Using Whistleblowers' Metaphors to Understand why Organizational Wrongdoing Endures

Whistleblowers occupy an advantageous vantage point for understanding "organizational wrongdoing" including factors that facilitate its persistence. The present study analyzed whistleblowers' metaphors to assess how they made sense of organizational wrongdoing and the cultures of these corrupt organizations. We interviewed 18 whistleblowers in North America, Europe, and Australia, employed in a variety of industries. Interviews surfaced two core metaphors: "wrongdoing as living organism" and "organizational membership as cult-like." These metaphors illuminated Western democracies' dependence upon wrongdoing, how whistleblowers are framed as threats to organizations and societies, and how organizations use socialization processes to indoctrinate their employees into accepting wrongdoing. Based upon our findings, we offer theoretical and practical implications addressing organizational wrongdoing and those individuals working to expose it.