Defense industry fraud and whistle-blowing: A study of the relationship between perceptions of fraud and whistle-blowing.

摘要

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between perception of fraud occurring in the defense industry and likelihood of engaging in whistle-blowing behaviors. To accomplish this, college students attending the University of Texas at Arlington were selected (n=281) to respond to surveys on the topic of defense industry fraud and whistle-blowing. This study used statistical analyses such as T-tests (Independent Sample T-test and ANOVAs) to determine significant differences between variables. The variables of gender, race, major, political party and defense industry associations were found to have statistically significant differences. Scales were also created for perception of defense industry fraud (Alpha = .718) and willingness to whistle-blow (Alpha = .885). The relationship between these scales were tested using Pearson's R correlations and was found to have a small positive correlation (r = 0.259). Findings of this study have implications on business organizations and government agencies. Due to the exploratory nature of this topic, the researcher believes that the findings of this study provide a foundation for future research on the topics of defense fraud and whistle-blowing.