The Effect of a Leader’s Emotional Intelligence on His Subordinate’s Intention to Whistleblow in an Accounting Context

• In Event: Accounting Behavior and Organizations 1

Abstract

This study uses 53 undergraduate and graduate college students to experimentally examine the relationships among emotional intelligence of a leader, a subordinate’s perceived leader-member exchange, a subordinate’s trust in the leader, a subordinate’s job satisfaction, and a subordinate’s intention to whistleblow. The results indicate that a leader’s emotional intelligence significantly affects his subordinate’s intention to whistleblow and is positively associated with the subordinate’s perceived leader-member exchange, trust in the leader, and job satisfaction. Moreover, I find that a subordinate’s perceived leader-member exchange and his trust in the leader mediate the relationship between his leader’s emotional intelligence and his intention to whistleblow for financial statement fraud. This study has important implications for both academia and practice.

Author

• Xin Geng, West Virginia University