A perspective on the whistleblowing intention of internal auditors: an integrated ethical decision-making model

Antoh, Alfiana; Sholihin, Mahfud; Sugiri, Slamet; Arifa, Choirunnisa Article A perspective on the whistleblowing intention of internal auditors: an integrated ethical decision-making model Cogent Business & Management Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Antoh, Alfiana; Sholihin, Mahfud; Sugiri, Slamet; Arifa, Choirunnisa (2024) : A perspective on the whistleblowing intention of internal auditors: an integrated ethical decisionmaking model, Cogent Business & Management, ISSN 2331-1975, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 1-25, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2292817 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/325926 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cogent Business & Management ISSN: 2331-1975 (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oabm20 A perspective on the whistleblowing intention of internal auditors: an integrated ethical decisionmaking model Alfiana Antoh, Mahfud Sholihin, Slamet Sugiri & Choirunnisa Arifa To cite this article: Alfiana Antoh, Mahfud Sholihin, Slamet Sugiri & Choirunnisa Arifa (2024) A perspective on the whistleblowing intention of internal auditors: an integrated ethical decision-making model, Cogent Business & Management, 11:1, 2292817, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2023.2292817 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2292817 © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Published online: 25 Jan 2024. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 4285 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 4 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 Accounting, corporAte governAnce & Business ethics | reseArch Article Cogent Business & ManageMent 2024, VoL. 11, no. 1, 2292817 A perspective on the whistleblowing intention of internal auditors: an integrated ethical decision-making model Alfiana Antoha,b , Mahfud sholihinc , slamet sugiric and choirunnisa Arifac aaccounting science Doctoral Programme, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, indonesia; bDepartment of accounting, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas Cenderawasih, Papua, indonesia; cDepartment of accounting, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, indonesia ABSTRACT the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between ethical awareness, ethical judgment, and whistleblowing intention using, as a framework, the integrated ethical decision-making model (i-eDM model). Additionally, this study integrates one of the variables within the theory of planned behavior (tpB), namely attitude, into the ethical judgment stage of the i-eDM model and investigates whether the perceived ethical climate influences every step of the whistleblowing decision-making process. using a quantitative approach, the researchers collected data using a survey, and successfully gathered 193 responses from the internal auditors of public universities in indonesia. We found that ethical awareness influences whistleblowing intentions, and the attitude toward whistleblowing mediates the influence of ethical awareness on internal whistleblowing. Further, we found that the perceived ethical climate moderates the relationship between ethical awareness and the attitude toward whistleblowing, as well as the connection between the attitude toward whistleblowing and the external whistleblowing intention. these findings provide support for the i-eDM model, the tpB, and the ethical climate theory. these findings suggest the importance of enhancing auditors’ ethical awareness and positive attitude toward whistleblowing, as well as improving the ethical climate within organizations. 1. Introduction Fraud is a global problem, occurring in all parts of the world in both developed and developing countries, and it has a negative impact on various types and sizes of organizations, including public sector organizations. According to the survey by the Association of certified Fraud examiners (AcFe) in 2022, public sector organizations such as those for government and public administration have the second-highest number of cases of loss due to fraud, after corruption through bribery, conflicts of interest and extortion. Fraud in an organization can be detected at an early stage if members of that organization immediately report any indications of ongoing fraudulent behavior. one of the ways is by a whistleblowing mechanism, which has been proven to be effective in exposing fraud (Alleyne et al., 2013; culiberg & Mihelič, 2017). Whistleblowing is defined as the disclosure by an organization’s members (former or current) of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices, carried out under the control of their employers, to persons or organizations that may be able to affect action (near & Miceli, 1985). A survey conducted by the AcFe in 2022 showed that 55 percent of whistleblowers are employees. however, employees who carry out whistleblowing often run the risk of being fired (Archambeault & Webber, 2015), being harassed by co-workers or superiors (sachdeva & chaudhary, 2022), or facing the dilemma between being © 2024 the author(s). Published by informa uK Limited, trading as taylor & Francis group. CONTACT alfiana antoh [email protected] accounting science Doctoral Programme, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, indonesia. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2292817 this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. the terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. ARTICLE HISTORY received 19 september 2023 revised 3 December 2023 Accepted 4 December 2023 KEYWORDS ethical awareness; ethical climate; ethical judgment; integrated ethical decision-making model; theory of planned behavior; whistleblowing REVIEWING EDITOR collins ntim, Accounting, southampton Business school, university of southampton, southampton, hampshire, united Kingdom of great Britain and northern ireland JEL CLASSIFICATIONS h83; i23; M40; M41; M42 2 A. Antoh etAl. considered a hero by society versus a traitor by their organization and co-workers (Keenan, 1990; lindblom, 2007; teo & caspersz, 2011). All of these hazards are more likely to occur with internal rather than external whistleblowers (read & rama, 2003), which can lead to employee reluctance to report fraud. the ethics compliance initiative (2019) found nearly one-half (45 percent) of employees observed misconduct in their workplace, but slightly more than one-third (33 percent) remained silent. this underlies the importance of research, not only to determine the factors that can increase the whistleblowing intentions of members of the organization, but also how someone who finds wrongdoing can make the decision to report it (blow the whistle). culiberg and Mihelič (2017) stated that whistleblowing is an ethical dilemma, and an individual must go through a series of ethical decision-making processes to arrive at the act of whistleblowing. Although whistleblowing studies have been carried out extensively, their focus has been on the individual stages of the process, such as the intention stage (Brink et al., 2017; Kaplan et al., 2009; nuswantara, 2023; owusu et al., 2020; robertson et al., 2011) or the positive relationship between the judgment and intention stages (Brown etal., 2016; liyanarachchi & Adler, 2011; Mesmer-Magnus & viswesvaran, 2005; sarikhani & ebrahimi, 2022; Zhang et al., 2009a), and they have ignored the other two stages, namely ethical awareness and the whistleblowing behavior itself (culiberg & Mihelič, 2017). it is still unclear how the whole process proceeds (craft et al., 2013). Most of the previous research, especially the research conducted by latan et al. (2019) that examined whistleblowing as an ethical decision-making process, was conducted in the private sector and very little attention has been directed at the public sector. the environment and characteristics of public sector organizations, which differ from those of private organizations, result in different whistleblowing processes depending on the type of organization (latan et al., 2023; Miceli & near, 2013) and the application of whistleblowing legislation (previtali & cerchiello, 2018). the losses suffered by public sector organizations will have a broad impact on society, because the public sector plays an important role in the economy of every country and affects the socio-political structure of the country. the disclosure of fraud is one of the mechanisms that can help improve public sector services to the community (Miceli & near, 2013) and is an important part of openness and accountability to the public (Quayle, 2021). in this paper, we attempt to respond by expanding the whistleblowing literature by examining the whistleblowing process for internal auditors in public sector organizations, with a focus on higher education organizations. in particular, the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between ethical awareness, ethical judgment, and the whistleblowing intention in the ethical decision-making process, and the situational context that can influence each stage based on the i-eDM model (schwartz, 2016). this study also integrates one of the dimensions of the tpB, namely the attitude toward whistleblowing, into the ethical judgment stage. the study was motivated by several considerations. First, higher education institutions are public sector organizations that play an important role in creating quality human resources that ultimately contribute greatly to local, national and global development (chankseliani et al., 2021). Fraud in higher education institutions can lower the quality of higher education and greatly affect the quality of the human resources they produce. With the increasing demands of good governance and risk management in higher education institutions in the world, and especially in indonesia, the role of university internal auditors is very important; they play a frontline role in ensuring the achievement of good governance and good risk management (Dzikrullah et al., 2020; susmanschi, 2012), especially in their efforts to prevent fraud such as corruption (rahayu et al., 2020) in higher education institutions. internal auditors occupy a unique position in an organization, because they have a deep understanding of that organization and its internal control environment. this provides an opportunity for them to be aware of any signs of fraud in an organization beforehand (lee et al., 2021). internal auditors are usually more sensitive to unethical actions, but they are also more worried than external auditors about the consequences of whistleblowing, such as losing their jobs or being ostracized by the organization (read & rama, 2003). Accounting research has, until now, highlighted more about the determinants of the whistleblowing intention in auditors working in the private sector: for example, Arnol sr. and ponemon (1991), Kaplan and Whitecotton (2001), Brennan and Kelly (2007), taylor and curtis (2013), cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 3 latan et al., (2019), Boo et al., (2021), while very little is known about the determinants of the whistleblowing intentions for auditors working in public sector organizations, especially those in higher education institutions. second, a review of the literature on whistleblowing, conducted by culiberg and Mihelič (2017), and the literature on whistleblowing in the accounting field by gao and Brink (2017) showed that research still lacks a focus on whistleblowing as an ethical decision-making process. Furthermore, culiberg and Mihelič (2017) were critical of how research into whistleblowing up till then had focused more on the relationship between ethical judgment and whistleblowing intentions, while ignoring other stages in the ethical decision-making process, namely ethical awareness and ethical behavior. this research responds to this by examining how the process of whistleblowing occurs as an ethical decision-making (eDM) process, and the situational context that influences the eDM process, based on the integrated ethical decision making (i-eDM) model proposed by schwartz (2016). ethical awareness plays an important role in ethical decision-making (whistleblowing). An ethical decision-making process begins with the emergence of an awareness of experiencing an ethical dilemma, which then leads to the stage of ethical judgment when individuals consider the ethical choices that must be taken; the absence of ethical awareness in an individual can lead to unconscious unethical actions (schwartz, 2016). third, uys (2014) pointed out the importance of integrating various approaches in facilitating the assessment of whistleblowing intentions. this research responds to uys’s (2014) call by integrating the i-eDM model (schwartz, 2016) and the tpB proposed by Ajzen (1991), especially the attitude toward whistleblowing in the judgment stage of the ethical decision-making process. the attitude toward whistleblowing is an individual’s assessment of whether whistleblowing is an ethical, beneficial action or not; the more a person has a positive view of a particular behavior (whistleblowing), the more likely he/she is to commit that behavior. At the judgment stage, individuals form their judgments about whether whistleblowing is an ideal ethical choice (Zhang etal., 2009b). this research differs from previous research conducted by latan etal. (2019) which examined the influence of rational and nonrational factors from the i-eDM model on the whistleblowing intention. Fourth, near & Miceli (1985) showed that the organizational climate is a factor that also plays an important role in increasing the effectiveness of whistleblowing. Whistleblowing intentions are influenced by individuals’ perceptions of organizational support, and whether the organization is willing to change the improper actions. therefore, it is very important to study how the organizational climate can increase whistleblowing (gao & Brink, 2017). An ethical climate represents an organizational climate that can encourage or prevent the disclosure of fraud. consequently, this paper seeks to make the following contributions to the existing literature. First, our research provides empirical evidence that expands the understanding of the factors that influence the intention to commit whistleblowing, from the point of view of the ethical decision-making process. Whistleblowing, as an ethical action, does not just simply happen but rather goes through a series of stages in the ethical decision-making process, which include ethical awareness, ethical judgment, and intentions to behave ethically, as well as situational factors that affect each of these stages. the results of this research answer the call of culiberg and Mihelič (2017) and provide support for the i-eDM model developed by schwartz (2016). second, by integrating one of the determinants of intention from the theory of planned behavior (tpB), namely the attitude toward whistleblowing, which was proposed by Ajzen (1985, 1991) at the judgment stage of the i-eDM model (schwartz, 2016), our study responds to uys’s (2016) call to integrate different approaches in assessing the whistleblowing intention. this study provides empirical evidence that the attitude toward whistleblowing plays an important role in the whistleblowing process; the more an auditor has a positive view of whistleblowing, the more likely it is that he/she intends to blow the whistle. third, it uses the perceived ethical climate in a situational context, as proposed by schwartz (2016). the perceived ethical climate itself has not been widely researched in the existing literature on whistleblowing in the field of accounting. our study demonstrates the important role of the perceived ethical climate in the whistleblowing process. Auditors who have high ethical awareness, supported by a positive perception of the ethical climate that applies within their organization, will assess whistleblowing as a useful, ethical, and appropriate behavior to engage in. Fourth, this research contributes to the methodology by expanding the scope of the research subjects in its examination of the intentions of internal auditors in the public sector, particularly in universities, and by 4 A. Antoh etAl. expanding the scope of whistleblowing research through the provision of evidence from indonesia, so that it can further increase the generalization of the research results. the remainder of this paper is structured as follows: section 2 describes the background of the study. section 3 reviews the theoretical literature, while section 4 reviews the empirical literature and develops the hypotheses. section 5 describes the research design. section 6 presents the empirical results and discussions. section 7 concludes the study. 2. Background state universities in indonesia were originally higher education institutions. their management came under the coordination of the Ministry of education and culture. however, since the issuance of law number 12 of 2012 concerning higher education, universities in indonesia have been encouraged to achieve full autonomy in the implementation of higher education, managed through good governance, which is intended to achieve its vision and goals as a professional institution (risanty & Kesuma, 2019). one of the criteria is public accountability. the facts show that public accountability has not been optimally achieved, because higher education in indonesia is one of the sectors that is harmed by corruption. in indonesia, during the period from 2016 to 2021, universities accounted for 49 percent of the total state losses caused by corruption in the education sector, namely iDr789.8 billion, through various modes including corruption in the procurement of goods and services, corruption of grant funds, research funds and scholarships (indonesian coruption Watch, 2021). Although there has been a lot of fraud in higher education institutions, only a few cases have been publicized, which means they can be followed up by the corruption eradication commission (KpK). this research tested the i-eDM model on the internal auditors of state universities in indonesia, because internal auditors have a unique position in such organizations and play an important role in realizing the good governance of higher education institutions. their deep understanding of the organization and its internal environment means they can recognize fraud in the organization early on (lee et al., 2021). in carrying out their duties, internal auditors may encounter the whistleblowing process several times throughout their careers, such as assisting in the process of investigating whistleblower reports or providing advice to potential whistleblowers, so they can gain access to sensitive information, which means they may be in a position to report fraud themselves (Archambeault & Webber, 2015; Quayle, 2021). Apart from that, internal auditors at state universities in indonesia are unique because they carry out two tasks, namely their main task as lecturers and also as employees who are given additional duties as internal auditors, so it is very likely that they will experience a conflict of interest. this can lead to an ethical dilemma. this research chose the indonesian context because, to date, research into whistleblowing has been mostly carried out in developed countries (see the literature review conducted by gao and Brink [2017], and lee and Xiao [2018] for the private sector, and Kang’s (2023) research on the public sector), but little has been done in developing countries (latan et al., 2018), especially in indonesia. Whistleblowing research in indonesia, especially in public sector organizations, is still limited to testing the variables that affect whistleblowing intentions, including authentic leadership (Anita et al., 2021; Anugerah et al., 2019), the attitude to whistleblowing (nurhidayat & Kusumasari, 2019) and the perceived organizational protection (latan et al., 2023). the 2022 AcFe survey shows that the Asia pacific region ranks third for the largest number of fraud cases in the world, and indonesia ranks fourth after Australia, china and Malaysia. in the context of the high level of fraud that occurs in the Asia pacific region, especially in indonesia, and in view of the limited evidence from the public sector in indonesia, it is increasingly urgent that research in the indonesian context is conducted. 3.Theoretical literature review three theoretical frameworks are applied in this study, namely, the integrated ethical decision-making (i-eDM) model, the theory of planned behavior (tpB) and the ethical climate theory. cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 5 3.1. Integrated ethical decision-making (I-EDM) model schwartz (2016) developed an i-eDM model to overcome the weaknesses in previous eDM models, which had assumed that ethical behavior depends on the particular individual facing an ethical dilemma, and the situational context when the individual faced it. At the basic level, there are two main components, (1) a process based on the four stages of eDM, which are: (i) awareness, (ii) judgment, (iii) intention, and (iv) action or behavior (rest, 1986); and (2) factors or variables that influence the eDM process based on the interactionist model (trevino, 1986), namely individual factors and the situational context. in the context of whistleblowing, culiberg and Mihelič (2017) suggested analyzing whistleblowing from the point of view of ethical decision-making, which consists of four stages: (1) it starts with an individual awareness that fraud that has negative consequences for others is happening, (2) individuals evaluate whether whistleblowing is ethical behavior or not, (3) the formation of intention, namely when the individual decides whether he or she will engage in whistleblowing, (4) actually engaging in whistleblowing behavior, or not, in accordance with his or her intention. Moral awareness encourages decision makers to make moral judgments about what constitutes right or wrong behavior in a given situation, which in turn encourages individuals to establish moral intentions to perform moral behavior, or not (haines etal., 2008). At the judgment stage, when a person realizes that there is a moral problem, he or she must make a moral judgment (Jones, 1991) to choose among the various alternatives and further establish his or her moral intentions. using the classical eDM theory (rest, 1986) and the i-eDM model (schwartz, 2016), prior studies that examined the influence of ethical awareness and ethical judgment on the intention to perform ethical behavior have shown that these two variables affect the intention to carry out ethical behavior. For example, research conducted by rottig etal. (2011) and haines etal. (2008) shows that individual moral awareness and perceptions of the importance of ethical issues affect moral judgments and moral intentions. Kim and loewenstein (2020) show that moral awareness, either spontaneously or with encouragement, can capture important aspects of the ethical decision-making process. research in the context of whistleblowing was conducted by valentine and godkin (2019) and their results showed that the recognition and perception of the importance of ethical issues were positively related to whistleblowing intentions. research by latan et al. (2019) showed that ethical judgment influenced auditors’ intentions to whistleblow. 3.2. Theory of planned behavior the theory of planned behavior (tpB) has been demonstrated to be an effective theoretical framework for predicting ethical and unethical behavior intentions (Buchan, 2005; McMillan and conner, 2003; randall and gibson, 1991), particularly for predicting whistleblowing intentions (park & Blenkinsopp, 2009). the main factor in this theory is the individual’s intention to engage in certain behaviors. intention is an indicator of motivation that influences a person’s behavior, indicating the extent to which a person is willing to plan, try, and make the effort to realize that behavior. Brown etal. (2016) developed a judgment model based on the tpB, and supported this with the fraud triangle theory to provide a more complete perspective on the intention to engage in whistleblowing. Brown et al. (2016) stated that the tpB provides an explanation of the factors or elements that contribute to individual judgment. one of the determinants of intention that was proposed by the tpB (Ajzen, 1985, 1991), which determines a person’s intention to behave, is the attitude toward behavior. the attitude toward behavior indicates the extent to which individuals perceive a particular behavior as acceptable (beneficial), or not (Ajzen, 1991). in relation to whistleblowing, individual attitudes can have positive and negative effects on intentions and behavior, depending on the individual’s personal views. if the individual has a positive attitude toward the whistleblowing action, then this will have a positive impact on that individual’s intention to disclose fraud, and vice versa. using the tpB, previous research using the attitude toward whistleblowing as an independent variable to the intention to do whistleblowing include studies by park and Blenkinsopp (2009), trongmateerut and sweeney (2013), Brown et al. (2016), Alleyne et al. (2019), Arkorful (2022) and Zhang et al. (2022). the results all show a positive influence of the attitude toward whistleblowing on whistleblowing intentions. in this research we use the attitude toward whistleblowing 6 A. Antoh etAl. as a mediating variable that links ethical awareness with the intention of blowing the whistle in the judgment stage, based on the i-eDM model. the ethical awareness that an individual has will cause the individual to recognize ethical dilemmas when discovering fraud, which then leads to the judgment stage to assess whether whistleblowing is a fair, ethical, and beneficial action or not, and ultimately affects the individual’s intention to whistleblow. 3.3. Ethical climate theory Another theory used in this research is the ethical climate theory, which was developed by victor and cullen (1988). this theory is used in this research to represent one of the situational contexts of the i-eDM model, namely the organizational context. An ethical climate is defined as the prevailing perceptions of typical organizational practices and procedures that have an ethical content (victor and cullen, 1988:101), as well as the perceptions of what constitutes correct behavior, which then becomes a psychological mechanism through which ethical issues are managed (Martin & cullen, 2006). the ethical climate influences decision making and the subsequent behavior in response to ethical dilemmas. An ethical climate includes the employees’ perceptions of behavior that is seen as being ethical, or unethical, within an organization (Kaptein, 2011). this concept was developed because individual characteristics cannot fully explain the factors that influence ethical decision-making in the organizational context (Buchan, 2005), and also because individuals often seek guidance from outside themselves when faced with ethical dilemmas. therefore, organizations can influence the relationship between individual understanding and behavior through reinforcing ethical behavior, organizational norms, and managerial responsibility (trevino 1986). Whistleblowing is a reporting mechanism that helps management identify unethical situations and behavior, and thus take corrective action. employees’ positive perceptions of their organization can encourage them to report fraud that they encounter, meaning that the problem can be resolved within the organization without the need to involve outside parties (Aydan & Kaya, 2018). When an employee or member of an organization knows about fraud and feels that the organization supports ethical behavior (for example through norms, rules, or its leadership’s appreciation), then that individual will be more motivated to engage in whistleblowing. previous research using the ethical climate theory to explain ethical behavior, especially whistleblowing, has shown that, directly or indirectly, the ethical climate influences a person’s intention to report fraud (Ahmad etal., 2014; nuswantara, 2023; potipiroon & Wongpreedee, 2021; rothwell & Baldwin, 2006, 2007; smaili, 2023; Zhou et al., 2018). 4. Empirical literature review and hypotheses development 4.1. Whistleblowing as an ethical decision-making process Whistleblowing is a form of ethical decision-making (eDM) (culiberg & Mihelič, 2017). According to the i-eDM model developed by schwartz (2016), there are four stages of ethical decision-making, namely the awareness, judgment, intention, and behavior. ethical awareness is the awareness possessed by individuals at a certain point in time when faced with an ethical dilemma that requires a decision or action that may affect their own interests, or those of others, in a way that may conflict with one or more of the moral standards (Butterfield et al., 2000). the ethical awareness stage is a critical one in the eDM process (schwartz, 2016), because when individuals are not aware of the moral or ethical nature implied in a particular situation, it can lead to unintentional ethical or unethical behavior (tenbrunsel & smith-crowe, 2008). At the awareness stage, individuals must recognize or feel that they are facing an ethical dilemma. previous research has shown that moral awareness influences the intention to behave ethically, both directly and indirectly, including in marketing services (singhapakdi etal., 1999), consumer attitudes (Ang et al., 2001; De Matos et al., 2007), organizational ethical infrastructure (rottig et al., 2011), and ethics education (rangkuti et al., 2022; tomlin et al., 2021). cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 7 in the whistleblowing process, the first step occurs when the individual has sufficient ethical awareness to identify an error, or observes illegal or unethical activity within the organization (smaili, 2023) that creates an ethical dilemma. in the case of auditing, auditors who have ethical awareness can distinguish between normal and unusual types of errors, because unusual errors can be a sign of fraud, ethical violations, or illegal acts (Arnol sr. & ponemon, 1991). Auditors who are aware of ethical problems or dilemmas have the potential to be involved in the eDM process, one element of which is the ethical intention stage (whistleblowing intention). Based on the explanation above, the following hypothesis has been formulated: ha1: ethical awareness has a positive effect on the whistleblowing intention. the classic eDM theory proposed by rest (1986) and Jones (1991), which was later developed by schwartz (2016), states that moral judgment will occur if there is moral or ethical awareness. previous research has shown that moral (ethical) awareness is a predictor of moral judgment (haines etal., 2008; rottig et al., 2011) and is an important element in moral decision-making (luo et al., 2023; Martinez & Jaeger, 2016). Furthermore, individuals who perceive there are ethical problems will form more ethical judgments (singhapakdi et al., 1996) and a moral awareness that can capture important aspects of the ethical decision-making process (Kim & loewenstein, 2020). According to schwartz (2016), ethical judgment is the determination of the most ethically appropriate action among various alternatives. Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) explained that judgments are formed through evaluating beliefs. Beliefs are defined as: ‘the subjective probability of the relationship between an object of belief and other objects, values, concepts, or attributes’. these are obtained through observation of, conclusions about, and communication with, other people. one of the three beliefs that are the focus of the tpB is behavioral beliefs (Ajzen, 1985, 1991), which is assumed to influence people’s attitudes toward whistleblowing. Brown et al. (2016) developed a whistleblowing judgment model based on the theory of planned behavior (tpB) and the fraud triangle theory, and argued that the tpB provides an explanation of the factors or elements that contribute to individual judgment. one such factor is the attitude toward whistleblowing. this attitude toward a type of behavior refers to the extent to which a person has a favorable or unacceptable evaluation or assessment of the behavior (Ajzen 1991:188). At this judgment stage, a person forms judgments about whether or not disclosing fraud is an ideal choice (Zhang et al., 2009a). in the whistleblowing process, after an individual realizes that there is a mistake that creates an ethical dilemma, he or she forms an opinion about what should be done by making a judgment about whether or not blowing the whistle is the correct, ethical, profitable, and useful action. Auditors who are aware of fraud that creates ethical problems or dilemmas will then evaluate whether or not whistleblowing is an ideal choice, based on their attitude or assessment of the behavior. Based on the explanation above, the following hypothesis has been formulated: ha2: ethical awareness has a positive effect on the attitude toward whistleblowing at the ethical judgment stage. ethical judgments are defined in the i-eDM model as judgments that determine the most ethically appropriate action from the various alternatives (schwartz, 2016), which then activate the moral/ethical intention stage (rest, 1986). When a person realizes that there is a moral problem, he or she must make a moral judgment (Jones, 1991) to choose among the various alternatives that exist and then decide (set a moral intention) whether or not to engage in moral behavior (haines et al., 2008). in considering the relationship between attitudes and behavioral intentions, individuals who judge an action to be highly ethical are more likely to arrive at the intention to carry out that action (Ajzen, 1991; Zhang etal., 2009a). the attitude toward a behavior (whistleblowing) is one of the tpB components that contributes to individual judgment, and this has a positive influence on ethical behavioral intentions (shanbhag et al., 2023), especially whistleblowing intentions (Brown et al., 2016). When an individual assesses or evaluates whistleblowing to be acceptable, fair, and ethical behavior, the possibility that the individual intends to engage in it will be greater. 14 A. Antoh etAl. toward whistleblowing on the whistleblowing intention. Furthermore, the attitude toward whistleblowing was shown to have a positive effect on internal (p = <0.001) and external (p = 0.020) whistleblowing intentions, meaning that hypothesis 3 is supported. this research also succeeded in demonstrating that the attitude toward whistleblowing at the ethical judgment stage partially mediated the influence of ethical awareness on internal whistleblowing intentions, as indicated by, (1) the direct effect of ethical awareness on internal whistleblowing intentions, with a coefficient of 0.172 and a p-value of 0.053; (2) the attitude toward whistleblowing had a positive effect on internal whistleblowing intentions, with a coefficient of 0.406 and a p-value of <0.001; and (3) there was a decrease in the value of the mediation path coefficient in testing the direct influence of ethical awareness on internal whistleblowing Table 7. Descriptive statistics. n Min Max average Value standard Deviation ea 193 1.0 7 5.881 1.018 Wi 193 1.7 7 5.953 1.050 We 193 1.0 7 2.885 1.556 atB 193 2.5 7 6.298 0.795 eC 193 2.0 7 5.676 1.090 Notes: For variable definition, see table 3. Table 9. Results of hypothesis testing. structural Path Coeficient P-value Conclusion testing of Direct effect ea →Wi 0.282 <0.001*** H1 supported, specifically for internal whistleblowing intention. ea →We −0.170 ª 0.008*** ea→atB 0.310 <0.001*** H2 supported. testing of Mediating effect ea →Wi 0.172 0.053** H1 supported, specifically for internal whistleblowing. ea →We −0.147 0.220 ea →atB 0.310 <0.001*** H2 supported. atB→Wi 0.406 <0.001*** H3 supported and H4 supported, specifically for internal whistleblowing.atB→We 0.145 0.020** testing of indirect effect ea →atB→Wi 0.136 0.006*** H4 supported, specifically for internal whistleblowing. ea →atB→We 0.045 0.188 testing of Moderating Mediation effect ea →Wi 0.175 0.006*** H1 supported, specifically for internal whistleblowing. ea →We −0.137ª 0.0026** ea →atB 0.292 <0.001*** H2 supported. atB→Wi 0.351 <0.001*** H3 supported and H4 supported, specifically for internal whistleblowing.atB→We 0.138 0.025** eC*ea→atB 0.098 0.083* H5a supported. eC*atB→Wi −0.122ª 0.042** H5b supported, specifically for external whistleblowing. eC*atB→We 0.090 0.102* Notes: For variable definition, see table 3; ***, **, * significant at 1%, 5% and 10%; athe direction of influence is different from the hypothesized direction. Table 8. Results of the structural model’s analysis. indicator Value P Criteria average path coefficient (aPC) 0.127 0.018 <0.05 average R-squared (aRs) 0.158 <0.006 <0.05 average adjusted R-squared (aaRs) 0.132 <0.015 <0.05 average block ViF (aViF) 1.142 < =3.3 average full collinearity ViF (aFViF) 1.350 < =3.3 tenenhaus goF (goF) 0.372 small > =0.1 Medium > 0.25 Large > =0.36 standardized root mean squared residual (sRMR) 0.079 < =0.1 simpson’s paradox ratio (sPR) 0.833 > =0.7 f² effect size 0.01-0.162 small 0.02 Medium 0.15 Large 0.35 Q²: >0 - attitude toward Whistleblowing 0.114 - internal Whistleblowing intention 0.308 - external Whistleblowing intention 0.152 cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 15 Figure 2. Direct effect test results. Notes: output of Warp PLs 7; for variable definition, see table 3. Figure 3. Mediating effect test results. Notes: output of Warp PLs 7; for variable definition, see table 3. Figure 4. Mediating moderation effect test results. Notes: output of Warp PLs 7; for variable definition, see table 3. 16 A. Antoh etAl. intentions, from 0.282, and significant with a p-value of <0.001, to 0.172 with a p-value of <0.001. these results are also supported by the indirect effect result (coefficient = 0.136; and p-value 0.008), meaning that hypothesis 4 is supported, especially in terms of the internal whistleblowing intention. in the moderating mediation test, it was demonstrated that a high perceived ethical climate would increase the positive influence of ethical awareness on the attitude toward whistleblowing (p = 0.083) and would also increase the positive influence of the attitude toward whistleblowing on the whistleblowing intention, especially the internal whistleblowing intention (p = 0.102), meaning that hypotheses 5a and 5b are supported. 6.2. Discussion the results of this study show that ethical awareness has a positive effect, both directly and indirectly, on the whistleblowing intention. internal auditors at universities, who have high ethical awareness, can not only recognize or feel that they are facing an ethical dilemma but can also make right or wrong judgments about what to do in the context of the situation at hand. this means that they will also consider the duties and functions of internal auditors in helping their organizations to achieve their goals by evaluating the effectiveness of risk management, improving control, and good governance processes (Dzikrullah etal., 2020; susmanschi, 2012). this can encourage internal auditors to prefer reporting violations/fraud that they encounter internally, within their organization, rather than reporting it to external parties. the findings of this research also show that ethical awareness has a positive effect on the attitude toward whistleblowing, which is at the ethical judgment stage or, in other words, ethical awareness has a positive effect on ethical judgment, proving support for the i-eDM model (schwartz, 2016) and the classical eDM model (rest, 1986). in accordance with the ethical decision-making model, this study demonstrates that the awareness possessed by an individual, when faced with an ethical dilemma that requires a certain decision or action, influences his or her judgment in determining his/her next decision, and a person’s lack of moral (or ethical) awareness means a person does not realize (or ignores) the fact that the situation they are experiencing raises ethical judgments that can lead to unconscious unethical behavior (tenbrunsel & smith-crowe, 2008). these results are consistent with singhapadi et al. (1999) who found that moral awareness (perceptions of ethical problems) influences the intention to behave ethically, while rottig etal. (2011) and haines etal. (2008) found that ethical awareness is a predictor of ethical judgment and an important element in moral decision-making (luo et al., 2023; Martinez & Jaeger, 2016). the test results show that the attitude toward whistleblowing has a positive effect on internal and external whistleblowing intentions, and mediates the influence of ethical awareness on the internal whistleblowing intention, indicating that internal auditors who judge whistleblowing to be ethical and useful behavior—and capable of preventing the organization from suffering losses due to fraud—will have a stronger intention to report the fraud they encounter. these results give support to the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1991). this research has also succeeded in demonstrating that the whistleblowing process, as one form of ethical decision-making, must be preceded by individual awareness to recognize ethical issues; then, the individual will advance to the judgment stage by starting to consider alternative decisions that must be made, especially considering whether whistleblowing behavior is an ethical, appropriate, and beneficial action, and then he or she forms an intention to blow the whistle. the results of this research also give support to the whistleblowing judgment model (Brown et al., 2016), which states that the attitude toward whistleblowing is at the judgment stage and influences whistleblowing intentions. the implication is that, when an internal auditor has high ethical awareness and finds a violation, his or her assessment or evaluation of whether whistleblowing behavior is useful behavior—such as preventing greater losses for society, in accordance with the moral values he or she adheres to, or whether it is an obligation for a public employee—will greatly influence the auditor’s intention to engage in whistleblowing. these results are consistent with previous research that found that the attitude toward whistleblowing is one of the factors that increases a person’s intention to disclose acts of fraud (Alleyne etal., cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 17 2019; Brown etal., 2016; latan etal., 2018; May-Amy etal., 2020; owusu etal., 2020; park & Blenkinsopp, 2009; sarikhani & ebrahimi, 2022; trongmateerut & sweeney, 2013). research by rottig et al. (2011) shows that the recognition and perception of the importance of ethical issues and ethical judgment are positively related to whistleblowing intentions. similarly, rangkuti et al. (2022) show that ethical judgment is a significant mediator between ethical awareness and fraud reporting intentions, especially whistleblowing (latan etal., 2019). the test results also show that the perceived ethical climate moderates the influence of ethical awareness on ethical judgment (the attitude toward whistleblowing) and it also moderates the influence of ethical judgment (the attitude toward whistleblowing) on external whistleblowing intentions. this demonstrates the important role of the perceived ethical climate in the whistleblowing process. Auditors who have high ethical awareness, supported by a positive perception of the ethical climate that applies within their organization, will assess whistleblowing as a useful, ethical, and appropriate behavior to engage in. then, auditors who have a positive assessment of whistleblowing and are supported by a positive perception of the existing ethical climate that applies to their organizations, will be more likely to intend to report the fraud they encounter. these results show support for the i-eDM model, especially in situational contexts when individuals experience ethical dilemmas (the same individual can behave differently depending on the situation faced or the environment the individual is in). these results also support the ethical climate theory by victor and cullen (1988) and are consistent with previous research conducted by liu et al. (2018), which found that the ethical climate moderates the relationship between organizational identification and internal whistleblowing intentions, as well as research conducted by nuswantara (2023), which shows that although it is indirect, the ethical climate can encourage individuals to blow the whistle. the situational context, or organizational environment, greatly influences how an individual responds and acts to the ethical dilemmas he or she faces; organizations with a strong ethical climate will generally be able to encourage more employees to be aware of ethical issues and to behave in a way that is considered ethical for the organization (ethics resource centre, 2014). Another interesting result of this research is that internal auditors of universities in indonesia prefer to report violations internally rather than externally. this has positive implications for the organizations because, by reporting internally, the organizations can immediately respond and follow up on reports in a positive way, so that the auditor does not choose to report to external parties, which can result in greater losses for the reported organizations. therefore, it is very important for organizations to improve their communication channels for reporting fraud within each organization, by increasing the effectiveness of the fraud-reporting system (WBs system). 6.3. Test of endogeneity and additional analysis 6.3.1. Test of endogeneity endogeneity is the process of determining a set of control variables that explain a portion of the variance in the dependent variable (ebbes et al., 2020). ignoring endogeneity issues can cause test results to be biased or inconsistent. endogeneity problems can be tested and controlled in pls-seM. We used the stochastic instrumental variable (iv) hausman test procedure, which is intended to test and control endogeneity simultaneously using Warp pls. in this research we created instrumental variables for Wi and We. As seen in table 10, the path coefficient for the link iv-Wi with Wi and iv-We with We was statistically significant, which means there was an endogeneity problem but this has been controlled by adding instrumental variables iv-Wi and iv-We to the model as control variables (Kock, 2022). the test results using instrumental variables (see table 10) show consistency with the main findings (see table 9). 6.3.2. Additional analysis We retested the previous research results using consistent pls (plsc), developed by Dijkstra. plsc was developed to combine both seM techniques, namely cB-seM and pls-seM, to be able to maintain the flexibility of pls-seM in its data distribution assumptions and ability to handle complex models, while 18 A. Antoh etAl. obtaining results similar to cB-seM, because plsc provides corrections for estimates when pls is applied to reflective constructs (Dijkstra & henseler, 2015). the test results in table 10 show consistency with the main findings, namely, ethical awareness affects the intention to conduct internal whistleblowing and the attitude toward whistleblowing. the results also show the consistency of the role of the attitude toward whistleblowing as mediating ethical awareness and the intention to whistleblow, both internally and externally. Although it shows different results on the influence of the perceived ethical climate at each stage of whistleblowing decision-making. 7. Summary and conclusion Whistleblowing is one of the effective methods for detecting fraud and has been widely researched. Whistleblowing research, especially in public sector organizations, is important, because differences in the organizational characteristics, and the social and political environment in public sector organizations can cause differences in the whistleblowing process, compared to the private sector (lee, 2020; Miceli & near, 2013). in addition, whistleblowing in public sector organizations has the benefit of saving many lives and influencing the overall well-being of society (latan et al., 2023). this research examines whistleblowing intentions in public sector organizations by investigating the relationship between ethical awareness, ethical judgment, and the whistleblowing intention in the ethical decision-making process and the situational context that can influence each stage, based on the i-eDM model (schwartz, 2016), on internal auditors of state universities in indonesia. this study also integrates one of the dimensions of the tpB, namely, the attitude toward whistleblowing, into the ethical judgment stage. According to the findings, this research demonstrates that whistleblowing, as an ethical action, does not just simply happen but rather goes through a series of stages in the ethical decision-making process, which include ethical awareness, ethical judgment, and the intention to behave ethically. this study provides theoretical implications by confirming the three theories used. First, proving that the ethical awareness of auditors has a positive effect, both directly and indirectly, on whistleblowing intentions. ethical awareness is an important factor that individuals must have, in order to be able to assess whether a situation contains ethical dilemmas that then influence their judgment in determining the next decision to report, or not report, fraud, and this confirms the i-eDM model. second, it proves that the auditors’ attitude toward whistleblowing mediates the influence of ethical awareness on the whistleblowing intention. the whistleblowing process begins with individual awareness that recognizes ethical issues, then considers various alternative decisions, especially whether whistleblowing is an ethical, beneficial and appropriate action to take. this then forms the intention to report violations, again confirming the i-eDM model and the tpB. third, it demonstrates the importance of the role of the perceptual ethical climate in the whistleblowing process. Auditors who have high ethical awareness, supported by positive perceptions about the prevailing ethical climate in the organization, will assess whistleblowing as a useful, ethical and appropriate action to take, which will then encourage them to report fraud. the results of this research show support for the ethical climate theory. the practical implications for public sector organizations, are first, the recruitment of auditors who have high professional and ethical standards. second, provide education about whistleblowing, so Table 10. testing of endogeneity and consistent PLs results. endogeneity test: instrumental Variable Consintent PLs (PLsc) structural Path Coeficient P-value structural Path Coeficient P-value ea →Wi 0.158 0.012** ea →Wi 0.185 0.004*** ea →We −0.133 0.030** ea →We −0.054 0.223 ea →atB 0.292 <0.001*** ea →atB 0.306 <0.001*** atB→Wi 0.377 <0.001*** atB→Wi 0.422 <0.001*** atB→We 0.129 0.034** atB→We 0.169 0.008*** iV→Wi −0.131ª 0.031** eC*ea→atB 0.096 0.087* iV→We 0.118 0.048** eC*atB→Wi −0.091ª 0.051** eC*ea→atB 0.098 0.083* eC*atB→We 0.084 0.120 eC*atB→Wi −0.091ª 0.100*** eC*atB→We 0.083 0.098* Notes: For variable definition, see table 3; ***, **, * significant at 1%, 5% and 10%; a the direction of influence is different from the hypothesized direction. cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 19 that employees can better understand the benefits of whistleblowing and know the steps to take when finding fraud in the organization. third, build an organizational ethics infrastructure that implements formal and informal systems, such as communication systems (i.e., codes of conduct or ethics, missions, performance standards, and compliance or ethics training programs), monitoring systems (i.e., performance appraisals and reporting hotlines), and sanctions systems (i.e., rewards and punishments including evaluations, promotions, salaries, and bonuses), which can assist employees in responding to ethical dilemmas and reporting fraudulent acts. Fourth, organizations create situations that support the internal reporting of violations. this includes making the whistleblowing system (WBs) channels more effective in organizations, for example, by having internal hotlines, providing a positive response to fraud reporting, and guaranteeing the confidentiality of the identity of the reporter. this study has certain limitations. (1) it only tests a small part of the i-eDM model; future studies could test up to the stage of whistleblowing behavior. Aside from that, future studies could also examine the rationality factors including moral reasoning, moral rationalization, and moral consultation, as well as non-rational factors such as emotions and intuition, which influence the stages of the ethical decision-making process (schwartz, 2016). (2) it only tests the situational context of the i-eDM model; future research could also test the individual factors, such as the moral disposition of an individual’s character. (3) the respondents in this research are the internal auditors of state universities; future research could use respondents who are auditors from other non-profit organizations, for example, private universities or hospitals, as well as respondents from outside of organizations who have the potential to discover fraud, such as external auditors, consumers, distributors, or consultants. Notes 1. Based on higher education statistics in indonesia published by Ministry of education and culture (2020). 2. regulation of the Minister of education and culture number 22 of 2017. 3. the first author (Alfiana Antoh) has obtained an individual Warp pls license, number X55Y-BXZv5BBK-ZA0Y-AKYv-BZZY-XZ5A. Author contributions statement Alfiana Antoh was involved in the conception and design, analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting of the paper, revising it critically for its intellectual content, and the final approval of the version to be published. Mahfud sholihin was involved in the conception and design, analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting of the paper, revising it critically for its intellectual content and the final approval of the version to be published. slamet sugiri was involved in the conception and design of the work, analysis and interpretation of the data. choirunnisa Arifa was involved in the conception and design of the work, analysis and interpretation of the data. All the authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Disclosure statement no potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). this research is part of the first author’s dissertation. Ethics approval We declare that the principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed and all the participants have read and signed the informed consent before participating in this survey. Funding this study is funded by rekognisi tugas Akhir grant, number 5075/un1.p.ii/Dit-lit/pt.01.01/2023 from universitas gadjah Mada. 20 A. Antoh etAl. About the Authors Alfiana Antoh is a doctoral student in accounting at the Faculty of economics and Business, universitas gadjah Mada, indonesia. currently, she is a lecturer at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas cenderawasih, papua, indonesia. Mahfud Sholihin is a professor at Department of Accounting, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas gadjah Mada, indonesia. his research interests include behavioral accounting, business ethics and corporate governance, islamic accounting and finance, management accounting and public sector accounting. Slamet Sugiri is a professor at Department of Accounting, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas gadjah Mada, indonesia. his research interests include auditing, financial accounting, management accounting, market-based accounting research and public sector accounting. Choirunnisa Arifa is a lecturer at Department of Accounting, Faculty of economics and Business, universitas gadjah Mada, indonesia. her research interests include corporate governance, financial accounting, and management accounting. ORCID Alfiana Antoh http://orcid.org/0009-0001-7330-0368 Mahfud sholihin http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0773-4501 slamet sugiri http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1564-930X choirunnisa Arifa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3710-5725 Data availability statement Data not available – the participants in this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly. References Ahmad, s. A., Yunos, r. M., Ahmad, r. A. r., & sanusi, Z. M. (2014, August). Whistleblowing behaviour: the influence of ethical climates theory. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 164, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.11.101 Ajzen, i. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. in J. Kuhl, J. Beckmann (eds.), Action-control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11–39). springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69746-3_2 Ajzen, i. (1991). the theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179– 211. https://doi.org/10.1922/cDh_2120vandenBroucke08 Alleyne, p., Wayne, c.-s., Broome, t., & pierce, A. (2017). perceptions, predictors and consequences of whistleblowing among accounting employees in Barbados. Meditari Accountancy Research, 25(2), 241–267. https://doi.org/10.1108/ MeDAr-09-2016-0080. Alleyne, p., haniffa, r., & hudaib, M. (2019). Does group cohesion moderate auditors’ whistleblowing intentions? Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, 34, 69–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2019.02.004 Alleyne, p., hudaib, M., & haniffa, r. (2018). the moderating role of perceived organisational support in breaking the silence of public accountants. Journal of Business Ethics, 147(3), 509–527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2946-0 Alleyne, p., hudaib, M., & pike, r. (2013). towards a conceptual model of whistle-blowing intentions among external auditors. The British Accounting Review, 45(1), 10–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2012.12.003 Ang, s. h., cheng, p. s., lim, e. A. c., & tambyah, s. K. (2001). spot the difference: consumer responses towards counterfeits. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(3), 219–235. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760110392967 Anita, r., Abdillah, M. r., & Zakaria, n. B. (2021). Authentic leader and internal whistleblowers: testing a dual mediation mechanism. International Journal of Ethics and Systems, 37(1), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.1108/iJoes-03-2020-0036 Anugerah, r., Abdillah, M. r., & Anita, r. (2019). Authentic leadership and internal whistleblowing intention: the mediating role of psychological safety. Journal of Financial Crime, 26(2), 556–567. https://doi.org/10.1108/ JFc-04-2018-0045 Archambeault, D. s., & Webber, s. (2015). Whistleblowing 101. The CPA Journal, 85(7), 60–65. http://www.nysscpa.org Arkorful, v. e. (2022). unravelling electricity theft whistleblowing antecedents using the theory of planned behavior and norm activation model. Energy Policy, 160(october 2021), 112680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112680 Arnol, D. F., sr., & ponemon, l. A. (1991). internal auditors’ perceptions of whistle-blowing and the influence of moral reasoning: An experiment. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 10(2), 1–15. http://ezproxy.sunway.edu.my/ login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&An=9703212520&site=eds-live&scope=site Arnold, D. F., Dorminey, J. W., neidermeyer, A. A., & neidermeyer, p. e. (2013). internal and external auditor ethical decision-making. Managerial Auditing Journal, 28(4), 300–322. https://doi.org/10.1108/02686901311311918 cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 21 Association of certified Fraud examiners (AcFe). (2022). Occupational fraud 2022: A Report to the nations. Association of certified Fraud examiners, pp. 1–96. Aydan, s., & Kaya, s. (2018). ethical climate as a moderator between organizational trust & whistle-blowing among nurses and secretaries. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 34(2), 429–434. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.342.14669 Bagdasarov, Z., Johnson, J. F., MacDougall, A. e., steele, l. M., connelly, s., & Mumford, M. D. (2016). Mental models and ethical decision making: the mediating role of sensemaking. Journal of Business Ethics, 138(1), 133–144. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2620-6 Bayonne, e., Marin-garcia, J. A., & Alfalla-luque, r. (2020). partial least squares (pls) in operations management research: insights from a systematic literature review. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 13(3), 565– 597. https://doi.org/10.3926/jiem.3416 Boo, e., ng, t., & shankar, p. g. (2021). effects of advice on auditor whistleblowing propensity: Do advice source and advisor reassurance matter? Journal of Business Ethics, 174(2), 387–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04615-0 Brennan, n., & Kelly, J. (2007). A study of whistleblowing among trainee auditors. The British Accounting Review, 39(1), 61–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2006.12.002 Brink, A. g., lowe, D. J., & victoravich, l. M. (2017). the public company whistleblowing environment: perceptions of a wrongful act and monetary attitude. Accounting and the Public Interest, 17(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.2308/ apin-51681 Brown, J. o., hays, J., & stuebs, M. t. (2016). Modeling accountant whistleblowing intentions: Applying the theory of planned behavior and the fraud triangle. Accounting and the Public Interest, 16(1), 28–56. https://doi.org/10.2308/ apin-51675 Buchan, h. F. (2005). ethical decision making in the public accounting profession : An extension of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 61(2), 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-0277-2 Butterfield, K. D., trevin, l. K., & Weaver, g. r. (2000). Moral awareness in business organizations: influences of issue-related and social context factors. Human Relations, 53(7), 981–1018. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726700537004 cassematis, p. g., & Wortley, r. (2013). prediction of whistleblowing or non-reporting observation: the role of personal and situational factors. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(3), 615–634. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1548-3 chankseliani, M., Qoraboyev, i., & gimranova, D. (2021). higher education contributing to local, national, and global development: new empirical and conceptual insights. Higher Education, 81(1), 109–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10734-020-00565-8 cheliatsidou, A., sariannidis, n., garefalakis, A., passas, i., & spinthiropoulos, K. (2023). exploring attitudes towards whistleblowing in relation to sustainable municipalities. Administrative Sciences, 13(9), 199. https://doi.org/10.3390/ admsci13090199 craft, J. l., Journal, s., & october, n. (2013). A review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature : 2004 – 2011 linked references are available on Jstor for this article : A review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(2), 221–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1518-9 culiberg, B., & Mihelič, K. K. (2017). the evolution of whistleblowing studies: A critical review and research agenda. Journal of Business Ethics, 146(4), 787–803. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3237-0 curtis, M. B., & taylor, e. Z. (2009). Whistleblowing in public accounting: influence of identity disclosure, situational context, and personal characteristics. Accounting and the Public Interest, 9(1), 191–220. https://doi.org/10.2308/api.2009.9.1.191 De Matos, c. A., ituassu, c. t., & rossi, c. A. v. (2007). consumer attitudes toward counterfeits: A review and extension. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(1), 36–47. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760710720975 Dijkstra, t. K., & henseler, J. (2015). consistent partial least squares path modeling. MIS Quarterly, 39(2), 297–316. https://doi.org/10.25300/MisQ/2015/39.2.02 Dzikrullah, A. D., harymawan, i., & ratri, M. c. (2020). internal audit functions and audit outcomes: evidence from indonesia. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1750331. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1750331 ebbes, p., papies, D., & heerde, h. J. v. (2016, January). Dealing with endogeneity: A nontechnical guide for Marketing researchers. in c. homburg et al. (eds), Handbook of market research (pp. 1–37). springer international publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05542-8_8-1 erkmen, t., Çalışkan, A. Ö., & esen, e. (2014). An empirical research about whistleblowing behavior in accounting context. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 10(2), 229–243. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAoc-03-2012-0028 ethics compliance initiative. (2019). Workplace misconduct and reporting: A global look. https://www.ethics.org/ wp-content/uploads/global-Business-ethics-survey-2019-third-report.pdf ethics resource centre. (2014). Global ethics survey. https://www.ethics.org/. Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, i. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley publishing company. Ford, r. c., & richardson, W. D. (1994). ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. Journal of Business Ethics, 13(3), 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2012.05.050 gao, l., & Brink, A. g. (2017). Whistleblowing studies in accounting research: A review of experimental studies on the determinants of whistleblowing. Journal of Accounting Literature, 38(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acclit.2017.05.001 haines, r., street, M. D., & haines, D. (2008). the influence of perceived importance of an ethical issue on moral judgment, moral obligation, and moral intent. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(2), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-007-9502-5 22 A. Antoh etAl. hair, J. F., Black, W. c., Babin, B. J., Anderson, r. e., Black, W. c., & Anderson, r. e. (2018). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). cengange learning eMeA. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119409137.ch4 hair, J. F., hult, g. t. M., sarstedt, M., & ringle, c. M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling. Long Range Planning, 46, 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2013.01.002 hair, J. F., ringle, c. M., & sarstedt, M. (2011). pls-seM: indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 139–152. https://doi.org/10.2753/Mtp1069-6679190202 indonesian coruption Watch. (2021). Trend Penindakan Korupsi Sektor Pendidikan: Pendidikan di Tengah Kepungan Korupsi. https://antikorupsi.org/id/article/tren-penindakan-korupsi-sektor-pendidikan-pendidikan-di-tengah-kepungan-korupsi Jones, t. M. (1991). ethical decision making by individuals in organizations : An issue-contingent model. The Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366–395. https://doi.org/10.2307/258867 Kang, M. M. (2023). Whistleblowing in the public sector: A systematic literature review. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 43(2), 381–406. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X221078784 Kaplan, s., & Whitecotton, s. M. (2001). An examination of auditors’ reporting intentions when another auditor is offered client employment. AUDITING: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 20(1), 45–63. https://doi.org/10.2308/aud.2001.20.1.45 Kaplan, s., pany, K., samuels, J., & Zhang, J. (2009). An examination of the association between gender and reporting intentions for fraudulent financial reporting. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-008-9866-1 Kaptein, M. (2011). From inaction to external whistleblowing: the influence of the ethical culture of organizations on employee responses to observed wrongdoing. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(3), 513–530. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-010-0591-1 Keenan, J. p. (1990). upper-level managers and whistleblowing: determinants of perceptions of company encouragement and information about where to blow the whistle. Journal of Business and Psychology, 5(2), 223–235. https:// doi.org/10.1007/BF01014334 Keller, A. c., smith, K. t., & smith, l. M. (2007). Do gender, educational level, religiosity, and work experience affect the ethical decision-making of u.s. accountants? Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 18(3), 299–314. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.cpa.2006.01.006 Kim, J., & loewenstein, J. (2020). Analogical encoding fosters ethical decision making because improved knowledge of ethical principles increases moral awareness. Journal of Business Ethics, 172(2), 307–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-020-04457-w Kock, n. (2015). common method bias in pls-seM: A full collinearity assessment approach. International Journal of e-Collaboration, 11(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijec.2015100101 Kock, n. (2022). testing and controlling for endogeneity in pls-seM with stochastic instrumental variables. Data Analysis Perspectives Journal, 3(1), 1–6. latan, h., chiappetta Jabbour, c. J., & lopes de sousa Jabbour, A. B. (2019). ethical awareness, ethical judgment and whistleblowing: A moderated mediation analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 155(1), 289–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-017-3534-2 latan, h., chiappetta Jabbour, c. J., Ali, M., lopes de sousa Jabbour, A. B., & vo-thanh, t. (2023). What makes you a whistleblower? A multi-country field study on the determinants of the intention to report wrongdoing. Journal of Business Ethics: JBE, 183(3), 885–905. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05089-y latan, h., ringle, c. M., & Jabbour, c. J. c. (2018). Whistleblowing intentions among public accountants in indonesia: testing for the moderation effects. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(2), 573–588. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-016-3318-0 lee, g., & Xiao, X. (2018). Whistleblowing on accounting-related misconduct: A synthesis of the literature. Journal of Accounting Literature, 41(1), 22–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acclit.2018.03.003 lee, h. (2020). the implications of organizational structure, political control, and internal system responsiveness on whistleblowing behavior. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 40(1), 155–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X18792054 lee, J., ramamoorti, s., & Zelazny, l. (2021). Whistleblowing intentions for internal Auditors. CPA Journal, 16(1), 46–51. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&Authtype=sso&db=buh&An=152588730&custid=s4338230 lee, s. c., su, J. M., tsai, s. B., lu, t. l., & Dong, W. (2016). A comprehensive survey of government auditors’ self-efficacy and professional development for improving audit quality. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1263. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s40064-016-2903-0 lindblom, l. (2007). Dissolving the moral dilemma of whistleblowing. Journal of Business Ethics, 76(4), 413–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9291-2 liu, Yan., Zhao, s., li, rui., Zhou, l., & tian, F. (2018). the relationship between organizational identification and internal whistle-blowing: the joint moderating effects of perceived ethical climate and proactive personality. Review of Managerial Science, 12(1), 113–134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-016-0214-z. liyanarachchi, g. A., & Adler, r. (2011). Accountants’ whistle-blowing intentions: the impact of retaliation, age, and gender. Australian Accounting Review, 21(2), 167–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-2561.2011.00134.x luo, Z., tao, l., Wang, c. c., Zheng, n., Ma, X., Quan, Y., Zhou, J., & Zeng, Z. (2023). correlations between moral courage, moral sensitivity, and ethical decision-making by nurse interns : a cross-sectional study, BMC Nursing, 22(1), 260. Maneesriwongul, W., & Dixon, J. K. (2004). instrument translation process: a methods review Wantana. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48(2), 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1001/archotol.1987.01860040098030 cogent Business & MAnAgeMent 23 Martin, K. D., & cullen, J. B. (2006). continuities and extensions of ethical climate theory: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(2), 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9084-7 Martinez, l. F., & Jaeger, D. s. (2016). ethical decision making in counterfeit purchase situations: the influence of moral awareness and moral emotions on moral judgment and purchase intentions. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 33(3), 213–223. https://doi.org/10.1108/JcM-04-2015-1394 May-Amy, Y. c., han-rashwin, l. Y., & carter, s. (2020). Antecedents of company secretaries’ behaviour and their relationship and effect on intended whistleblowing. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 20(5), 837–861. https://doi.org/10.1108/cg-10-2019-0308 McMillan, B., & conner, M. (2003). Applying an extended version of the theory of planned behavior to illicit drug use among students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(8), 1662–1683. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01968.x Mesmer-Magnus, J. r., & viswesvaran, c. (2005). Whistleblowing in organizations: An examination of correlates of whistleblowing intentions, actions, and retaliation. Journal of Business Ethics, 62(3), 277–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-005-0849-1 Miceli, M. p., & near, J. p. (2013). An international comparison of the incidence of public sector whistle-blowing and the prediction of retaliation: Australia, norway, and the us. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 72(4), 433– 446. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12040 near, J. p., & Miceli, M. p. (1985). organizational dissidence: the case of whistle-blowing. Journal of Business Ethics, 4(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4126-3 nitzl, c. (2016). the use of partial least squares structural equation modelling (pls-seM) in management accounting research: Directions for future theory development. Journal of Accounting Literature, 37(1), 19–35. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.acclit.2016.09.003 nurhidayat, i., & Kusumasari, B. (2019). Why would whistleblowers dare to reveal wrongdoings?: An ethical challenge and dilemma for organisations. International Journal of Law and Management, 61(3/4), 505–515. https://doi. org/10.1108/iJlMA-11-2018-0253 nuswantara, D. A. (2023). reframing whistleblowing intention: an analysis of individual and situational factors. Journal of Financial Crime, 30(1), 266–284. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFc-11-2021-0255 owusu, g. M. Y., Bekoe, r. A., Anokye, F. K., & okoe, F. o. (2020). Whistleblowing intentions of accounting students: An application of the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Financial Crime, 27(2), 477–492. https://doi. org/10.1108/JFc-01-2019-0007 park, h., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2009). Whistleblowing as planned behavior - A survey of south Korean police officers. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(4), 545–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9788-y podsakoff, p. M., MacKenzie, s. B., lee, J. Y., & podsakoff, n. p. (2003). common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879 potipiroon, W., & Wongpreedee, A. (2021). ethical climate and whistleblowing intentions: testing the mediating roles of public service motivation and psychological safety among local government employees. Public Personnel Management, 50(3), 327–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026020944547 previtali, p., & cerchiello, p. (2018). the determinants of whistleblowing in public administrations: an analysis conducted in italian health organizations, universities, and municipalities. Public Management Review, 20(11), 1683–1701. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2017.1417468 Quayle, A. (2021). Whistleblowing and accounting for the public interest: a call for new directions. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 34(7), 1555–1580. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-05-2020-4554 rahayu, s., Yudi, s., & rahayu, s. (2020). internal auditors role indicators and their support of good governance. Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1751020. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1751020 randall, D. M., & gibson, A. M. (1991). ethical decision making in the medical profession: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 10(2), 111–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00383614 rangkuti, A. A., royanto, l. r. M., & santoso, g. A. (2022). ethical awareness and peer reporting intention of exam cheating and plagiarism: Mediation role of ethical judgment. Issues in Educational Research, 32(3), 1111–1130. read, W. J., & rama, D. v. (2003). Whistle-blowing to internal auditors. Managerial Auditing Journal, 18(5), 354–362. https://doi.org/10.1108/02686900310476828 rest, J. r. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory. new York: praeger. ringle, c. M., sarstedt, M., Mitchell, r., & gudergan, s. p. (2020). partial least squares structural equation modeling in hrM research. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(12), 1617–1643. https://doi.org/10.108 0/09585192.2017.1416655 risanty, r., & Kesuma, s. A. (2019). good university governance: experience from indonesian university. Jurnal Perspektif Pembiayaan Dan Pembangunan Daerah, 6(4), 515–524. https://doi.org/10.22437/ppd.v6i4.6195 robertson, J. c., stefaniak, c. M., & curtis, M. B. (2011). Does wrongdoer reputation matter? impact of auditor-wrongdoer performance and likeability reputations on fellow auditors’ intention to take action and choice of reporting outlet. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 23(2), 207–234. https://doi.org/10.2308/bria-50022 rose, J. M., Brink, A. g., & norman, c. s. (2018). the effects of compensation structures and monetary rewards on managers’ decisions to blow the whistle. Journal of Business Ethics, 150(3), 853–862. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10551-016-3222-7