The Implications of Organizational Structure, Political Control, and Internal System Responsiveness on Whistleblowing Behavior

• Author: Hongseok Lee
• Published date: 01 March 2020
• Date: 01 March 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X18792054
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X18792054

Review of Public Personnel Administration

2020, Vol. 40(1) 155 –177

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0734371X18792054

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Article

The Implications of

Organizational Structure,

Political Control, and Internal

System Responsiveness on

Whistleblowing Behavior

Hongseok Lee1

Abstract

This study examines how organizational structure, political control, and internal

system responsiveness to employee complaints or grievances influence U.S. federal

employees’ internal and external whistleblowing. Although prior research has

investigated a number of personal, organizational, and social factors that affect

whistleblowing, very little research has examined the three factors that are the focus

of this study and the roles that they might play in whistleblowing behavior. The results

show that (a) wider spans of control of middle-level versus upper-level managers have

opposite effects on internal whistleblowing, (b) fixed terms for agency leaders are

negatively related to internal whistleblowing, and (c) internal system responsiveness

to employee complaints or grievances has mixed effects on internal whistleblowing.

This study concludes by discussing the implications of these findings and proposing

effective ways to manage whistleblowing within public organizations.

Keywords

internal whistleblowing, external whistleblowing, organizational structure, internal

system responsiveness, political control

Introduction

Whistleblowing has gained increased attention from scholars and practitioners.

Despite its potential costs (e.g., being misused as employee sabotage, diminishing

1University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), USA

Corresponding Author:

Hongseok Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration and Policy, University at

Albany, SUNY, 135 Western Avenue, Albany NY 12222, USA.

Email: hlee5@albany.edu

792054ROPXXX10.1177/0734371X18792054Review of Public Personnel AdministrationLee

research-article2018

156 Review of Public Personnel Administration 40(1)

organizational reputations; Martin & Rifkin, 2004; Miethe, 1999), whistleblowing can

offer benefits to organizations, citizens, and customers. First, whistleblowing has

uncovered and addressed wrongdoings in various areas such as environmental control,

financial mismanagement, and public safety (Government Accountability Project

[GAP], 2017). For example, the 2014 whistleblowing case involving the Veteran

Affairs Medical Center in Phoenix revealed that scheduling data had been manipu-

lated, which resulted in patients’ deaths. Second, in addition to identifying and fixing

problems, whistleblowing may promote employees’ ethical responsibilities and orga-

nizations’ tolerance for dissent (Lavena, 2016; Miethe & Rothschild, 1994).

Recognizing the importance of the topic, previous studies have mostly examined

how personal factors, such as personality and demographic attributes, encourage or

discourage whistleblowing (Brewer & Selden, 1998; Caillier, 2017; Cho & Song,

2015; Lavena, 2016; Mesmer-Magnus & Viswesvaran, 2005; Miceli, Near, & Dworkin,

2008; Perry, 1993; Wright, Hassan, & Park, 2016). However, little is known about how

organizational factors, such as internal and external environments, affect such behav-

ior. Among a number of these factors, this study examines how an organization’s span

of control and formalization, susceptibility to political control, and responsiveness to

employee complaints and grievances encourage or deter U.S. federal employees’

whistleblowing behavior through internal or external disclosure channels.

Although scholars have posited that organizational structure encourages or deters

whistleblowing (King, 1999; Miceli & Near, 1992), empirical research on this ques-

tion is scarce; the few exceptions have evaluated employee perceptions about organi-

zational structure (Lavena, 2016; Miceli, Near, & Schwenk, 1991). Employee

perception is a valid measure because it guides behaviors. However, a perceptual mea-

sure might not accurately reflect an organization’s structural arrangements, and obtain-

ing variables—employee perception about organizational structure and self-reported

whistleblowing behavior—from the same data source might lead to common method

bias (Meier & O’Toole, 2013). This study uses archival measures of organizational

structure to examine their effects on whistleblowing. Several studies have supported

that public organizations in general are more centralized and formalized than private

ones are in forming sub-entities and making decisions (Boyne, 2002; Rainey, 2009)

and that these features influence public employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Therefore,

when investigating public employees’ whistleblowing behavior, organizational struc-

tures that influence employees’ discretion and willingness to stand against their orga-

nizations or supervisors, such as organizational hierarchy and sound rules and

management, merit consideration.

Furthermore, the strong influence of the political environment is a key feature that

distinguishes public organizations from private ones. Federal agencies are subject to

congressional and presidential controls that influence bureaucratic behaviors and out-

puts. Although many previous studies have concentrated on whistleblower protection

laws (Miceli, Rehg, Near, & Ryan, 1999; Peffer et al., 2015), no study has addressed

potential effects of political control on public employees’ whistleblowing. Considering

the enactment of whistleblower protection laws and growing public attention on whis-

tleblowing, good reasons exist to support the supposition that political authorities are