Article
Estimating the incidence of wrongdoing and whistle-blowing: Results of a study using randomized response technique
Journal of Business Ethics
(1995)
Abstract
Student cheating and reporting of that cheating represents one form of organizational wrong-doing and subsequent whistle-blowing, in the context of an academic organization. Previous research has been hampered by a lack of information concerning the validity of survey responses estimating the incidence of organizational wrongdoing and whistle-blowing. An innovative method, the Randomized Response Technique (RRT), was used here to assess the validity of reported incidences of wrongdoing and whistle-blowing. Surprisingly, our findings show that estimates of these incidences did not vary significantly when RRT questionnaire results were compared to those obtained from standard surveys. In fact, a large number of business undergraduates admitted cheating while only a small percentage reported peers' cheating when they observed it. These results should be sobering for managers and their implications are considered in some detail.
Keywords
- Student cheating,
- Randomized Response Technique
Disciplines
Publication Date
January, 1995
DOI
10.1007/BF00873732
Publisher Statement
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature.
Citation Information
Burton, B.K., & Near, J.P. 1995. Estimating the incidence of wrongdoing and whistle-blowing: Results of a study using randomized response technique. Journal of Business Ethics, 14: 17-30.