical challenges that researchers face in order to better inform the way whistleblowing is understood and confronted by organizations, regulatory authorities and governments.

Featuring contributions from scholars and policy practitioners in a number of diverse fields – including sociology, political science, psychology, information systems, media studies, business, management, criminology, public policy and several branches of law – the book provides a comprehensive guide to existing research and blueprints for how new research should be conducted in the future. It covers conceptual and definitional fundamentals of whistleblowing and strategies for researching whistleblowing in an organizational context, as well as law reform, regulation, management practicalities and research ethics. It also charts the lessons of 30 years of empirical research and maps out new questions and projects for future decades.

This Handbook, with its unique perspective on the complex, multi-faceted and often controversial nature of whistleblowing research, will be a vital resource for researchers, policymakers and organizations around the world.

Critical Acclaim

‘This Handbook is testament to the value of whistleblowing for democracy, with new research and existing knowledge probed with fresh and urgent questions. What is the impact of global technology on public accountability, journalism and whistleblower protection? If indifference is what really matters, is focus on retaliation misplaced? What stops those in authority from heeding whistleblowers? A vital resource for anyone fighting to protect whistleblowers anywhere to better articulate whose interests are really at stake and what needs to be done.’
– Anna Myers, lawyer and Expert Coordinator of the Whistleblowing International Network (WIN)

‘The International Handbook on Whistleblowing Research offers a thorough and thoughtful examination of current approaches to research regarding this important topic. The editors have included the viewpoints of highly regarded researchers from a number of different fields, including the social sciences, business, and law. Unlike some collections of comments by experts in diverse fields, the editors have created a coherent and useful structure for an analysis of the status of whistleblowing research, the appropriate design for such research and its practical applications. The book casts new light on many topics crucial to the success or failure of whistleblower laws. Researchers, activists, policy makers and anyone interested in understanding whistleblowing and improving laws that encourage and protect it should read this indispensable work. A “who’s who” of the field and a depository of insights and ideas.’
– Robert Vaughn, American University Washington College of Law, US

‘There is little doubt that policy makers worldwide, as well as practitioners, will greet the publication of this book with enthusiasm.’
– Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor, The Barrister Magazine

Contributors

Contributors: B. Bjørkelo, R. Bosua, A.J. Brown, H.H. Bye, K. Crow, T. Devine, S. Dreyfus, T. Morehead Dworkin, B. Edwards, B. Fasterling, T. Faunce, P. Harpur, R. Lederman, D. Lewis, J. Leys, K. Loyens, J. Maesschalck, B. Martin, D.P. Meyer, M.P. Miceli, S. Milton, R. Moberly, F.M. Morgan Jr, J.P. Near, T. Nikolic, J. Olsen, M.T. Rehg, P. Roberts, M. Skivenes, R. Smith, J. Spencer, M. Spencer, S.C. Trygstad, E. Tsahuridu, T. Uys, W. Vandekerckhove, S. Walden, C. Wheeler, J. Zuckerman

Contents

Contents

Introduction

1. Whistleblowing, its Importance, and the State of Research
David Lewis, A.J. Brown and Richard Moberly

PART I: RESEARCH FUNDAMENTALS
2. Understandings of Whistleblowing: Dilemmas of Societal Culture
Wim Vandekerckhove, Tina Uys, Michael T. Rehg and A.J. Brown

3. Outsider ‘Whistleblowers’: Conceptualizing and Distinguishing ‘Bell-Ringing’ Behavior
Marcia P. Miceli, Suelette Dreyfus and Janet P. Near

4. Wrongdoing: Definitions, Identification and Categorizations
Marit Skivenes and Sissel C.Trygstad

5. Whistleblowing Duties
Jos Leys and Wim Vandekerckhove

6. On the Appropriateness of Research Design: Intended and Actual Whistleblowing
Brita Bjørkelo and Hege Høivik Bye

7. Whistleblowing and Power
Kim Loyens and Jeroen Maesschalck

PART II: ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND RESPONSIVENESS
8. Reporting Versus Inaction: How Much Is There, What Explains the Differences and What to Measure
Jane Olsen

9. Motivations for Whistleblowing: Personal, Private and Public Interests
Peter Roberts

10. Whistleblowers and Suffering
Rodney Smith

11. Going Public: Researching External Whistleblowing in a New Media Age
Rachelle Bosua, Simon Milton, Suelette Dreyfus, Reeva Lederman

12. ‘To Persons or Organizations That May Be Able to Effect Action’: Whistleblowing Recipients
Richard Moberly

13. Managerial Responsiveness to Whistleblowing: Expanding the Research Horizon
Wim Vandekerckhove, A J Brown, Eva Tsahuridu

PART III: RESEARCH IN ACTION
14. Whistleblower Protection – A Comparative Law Perspective
Björn Fasterling

15. The Key to Protection: Civil and Employment Law Remedies
David Lewis, Tom Devine, Paul Harpur

16. Because They Have Evidence: Globalizing Financial Incentives for Corporate Fraud Whistleblowers
Tom Faunce, Kim Crow, Tony Nikolic, Frederick M. Morgan, Jr.

17. When it All Goes Bad: Criminal Remedies
Maureen Spencer and John Spencer

18. Whistleblower Protection in International Governmental Organizations
Shelley Walden and Bea Edwards

19. Whistleblower Support in Practice: Towards an Integrated Research Model
A J Brown, Daniel P Meyer, Chris Wheeler, Jason Zuckerman

Conclusions
20. Research That Whistleblowers Want – And What They Need
Brian Martin

21. Strategic Issues in Whistleblowing Research
Wim Vandekerckhove, A J Brown, Richard Moberly and David Lewis

Index