Authors:

  • Jonas Heese
  • Aiyesha Dey
  • Gerardo Pérez-Cavazos

Excerpt

November 27, 2019, Paper, "We examine whistleblowers’ and firms’ behaviors under cash-for-information whistleblower programs using lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act. Within the sample of lawsuits filed with the regulator, whistleblowers report internally in only 50% of the cases before contacting regulators, and only 30% of the cases are settled, raising the concern that cash-for-information programs trigger many meritless allegations. However, whistleblowers are less likely to report internally when firms’ governance is weaker, and such firms are less likely to initiate internal investigations or refrain from retaliating against whistleblowers. Finally, whistleblowers seem adequately compensated under cash-for-information programs and do not face as severe career consequences as documented in prior research."

Non-HKS Author Websites - Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese, Gerardo Pérez-Cavazos