Whistleblowing as a Means of (Re)Constituting an Organization

William Rothel Smith, Jeffrey W. Treem, Joshua B. Barbour

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

The relationship between whistleblowing and authority is a complicated one: the act of whistleblowing can be viewed simultaneously as an effort to challenge the authority of an organization as responsible actor and to assert the authority of the whistleblower as a knowledgeable agent. In this chapter, we interrogate how competing authority was constituted and enacted through the ongoing communication of Norsk Tipping and its management, and through the actions of PJS. We offer two different readings of how whistleblowing constitutes a struggle for authority, contrasting how this case can be viewed through the perspectives of how communication is constitutive of organizations (CCO) and collective communication design (CCD). From a CCD perspective, we can see how Norsk Tipping exerted its authority to enlist workers in its ongoing fraud, and how that design influenced the eventual whistleblowing. In both perspectives, whistleblowing produces ambiguity regarding who had what forms of authority and who now has authority for communicating about past actions.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationWhistleblowing, Communication and Consequences
Subtitle of host publicationLessons from The Norwegian National Lottery
EditorsPeer Jacob Svenderud, Jan-Oddvar Sørnes, Larry Browning
PublisherTaylor and Francis Inc.
Pages214-228
Number of pages15
ISBN (Electronic)9780367822033
ISBN (Print)9780367421335, 9780367612795
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameRoutledge Studies in Communication, Organization, and Organizing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities
  • General Business, Management and Accounting
  • Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all)
  • General Social Sciences

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