This study used registered nurses to examine if relational closeness and issue
seriousness affected the likelihood of reporting a wrongdoing. Results from the
study were as predicted. More wide ranging revelations found that regardless of
the closeness factor and severity of the wrongdoing, respondents would follow
the proper chain of command in reporting a wrongdoing. In this organizational
setting (that is, a hospital), use of internal channels for whistleblowing (versus
external channels) seems to be encouraged by variables other than those found
to be important in research with different samples from different types of organi
zations.
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