The Influences of Self-efficacy, Empathy, Ethical Leadership and Power Distance on Whistleblowing Intention

Whistleblowing can be described as a response to reporting improper conduct. It comprises reporting any harmful practices that require instant remedial action to reduce the adverse effect across the organisation. Even though whistleblowing is a tough decision, continuous effort to examine the factors influencing the whistleblowing intention provides valuable insights in detecting and preventing wrongdoings. This study aimed to examine the determinants of whistleblowing intention among 210 public sector internal auditors of 25 ministries in Malaysia. This study applied a quantitative approach through questionnaire distribution and employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyse the collected data. In this study, four independent variables were proposed. Two individual factors (self-efficacy and empathy) and two organisational factors (ethical leadership and power distance) were examined for their relationship with the dependent variable (whistleblowing intention). The results of this study indicated that self-efficacy and empathy as significant contributors to whistleblowing intention. Meanwhile, ethical leadership and power distance were not significant in influencing whistleblowing intention. Delving into study to explore the antecedents that influence the likelihood of whistleblowing is crucial to address the ethical and professional standards of the public sector internal auditing.