The moderating effect of generation X and Y on the effect of personality traits on internal and external whistleblowing intention

Illegal or unethical activities that may occur in organizations can have negative consequences for all sides. Whistleblowing is an important tool to prevent possible unfavorable consequences or further damage that the organization may face. It is thought that the personality traits of employees from different generations have an effect on internal and external whistleblowing intention. This study aims to reveal the moderating effect of generations on the effect of personality traits on internal and external whistleblowing intention. In the study, HEXACO-60 was used as a personality inventory, and data were collected from 316 nurses through an online questionnaire. In the analysis of the data independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and ANOVA, correlation analysis, regression analysis, Process Macro and structural equation modeling were used. According to the research findings, there is a negative and significant relationship between honesty-humility and agreeableness factors with external whistleblowing intention, and a positive and significant relationship between extroversion and consciousness factors with internal whistleblowing intention. There is a statistically significant difference between the X and Y generations in terms of external whistleblowing intention. As a result of linear regression analysis, it was found that extraversion and conscientiousness factors had a positive effect on internal whistleblowing intention, and the honesty-humility factor had a negative effect on external whistleblowing intention. It was found that Gen X and Y have a moderating effect on the effect of only agreeableness factor on both internal and external whistleblowing intention.