WHISTLEBLOWING AND FINANCIAL FRAUD: A LOOK BACK AT MOTIVATIONS, PROTECTIONS, AND CHALLENGES (A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW)
Main Article Content
A. Alyani Achmad
Darwis Said
This study aims to review the motivation, protection, and challenges faced by whistleblowers in exposing financial fraud, using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach. This study reviews relevant literature in the period 2005-2025 to identify various factors that influence an individual's decision to report, as well as the effectiveness of the existing reporting system. The results of the study indicate that whistleblower motivation is strongly influenced by a combination of moral, social, and material factors, where moral motivation is often the main driver to report fraud in order to maintain organizational integrity. In addition, financial incentives and legal protection also play an important role in encouraging reporting. Although many countries have adopted whistleblower protection policies, the main challenge is in developing countries, where the implementation of legal protection is often ineffective. This study also found that individual personality and organizational culture also influence the decision to whistleblow. Therefore, this study suggests the need for an improved protection system that is more effective, both in terms of law and organizational culture, to support the success of whistleblowing in preventing financial fraud.
Carr, I., & Lewis, D. (2010). Combating corruption through employment law and whistleblower protection. Industrial Law Journal, 39(1), 52–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/indlaw/dwp027
Chen, C. P., & Lai, C. T. (2014). To blow or not to blow the whistle: The effects of potential harm, social pressure and organisational commitment on whistleblowing intention and behaviour. Business Ethics, 23(3), 327–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12053
Chordiya, R., Sabharwal, M., Relly, J. E., & Berman, E. M. (2020). Organizational protection for whistleblowers: a cross-national study. Public Management Review, 22(4), 527–552. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1599058
Fišar, M., Krčál, O., Staněk, R., & Špalek, J. (2021). Committed to Reciprocate on a Bribe or Blow the Whistle: The Effects of Periodical Staff-Rotation in Public Administration. Public Performance and Management Review, 44(2), 404–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2020.1812410
Gao, Y., Kim, J. B., Tsang, D., & Wu, H. (2017). Go before the whistle blows: an empirical analysis of director turnover and financial fraud. Review of Accounting Studies, 22(1), 320–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-016-9381-z
Habbe, A. H., Rasyid, S., Arif, H., & Muda, I. (2019). Measuring internal auditor’s intention to blow the whistle (A Quasi-experiment of internal auditors in the local government). Business: Theory and Practice, 20, 224–233. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2019.22
Iwasaki, M. (2023). Whistleblowers as Defenders of Human Rights: The Whistleblower Protection Act in Japan. Business and Human Rights Journal, 8(1), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2022.41
Iwasaki, M. (2025). Environmental Governance and Whistleblower Rewards: Balancing Prosocial Motivations with Monetary Incentives. Law and Social Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1017/lsi.2025.13
Jiménez, J. L., Ojeda-Cabral, M., & Ordóñez-de-Haro, J. M. (2023). Who Blows the Whistle on Cartels? Finding the Leniency Applicant at the European Commission. Review of Industrial Organization, 63(2), 123–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11151-023-09911-3
Kenny, K., & Bushnell, A. (2020). How to Whistle-Blow: Dissensus and Demand. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(4), 643–656. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04401-7
Krügel, S., & Uhl, M. (2023). Internal whistleblowing systems without proper sanctions may backfire. Journal of Business Economics, 93(8), 1355–1383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-023-01144-w
Latan, H., Chiappetta Jabbour, C. J., & Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, A. B. (2021). To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle: The Role of Rationalization in the Perceived Seriousness of Threats and Wrongdoing. Journal of Business Ethics, 169(3), 517–535. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04287-5
Lewis, D. (2006). Whistleblowing and the law in the UK. Industrial Law Journal, 35(1), 67–84.
Massaro, M., Dumay, J., & Guthrie, J. (2016). On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review in accounting. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 29(5), 767–801. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-01-2015-1939
Near, J. P., & Miceli, M. P. (2016). After the wrongdoing: What managers should know about whistleblowing. Business Horizons, 59(1), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2015.09.007
Nurhidayat, I., & Kusumasari, B. (2018). Strengthening the effectiveness of whistleblowing system A study for the implementation of anti-corruption policy in Indonesia. Journal of Financial Crime, 25(1), 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-11-2016-0069
Ojobo, E. (2023). A Review of the Effectiveness of the Nigerian Whistleblowing Stopgap Policy of 2016 and the Whistleblower Protection Bill of 2019. Journal of African Law, 67(3), 487–494. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021855323000098
Paquette, L. (2013). The whistleblower as underdog: What protection can human rights offer in massive secret surveillance? International Journal of Human Rights, 17(7–8), 796–809. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2013.844973
Park, H., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2009). Whistleblowing as planned behavior - a survey of south korean police officers. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(4), 545–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9788-y
Park, H., Vandekerckhove, W., Lee, J., & Jeong, J. (2020). Laddered Motivations of External Whistleblowers: The Truth About Attributes, Consequences, and Values. Journal of Business Ethics, 165(4), 565–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-4082-0
Shonhadji, N., & Maulidi, A. (2021). The roles of whistleblowing system and fraud awareness as financial statement fraud deterrent. International Journal of Ethics and Systems, 37(3), 370–389. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-09-2020-0140
Stubben, S. R., & Welch, K. T. (2020). Evidence on the Use and Efficacy of Internal Whistleblowing Systems. Journal of Accounting Research, 58(2), 473–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12303
Sviatun, O., & Škurek, M. (2023). The Legal Framework of Whistleblowers’ Protection in Ukraine and in the Czech Republic. European Studies: The Review of European Law, Economics and Politics, 10(1), 157–182. https://doi.org/10.2478/eustu-2023-0007
Teichmann, F. M. J. (2019). Incentive systems in anti-bribery whistleblowing. Journal of Financial Crime, 26(2), 519–525. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-04-2018-0041
Triantoro, H. D., Utami, I., & Joseph, C. (2020). Whistleblowing system, Machiavellian personality, fraud intention: An experimental study. Journal of Financial Crime, 27(1), 202–216. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-01-2019-0003
Udvarhelyi, B. (2023). Protection of the Whistleblowers - Eu Requirements and Hungarian Solutions. Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric, 68(1), 589–610. https://doi.org/10.2478/slgr-2023-0034
Vandekerckhove, W. (2022). Is It Freedom? The Coming About of the EU Directive on Whistleblower Protection. Journal of Business Ethics, 179(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04771-x
Vandekerckhove, W., & Tsahuridu, E. E. (2010). Risky Rescues and the Duty to Blow the Whistle. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(3), 365–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0513-2
Wijayanti, D. M., Senjani, Y. P., & Farah, W. (2024). The role of Machiavellian personality, altruistic personality, religiosity, whistleblowing system, and accounting firm size in mitigating fraud intention. Journal of Financial Crime, 31(1), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-02-2023-0034