I Whistleblow As I Am a University Student: An Investigation on the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Whistleblowing

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal whether there is a relationship between university students' self-efficacy and whistleblowing levels. There are two facts which attribute authenticity to this study. The first is that there are only a limited number of studies in literature dealing with these two variables together. The other is the existence of a certain amount of findings. For instance, foreign literature (literature outside Turkey) asserts that these two variables are associated with one another. It is also claimed that general self-efficacy is the premise of internal whistleblowing. In fact, contrary to the perception, which is very common in Turkish culture, that "a person with high self-efficacy does not engage in whistleblowing for anyone", foreign literature suggests that university students with high selfefficacy are more inclined to whistleblow. In the study, selfefficacy is analyzed in general terms whereas whistleblowing is dealt with under the dimensions of internal whistleblowing, external whistleblowing, and indifference. In this sense, correlation analysis was conducted in order to reveal the relationship between variables, and regression analysis was conducted for the aspect of influence. The sample of the study covers 120 participants studying in Mersin University Erdemli School of Applied Technology and Business and Erdemli Vocational School. According to the analysis results, there are significant relationships between self-efficacy and whistleblowing. The sample of the study was limited to university students due to problems of time and cost and for the sake of making analysis on the sector of education.