Legislative Clarity on Whistleblower Protection and Its Impact on Institutional Accountability in Public Sector Governance in United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47604/ijlp.3588Keywords:
Legislative Clarity, Whistleblower Protection, Institutional Accountability, Public Sector GovernanceAbstract
Purpose: To aim of the study was to analyze the legislative clarity on whistleblower protection and its impact on institutional accountability in public sector governance in United States.
Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
Findings: In the United States, clear and well-defined whistleblower protection laws, particularly under the False Claims Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act, have significantly increased the reporting of misconduct within public institutions. This legislative clarity has led to stronger corrective actions, including substantial recovery of misappropriated public funds and improved transparency in government operations. However, variations in enforcement and interpretation across agencies still limit the full potential of institutional accountability.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Principal–agent theory, institutional theory & transparency and accountability theory may be used to anchor future studies on the legislative clarity on whistleblower protection and its impact on institutional accountability in public sector governance in United States. Public institutions should strengthen whistleblower systems. Training on legal protections is essential. Reporting procedures must be clear. Governments should enact clear, comprehensive whistleblower laws. Enforcement mechanisms must be explicit.
Downloads
References
Brown, A. J., Lewis, D., Moberly, R., & Vandekerckhove, W. (2021). International handbook on whistleblowing research. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789900824
Bussell, J. (2018). Whistleblowers, corruption, and the state: Understanding institutional responses. Governance, 31(1), 75–90. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12285
Kenny, C., & Serrano, R. (2018). Whistleblowing, accountability, and development. World Development, 105, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.12.020
Munyua, A. W., & Karanja, E. K. (2020). Legal frameworks and whistleblower protection in public sector governance in Kenya. African Journal of Public Affairs, 12(3), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC-1f4c3b5a9a
OECD. (2020). Whistleblower protection frameworks, compendium of best practices and guiding principles. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/8f7e41f9-en
Scott, W. R. (2019). Institutional theory: A review and development. Journal of Management Studies, 56(1), 136–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12425
Vandekerckhove, W., & Phillips, A. (2019). Whistleblower protection: The role of legislative clarity in accountability systems. Journal of Business Ethics, 159(2), 337–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3795-2
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Patricia Brown
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
