Recognition and Whistleblowing

This paper presents Honneth’s (1995) theory of recognition as a framework through which the topic of whistleblowing can be explored. Whistleblowing has become a global phenomenon in recent years and continues to increase in... [ view full abstract ]

This paper presents Honneth’s (1995) theory of recognition as a framework through which the topic of whistleblowing can be explored. Whistleblowing has become a global phenomenon in recent years and continues to increase in frequency (Near & Miceli, 1996). It is therefore an important topic to explore as whistleblowing by workers has been shown to expose and prevent corruption in organizations (Worth, 2013). Whistleblowing is defined as “the disclosure by organization members (former or current) of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to persons or organizations that may be able to effect action” (Near & Miceli, 1985: 4). In exploring whistleblowing, it is important to note that it is an activity between people. Many studies in the area of whistleblowing talk about an “organizational response” as if the organization is some entity separate from the individuals that comprise it (Near & Miceli, 1995). Additionally, many of the existing studies on whistleblowing take a quantitative research approach, using surveys to research actual acts of disclosure and hypothetical scenarios to research propensity to whistleblow (Near & Miceli, 2016).  This paper uses a qualitative, interpretive approach to explore the relationships that workers engage in with other individuals thus allowing for a deeper understanding of the complex social processes that occur in a whistleblowing context.  Various theories of recognition have been put forward by authors such as Fraser, Butler, McNay and Taylor, but this paper argues that Honneth’s theory is most appropriate for analysing recognition relationships in a whistleblowing context. Each author’s theory will be briefly presented and critiqued to support this. Additionally, we analyse a sample of interview data to show how acts of whistleblowing can be interpreted as relationships of recognition as a whistleblower strives to gain respect and esteem, and react to instances of disrespect and dis-esteem after making a disclosure. Thus, we contribute a new framework for looking at the whistleblowing phenomenon and a deeper understanding of how relationships between individuals, as well as to the empirical work on recognition that is being explored in other areas of organization studies and critical theory (see, for example, Hancock, 2016). This in turn will help us gain insight into the normative demands that are placed on whistleblowers and a deeper understanding of the act of whistleblowing in general. This is useful when crafting whistleblower protection legislation or policy as it can help ensure that the protections are robust enough to offer sufficient protections.