Whistleblowing, speaking up and silencing: drivers, process, consequences

Whistleblowing (WB), defined as ‘the disclosure by organization members (former or current) of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to persons or organizations that may be able to effect action’, is a debated activity.

While promoted by scholars and in the public debate, WB encounter social exclusion in their organizations, often being cast as deviant/mentally instable, and loss of important work tasks. This appears to be the case even when the WB disclosures save public money and protect the public interest. Research has however not theorized the conditions affecting WB, and how different types of WB are responded to.

This project will study 10-12cases of what we refer to as “speaking up” acts, ranging from concerns being raised in a clear voice, but within a local context, to reports reaching the broader public.

Our interest is in acts of serious speaking up, internally and/or externally, and the processes behind and directly following such speaking up as well as more long-term consequences, for organizations and for the active, speaking up subject.

The project is based on a series of case studies from the private and public sector, which we will use to point at patterns as well as variations in acts of speaking up, the silences that accompany them, and the wider social patterns, beyond the organization, that shape and are shaped by acts of speaking up and remaining silent.

We expect to produce results and texts of interest for a broader public and aim to write a book as well as articles for newspapers. We also expect to generate ideas for policies and for whistleblowers.

We intend to write several journal articles, on WB/speaking up in relation to other topics (power, identity, organizational culture, willful ignorance).

The empirical topic - WB/speaking up – may here partly be seen as a way of addressing important aspects of organizations and working life of broader theoretical relevance.