Speak Up or Forever hold your Peace...

Abstract

This ethnographic one case study describes the perceived speak-up culture in a private company. This research studies the concept of speak-up culture in a corporate environment, specifically within a financial company in the Netherlands. It explores the relationship between ethical climate, ethical leadership and speak-up culture and how employees perceive this culture. Furthermore, this study describes the influence of a whistleblowing framework on the speak-up culture and the role of this framework in enhancing the speak-up culture. Through qualitative methods such as interviews and observations, this research aims to bridge the gap between theoretical concepts of speak-up culture and practical implementation. This study offers insights to improve internal whistleblowing mechanisms, ethical climate, ethical leadership and ultimately, the speak-up culture.

Findings show that in the corporation that is researched, the perceived speak-up culture is influenced by factors such as psychological safety(Edmondson, 2018), fear, trust, social risks, and power dynamics (Cunha et al., 2018). Employees experience mixed levels of psychological safety, with interpersonal trust among peers but fear of feedback and criticism from superiors. Additional influences include cultural differences, individual traits and societal changes. To enhance the speak-up culture, the whistleblowing framework should involve genuine, visible commitment from top management and effective formal communication that includes employee input from all levels. This would ensure that actions are perceived as genuine and encourage a more open and responsive environment.

Additionally, future research into the perspectives of employees at the operational level could contribute valuable insights into the best practices for fostering a speak-up culture. By focusing on this group, researchers can enhance existing theories from an employer perspective. Moreover, this study recommends exploring intercultural differences in relation to the speak-up culture more deeply. Such studies could potentially to uncover significant information in how different cultural backgrounds influence communication practices and attitudes towards feedback, leading to more effective and inclusive approaches to fostering a speak-up culture within multi-cultural workplaces. Finally, due to the changing societal norms and values surrounding speaking up and ethical standards it is vital to keep developing the knowledge and perceptions about these subjects. Keep exploring, understanding and finding and when found, speak up.