“In the Grip of King Kong”: Making Sense of Whistleblower Retaliation Experiences Through Metaphor

Joseph McGlynn (), Brian K. Richardson and Jacinta T. Tran
Additional contact information
Joseph McGlynn: University of North Texas, Department of Communication Studies
Brian K. Richardson: University of North Texas, Department of Communication Studies
Jacinta T. Tran: The University of Texas at Austin, Communication Studies

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 202, issue 4, No 4, 705 pages

Abstract: Abstract Whistleblowers frequently endure retaliation from organizations for exposing wrongdoing, but struggle to effectively communicate their experiences of ostracism, exile, and physical intimidation. This qualitative study used a metaphor framework to examine whistleblower experiences of retaliation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with whistleblowers (N = 21), each of whom had experienced organizational retaliation. Guided by sensemaking theory and reflexive thematic analysis, themes were generated to categorize the metaphors that whistleblowers used to make sense of their experiences, and to portray participant experiences of organizational retaliation through the metaphors identified. Whistleblowers described two primary types of metaphors to describe their experiences of organizational retaliation, including metaphors of violence and metaphors of isolation. Metaphors of violence included metaphors comparing whistleblower experiences to forms of physical harm and mental harm. Metaphors of isolation described whistleblower experiences of professional isolation and relational solitude. The findings of this study inform whistleblowing research by increasing understanding of whistleblower experiences of organizational retaliation, extending knowledge of the types of support needed throughout the whistleblowing process, and providing empirically grounded recommendations to assist past, present, and future whistleblowers in their efforts to fight organizational corruption.

Keywords: Whistleblowing; Organizational retaliation; Sensemaking theory; Metaphor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-025-05987-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:202:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-025-05987-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... cs/journal/10551/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-025-05987-x

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Ethics is currently edited by Michelle Greenwood and R. Edward Freeman

More articles in Journal of Business Ethics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().