Skip to main content
Log in

An Examination of the Association Between Gender and Reporting Intentions for Fraudulent Financial Reporting

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We report the results of a study that examines the association between gender and individuals’ intentions to report fraudulent financial reporting using non-anonymous and anonymous reporting channels. In our experimental study, we examine whether reporting intentions in response to discovering a fraudulent financial reporting act are associated with the participants’ gender, the perpetrator’s gender, and/or the interaction between the participants’ and perpetrator’s gender. We find that female participants’ reporting intentions for an anonymous channel are higher than for male participants; the fraud perpetrator’s gender and the interaction with participants’ gender were not significantly associated with anonymous channel reporting intentions. Neither of the two factors nor the interaction between the two factors was associated with reporting intentions to a non- anonymous reporting channel. Results from an additional analysis indicate that male and female participants differ in the extent to which they judge the reduction in personal costs of an anonymous reporting channel compared to a non-anonymous reporting channel and that the reduction in personal costs mediates the relationship between participant gender and anonymous reporting intentions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Association of Certified Fraud Examiners: 2005, Detecting & Deterring Fraud Using Hotlines (Continuing Education Course, Austin, Texas)

  • Association of Certified Fraud Examiners: 2006, Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse (ACFE, Austin, Texas)

    Google Scholar 

  • Audit Analytics: 2008, 2007 Financial Restatements: A Seven Year Comparison (February)

  • Ayers, S., & Kaplan, S.E. (2005). ‹Wrongdoing by Consultants: An Examination of Employees’ Reporting Intentions’. Journal of Business Ethics, 57, 121–137. doi:10.1007/s10551-004-4600-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, A.D., Jr, Gramling, A.A., & Ramamoorti, S.2003. Research Opportunities in Internal Auditing.(The Institute on Internal Auditing Research Foundation Altamonte Springs, Florida

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, J.H., & Karson, M.J. (1987). Personal Values and Business Decisions: An Exploratory Investigation. Journal of Business Ethics, 6, 371–382. doi:10.1007/BF00382894

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, J.H., & Karson, M.J. (1989). Managers, Values and Executive Decisions: An Exploration of the Role of Gender, Career Strategy, Organizational Level, Function, and the Importance of Ethics, Relationships, and Results in Managerial Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics, 8, 711–747. doi:10.1007/BF00383775

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R., & Kenny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barry, B., A. Carrico, W. Smith and N. Goates: 2006, ‹Ethics Across the Boundaries of Social Identity: The Role of Intergroup Bias in the Perception of Unethical Behavior’. Paper Presented at the 19th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Conflict Management, Montreal

  • Begue, L. (2001). Social Judgment of Abortion: A Black-Sheep Effect in a Catholic Sheepfold. The Journal of Social Psychology, 141, 640–649

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beu, D., Buckley, M., & Harvey, M. (2003). Ethical Decision-Making: a Multidimensional Construct. Business Ethics European Review (Chichester, England), 12, 88–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biernat, M., & Fuegen, K. (2001). Shifting Standards and the Evaluation of Competence: Complexity in Gender-Based Judgment and Decision Making. The Journal of Social Issues, 57, 707–724. doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, R.K. (2003). Ethical Judgment and Whistleblowing Intention: Examining the Moderating Role of Locus of Control. Journal of Business Ethics, 43, 65–74. doi:10.1023/A:1022911215204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coate, C.J., & Frey, K.J. (2000). Some Evidence on the Ethical Disposition of Accounting Students: Context and Gender Implications. Teaching Business Ethics, 4, 379–403. doi:10.1023/A:1009827807550

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, D. (2000). The Quest to Improve the Human Condition: The First 1,500 Articles Published in the Journal of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 26, 1–73. doi:10.1023/A:1006358104098

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, M.B. (2006). ‹Are Audit-related Ethical Decisions Dependent upon Mood? Journal of Business Ethics, 68, 191–209. doi:10.1007/s10551-006-9066-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, L.M. (1997). Ethical Differences Between Men and Women in the Sales Profession. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 1143–1152. doi:10.1023/A:1005721916646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobson, J., & White, J. (1995). Toward the Feminine Firm: An Extension to Tomas White. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5, 463–478. doi:10.2307/3857394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, C. 1982, ‹In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development’ Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Global Compliance: 2007, ‹Alert Line, Allegation Reporting’, http://www.globalcompliance.com/alertline-allegation-reporting.html. Accessed 20 Aug 2007

  • Harris, J., & Sutton, C. (1995). Unraveling the Ethical Decision Making Process: Clues from an Empirical Study Comparing Fortune 1000 Executives and MBA Students. Journal of Business Ethics, 14, 805–817. doi:10.1007/BF00872347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hegarty, W·H., & Sims, H·P., Jr. (1979). Organizational Philosophy, Policies and Objectives Related to Unethical Decision Behavior: A Laboratory Experiment. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 331–338. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.64.3.331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heilman, M. (1995). ‹Sex Stereotypes and Their Effects in the Workplace: What We Know and What We Don’t Know’. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 10, 3–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Heilman, M. (1997). Sex Discrimination and the Affirmative Action Remedy: The Role of Sex Stereotypes. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 877–889. doi:10.1023/A:1017927002761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heilman, M. (2001). ‹Description and Prescription: How Gender Stereotypes Prevent Women’s Ascent up the Organizational Ladder’. The Journal of Social Issues, 57, 657–674. doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heilman, M., Block, C., & Martell, R. (1995). Sex Stereotypes: Do They Influence Perceptions of Managers? Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 10, 237–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewstone, M., Rubin, M., & Willis, H. (2002). Intergroup Bias. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 575–604. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, J. (1998). Are Women Really More Ethical than Men? Maybe It Depends on the Situation. Journal of Managerial Issues, 10, 60–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Hull, R., & Umansky, P. (1997). An Examination of Gender Stereotyping as an Explanation for Vertical Job Segregation in Public Accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 22(6), 507–528. doi:10.1016/S0361-3682(96)00028-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S.E., & Schultz, J.J. (2007). Intentions to Report Questionable Acts: An Examination of the Influence of Anonymous Reporting Channel, Internal Audit Quality, and Setting. Journal of Business Ethics, 71, 109–124. doi:10.1007/s10551-006-0021-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S. E., and S. M. Whitecotton: 2001, ‹An Examination of Auditors Reporting Intentions when Another Auditor is Offered Client Employment’, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 20, 45–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, G. (1997). The Effects of Interpersonal Closeness and Issue Seriousness on Blowing the Whistle. Journal of Business Communications, 34, 419–436. doi:10.1177/002194369703400406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, E.S., & Mudrack, P.E. (1996). Gender and Ethical Orientation: A Test of Gender and Occupational Socialization Theories. Journal of Business Ethics, 15, 599–604. doi:10.1007/BF00411793

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathews, D., & Dietz-Uhler, B. (1998). ‹The Black-Sheep Effect: How Positive and Negative Advertisements Affect Voters’ Perceptions of the Sponsor of the Advertisement’. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 1903–1915. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1998.tb01352.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mesmer-Magnus and Voiswesvran (2005). Whistleblowing in Organizations: An Examination of Correlates of Whistleblowing Intentions, Actions and Retaliation. Journal of Business Ethics, 62, 277–297. doi:10.1007/s10551-005-0849-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli, M.P., Dozier, J.B., & Near, J.P. (1991). Blowing the Whistle on Data Fudging: a Controlled Field Experiment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 271–295. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1991.tb00521.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli, M., & Near, J. (1984). The Relationships among Beliefs, Organizational Position, and Whistle-Blowing Status: A Discriminant Analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 27(4), 687–705. doi:10.2307/255873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli, M., & Near, J. (1988). Individual and Situational Correlates if Whistleblowing. Personnel Psychology, 41, 267–281. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1988.tb02385.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miceli, M., & Near, J. (1992). Blowing the Whistle: The Organizational and Legal Implications for Companies and Employees (Lexington Books, New York)

    Google Scholar 

  • Miethe, T.D., & Rothschild, J. (1994). Whistleblowing and the Control of Organizational Misconduct. Sociological Inquiry, 643, 322–347. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.1994.tb00395.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moberly, R.E. (2006). ‹Sarbanes-Oxley’s Structural Model to Encourage Corporate Whistleblowers’. Brigham Young University Law Review, 5, 1107–1180

    Google Scholar 

  • Near, J.P., & Miceli, M.P. (1985). Organizational Dissidence: The Case of Whistleblowing. Journal of Business Ethics, 4, 1–16. doi:10.1007/BF00382668

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nitsch, D., Baetz, M., & Hughes, J.C. (2005). Why Code of Conduct Violations go Unreported: A Conceptual Framework to Guide Intervention and Future Research. Journal of Business Ethics, 57, 327–341. doi:10.1007/s10551-004-8203-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nosek, B., & Banaji, M. (2001). The Go/No-Go Association Task. Social Cognition, 19, 625–664. doi:10.1521/soco.19.6.625.20886

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Fallon, M.J., & Butterfield, K.D. (2003). A Review of the Empirical Ethical Decision-Making Literature: 1996–2003. Journal of Business Ethics, 59, 375–413. doi:10.1007/s10551-005-2929-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen, C., & Todor, W. (1994). Attitudes Toward Women as Managers: Still the Same. Business Horizons, 36, 12–16. doi:10.1016/S0007-6813(05)80032-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponemon, L.: 1994, ‹A Comment on ‹Whistleblowing’ as an Internal Control Mechanism: Individual and Organizational Considerations’, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 13, 118–130

    Google Scholar 

  • PricewaterhouseCoopers: 2007, Economic Crime: People, Culture and Controls: The 4th Biennial Global Economic Crime Survey. Martin Luther University Economy and Crime Research Center

  • Radtke, R. (2000). ‹The Effects of Gender and Setting on Accountants’ Ethically Sensitive Decisions’. Journal of Business Ethics, 24, 299–312. doi:10.1023/A:1006277331803

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawwas, M. (1996). Consumer Ethics: An Empirical Investigation of the Ethical Beliefs of Austrian Consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 15, 1009–1019. doi:10.1007/BF00705579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read, W.J., & Rama, D.V. (2003). Whistle-Blowing to Internal Auditors. Managerial Auditing Journal, 18, 354–362. doi:10.1108/02686900310476828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richeson, J., & Ambady, N. (2001). ‹Who’s in Charge? Effects of Situational Roles on Automatic Gender Bias’. Sex Roles, 44, 493–512. doi:10.1023/A:1012242123824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ritter, B.A. (2006). Can Business Ethics be Trained? A Study of the Ethical Decision-Making Process in Business Students. Journal of Business Ethics, 68, 153–164. doi:10.1007/s10551-006-9062-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothschild, J., & Miethe, T.D. (1999). Whistle-Blower Disclosures and Management Retaliation. Work and Occupations, 26, 107–128. doi:10.1177/0730888499026001006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudman, L., & Goodwin, S. (2004). Gender Differences in Automatic In-Group Bias: Why Do Women Like Women More than Men Like Men? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 494–509. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.87.4.494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schruijer, S., M. Blanz, A. Mummendey, A., B. Banfai, H. Dittmar. (1994). The Group-Serving Bias in Evaluating and Explaining Harmful Behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology, 134, 47-54

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, J.J., Johnson, D.A., Morris, D., & Dyrnes, S. (1993). An Investigation of the Reporting of Questionable Acts in an International Setting. Journal of Accounting Research, 31(Supplement), 75–103. doi:10.2307/2491165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, K., & Brown, D. (2006). Female First, Leader Second? Gender Bias in the Encoding of Leadership Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 101, 230–242. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.06.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, M., Mitchell, S., & Turner, J. (1998). Consideration of Moral Intensity in Ethicality Judgments: Its Relationship with Whistle-blowing and Need-for-Cognition. Journal of Business Ethics, 17, 527–541

    Google Scholar 

  • Slovin, D.: 2006, ‹Blowing the Whistle’, The Internal Auditor (June), 45–49

  • Smith, H.J., Keil, M., & DePledge, G. (2001). Keeping Mum as the Project Goes Under: Toward an Explanatory Model. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18, 189–227

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P.L., & Oakley, E.F. (1997). Gender Related Differences in Ethical and Social Values of Business Students: Implications for Management. Journal of Business Ethics, 16, 37–45. doi:10.1023/A:1017995530951

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanga, K.G., & Turpen, R.A. (1991). Ethical Judgments on Selected Accounting Issues: An Empirical Study. Journal of Business Ethics, 10, 739–747. doi:10.1007/BF00705708

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. J. and J. Turner: 1979, ‹An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict’, in S. Worchel, W. G. Austin Eds), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations (Brooks/Cole, Monterey)

    Google Scholar 

  • The Network: 2006a, Best Practices in Ethics Hotlines, A Framework for Creating an Effective Anonymous Reporting Program (www.reportline.net)

  • The Network: 2006b, 2006 Corporate Governance and Compliance Hotline Benchmarking Report (www. reportline.net)

  • Van Kenhove, P., Vermeir, I., & Vermiers, S. (2001). An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Ethical Beliefs, Ethical Ideology, Political Preference and Need for Closure. Journal of Business Ethics, 32, 347–361. doi:10.1023/A:1010720908680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vera-Munoz, S.C. (2005). Corporate Governance Reforms: Redefined Expectations of Audit Committee Responsibilities and Effectiveness. Journal of Business Ethics, 62, 115–127. doi:10.1007/s10551-005-0177-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermeir, I. and P. Van Kenhove: 2008, 'Gender Differences in Double Standards’, Journal of Business Ethics 81, 281–295

    Google Scholar 

  • West, T., Ravenscroft, S·P., & Shrader, C·B. (2004). Cheating and Moral Judgment in the College Classroom: A Natural Experiment. Journal of Business Ethics, 54, 173–183. doi:10.1007/s10551-004-9463-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven Kaplan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kaplan, S., Pany, K., Samuels, J. et al. An Examination of the Association Between Gender and Reporting Intentions for Fraudulent Financial Reporting. J Bus Ethics 87, 15–30 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9866-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9866-1

Keywords

Navigation