Paper Title
SILENT OR VOICE IN THE ORGANISATION - WHISTLEBLOWING IN A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract
Whistleblowing is an important managerial tool for uncovering wrongdoing in the company. It allows corrective and remedial action to be taken in the organization. Whistleblowing is the most common way of uncovering fraud, with 43% of cases being uncovered in this way. This is more than three times as many cases as any other detection mechanism (Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report tothe Nations (2024). Given the importance of whistleblowing and the challenges faced by whistleblowers and organisations, there are a variety of solutions in practice to build an organisational space where employees are free to blow the whistle or remain silent. Research shows a correlationbetweennationalcultureand whistleblowing behaviour. Individuals from collectivist cultures are generally less likely to engage in whistleblowing compared to individuals from individualist cultures (Brody, Gupta & Turner, 2020). Power distance may weaken whistleblowing intention, while masculinity and long-term orientation may strengthen it (Rustiarini, Yuesti&Dewi, 2021). Most of the research was carried out based on the concept of G. Hofetsede. Studies carried out in Central and Eastern European countries show the limitations of this approach. In this presentation the concept of research based on the concept of Tight and Loose Cultures by M. Gelfand will be presented. The strength of social norms and tolerance of deviantbehavior—the core distinction between tight andloose cultures—is afforded by numerous distalecological and human-made societal threats andsocietal institutions and practices. The strengthof social norms and tolerance of deviant behaviour is further reflected and promoted in the predominanceof strong versus weak situations thatare recurrent in everyday local worlds. A different approach to the study of whistleblowing in a cultural context, may allow the identification of new relationships between national culture and whistleblowing or the different nature of relationships described in the literature.