Personality Traits and Whistleblowing on Twitter: The Moderating Roles of Moral Identity and Politics Perceptions

Abstract

The present study examines the impact of the Big Five personality on whistleblowing behaviors on Twitter. Meanwhile, two opposite moderators are explored that the weak situations of whistleblowing on Twitter can activate users' trait. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses, with the Big Five personality traits as predictors and whistleblowing behaviors on Twitter as criterion variables. First, individuals high in extraversion and conscientiousness tend to perform both the original and retweeting whistleblowing on Twitter; Individuals low in agreeableness are more likely to reveal original wrongdoing information, while those high in agreeableness tend to retweet information; individuals high in openness enjoy retweeting but not original whistleblowing. The degree of moral identity moderates the positive relationship between extraversion / agreeable / conscientiousness and (retweeting) whistleblowing on Twitter, such that the relationship is stronger as moral identity increases. The degree of politics perceptions moderates the relationship between extraversion/agreeable/conscientiousness and (retweeting) whistleblowing on Twitter, such that the relationship is weaker as politics perceptions increases. The degree of moral identity moderates the negative relationship between agreeableness and original whistleblowing on Twitter, such that the relationship is weaker as moral identity increases. The degree of politics perceptions moderates the negative relationship between agreeableness and original whistleblowing on Twitter, such that the relationship is stronger as politics perceptions increases. This paper gives a form of weak situations on whistleblowing. A pair of opposite cues may build the weak situations. Modern identity shows the positive power for potential whistleblowers to express their trait, while politics perceptions prevent them exert personality by whistleblowing. The paradox situations could give a behavioral model how observers with different traits respond to the wrongdoings in these situations.