Moral Agency, Institutional Power, and Cultural Legitimacy in Whistleblowing: Implications for Management Accountability and Ethical Control

Maulidi, Ach (2026) Moral Agency, Institutional Power, and Cultural Legitimacy in Whistleblowing: Implications for Management Accountability and Ethical Control. Asian Journal of Business Ethics. pp. 1-38. ISSN 22106731

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Abstract

This study is to observe whistleblowing as a moral and contextual process shaped by the interaction of individual moral agency, institutional power, and cultural legitimacy. The study adopts a qualitative interpretive approach using in-depth interviews across multiple functional areas in three Indonesian cities. Empirical patterns were first synthesised into the “Moral Processing Model of Whistleblowing Intentions”, which explains how individuals negotiate competing obligations to truth, loyalty, self-preservation, and public responsibility when deciding whether to report wrongdoing. Further analysis led to the Model of Moral-Contextual Whistleblowing, which conceptualises integrity-driven, conflict-driven, resistance-driven, and suppressed whistleblowing patterns. Together, these models demonstrate that whistleblowing and silence emerge through the interaction of moral agency, institutional power, and cultural legitimacy rather than through simple risk calculations or intention-based reasoning. So, this study advances whistleblowing literature by moving beyond instrumental and intention-based models.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Business and Economic > Department of Accounting
Depositing User:	ACH MAULIDI
Date Deposited:	04 Sep 2026 07:05
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2026 07:05
URI:	http://repository.ubaya.ac.id/id/eprint/51249

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