Organizational Determinants of Whistleblowing. A Study of Italian Municipalities

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of how to develop whistleblowing systems in public administrations, by focussing on the organisational variables that lead to actual reporting being made. The research is based on an empirical analysis of 400 major Italian municipalities and the whistleblowing systems they have implemented as anti-corruption measures. The results show that actual reporting is positively correlated with the presence of specific whistleblowing procedures as well as training and education programs. Anonymous reporting plays a relevant role.