Cultural orientation and attitudes towards different forms of whistleblowing: A comparison of South Korea, Turkey and the UK

Heungsik Park, John Blenkinsopp, Mustafa Kemal Oktem, Ugur Omurgonulsen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    134 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article reports the findings of a cross-cultural study that explored the relationship between nationality, cultural orientation and attitudes towards different ways in which an employee might blow the whistle. The study investigated two questions: are there any significant differences in the attitudes of university students from South Korea, Turkey and the UK toward various ways by which an employee blows the whistle in an organization, and what effect, if any, does cultural orientation have on these attitudes? To answer these questions, the study identified six dimensions of whistleblowing and four types of cultural orientation. The survey was conducted among a total of 759 university students, who voluntarily participated; 284 South Korean, 230 Turkish, and 245 UK. Although all three samples showed a preference for formal, anonymous and internal modes of whistleblowing, there were significant variations related to nationality and cultural orientation. The findings have some key implications for organizational practice and offer directions for future research.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)929-939
    JournalJournal of Business Ethics
    Volume82
    Issue number4
    Early online date13 Nov 2007
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2008

    Keywords

    • cultural orientation
    • nationality
    • whistleblowing

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