Who Gets Stitches? The Effects of Rewarding Whistleblowers and Protecting Their Identity on Subsequent Willingness to Work With Others

Authors

Ryan D. Sommerfeldt, Brigham Young University - ProvoFollow

Keywords

Whistleblowing, Rewards, Identity Protection, Anonymity, Management Controls, Work with Others

Abstract

Companies are strongly encouraged to implement whistleblowing programs to help detect and deter misconduct in organizations, but whistleblowers often face ostracism as their coworkers are less willing to work with them (the whistleblower effect). Rewarding the whistleblower and protecting the whistleblower’s identity are two highly recommended features of whistleblowing programs that aim to encourage reporting. Across two experiments, I examine the spillover effects of these whistleblowing program features on how willing employees are to work with their coworkers after reporting occurs. I find that providing a reward to the whistleblower exacerbates the whistleblower effect, leading employees to work even less with the whistleblower (the reward effect). I also find that protecting the whistleblower’s identity removes the reward effect but does not remove the whistleblower effect. Instead, the whistleblower effect is extended to neutral coworkers. As a result, when employees do not know the identity of the whistleblower, they view their coworkers less as separate individuals and are less willing to work with everyone in their group.

Original Publication Citation

Sommerfeldt, Ryan, Who Gets Stitches? The Effects of Rewarding Whistleblowers and Protecting Their Identity on Subsequent Willingness to Work With Others (September 18, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3839082 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3839082

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Sommerfeldt, Ryan D., "Who Gets Stitches? The Effects of Rewarding Whistleblowers and Protecting Their Identity on Subsequent Willingness to Work With Others" (2025). Faculty Publications. 7886.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7886

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2025-09-18

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Accountancy

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

Copyright Status

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Copyright Use Information

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