Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Dec 2023)
Positive Effect of Narcissism on Employees’ Whistleblowing: The Role of Felt Accountability and Ethical Environment
Abstract
Xuemei Zhan,1 Yuan Jie2 1School of Business Administration, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Public Administration, Party School of C.P.C Jiangsu Committee, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yuan Jie, Email [email protected]: This study aims to develop a model to explore the effect of narcissism on whistleblowing through felt accountability and to examine the moderating role of organization’s ethical environment on this relationship.Methods: The study was a two-wave study involving MBA students. Two surveys were distributed to individuals who work full time at two different times (roughly two weeks apart). A total of 261 individuals completed both questionnaires. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 22.0 to test the hypotheses.Results: The results supported the prediction that felt accountability mediates the positive relationship between narcissism and whistleblowing. The findings also showed that the indirect effect of narcissism on whistleblowing through felt accountability was stronger when individuals perceived organizational environment to be unethical.Conclusion: The study contributes to our understanding of the bright side of narcissism by combining it with research on whistleblowing and explicates how and when narcissistic individuals engage in whistleblowing.Keywords: narcissism, whistleblowing, felt accountability, ethical environment
