Whistleblowing determinants and the effectiveness of reporting channels in the international sports sector

Highlights

•	Sport organisations increasingly set up internal reporting systems.
•	Whistleblowing determinants have been analysed by research outside of sport.
•	Several specificities of the sports sector may inhibit whistleblowing behaviour.
•	Managerial and cultural changes are needed to facilitate whistleblowing.

Abstract

International sports institutions have started to set up internal reporting mechanisms to allow actors in the sports sector to provide information on ethical wrongdoings occurring around them, such as match-fixing or doping. Analogous compliance mechanisms have been implemented for years in non-sport sectors and are the subject of a vast quantity of literature analysing notably the determinants of whistleblowing behaviour. In order to assess the potential effectiveness of reporting channels in sport, the author reviews the literature on whistleblowing determinants and discusses their weight in the sport sector. Findings identify several sport specificities which undermine the likelihood of whistleblowing, with, in particular: the weak power position and moral reasoning of athletes, intense organisational loyalties and non-supportive organisational culture. The paper concludes with a number of managerial recommendations for international sports organisations that want to infuse ethical values and promote reporting behaviour.

Keywords:

• Whistleblowing
• Sport organisations
• Reporting mechanisms
• Whistleblowing determinants
• Effectiveness

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the reviewers for their rich and insightful comments, as well as the EURAM 2018 Conference, where a previous version of this article was presented and awarded.