Are not-for-profit employees more willing (or likely) to be whistleblowers?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether intention to report fraud varies by organization type or fraud type. Employees who self-select into not-for-profits may be inherently different from employees at other organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conduct a 2 × 2 experiment in which (n=107) individuals with a bookkeeping or accounting background respond to a fraud scenario. Analysis of covariance models are used for data analysis. Findings: The authors find evidence that not-for-profit employees are more likely to report fraud and that reporting intention does not differ significantly by fraud type. Research limitations/implications: Limitations of this study include the simulation of a fraud through a hypothetical incident and the use of online participants. Practical implications: This study expands the commitment literature by examining the role that commitment plays in the judgment and decision-making process of a whistleblower. Findings suggest affective commitment, which is an employee’s emotional attachment to the organization, and mediate the path between organization type and reporting intention. Affective commitment significantly predicts whistleblowing in not-for-profit organizations but not in for-profit organizations. Originality/value: This research provides insight into how organization type influences whistleblowing intentions through constructs such as organizational commitment and public service motivation.