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Whistleblower Case

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The Convenience of White-Collar Crime in Business
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Abstract

Whistleblowing is an important source of information about suspicions of white-collar crime. Whistleblowing reduces the convenience in the organizational dimension of convenience theory. The objective of this chapter is to present a study of an observer turning into a whistleblower through stages of crime signal detection, registration, interpretation, reception, and knowledge. The study is based on crime signal detection theory emphasizing signal alertness, signal interpretation, pattern recognition, and personal knowledge. The research method applied is a personal interview with a whistleblower who noticed corruption that later led to incarceration of several executives. Results indicate that the whistleblower became more certain of his information as he could discuss his observations with other union members and a left-wing politician in the municipality. In conclusion, an important human factor in whistleblowing is the ability to discuss initial observations with people that one can trust. This study illustrates experience from troublesome, yet successful whistleblowing on top executives.

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Gottschalk, P. (2020). Whistleblower Case. In: The Convenience of White-Collar Crime in Business. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37990-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37990-2_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-37989-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-37990-2

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