Abstract
Despite playing a pivotal role in the whistleblowing process, HR’s involvement in the post-disclosure phase is poorly understood. Specifically, research is needed to understand the role of HR professionals during the post-whistleblowing phase, as perceived by both HR personnel and whistleblowers. Using a stakeholder perspective, we theorise HR as navigating competing claims from whistleblowers and management, with priorities shaped by power, legitimacy, and urgency. Our investigation was based on 22 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with HR professionals (n=11) and whistleblowers (n=11) across diverse organisational contexts in the UK and the USA. Discourse analysis reveals that HR’s self-construction is often at odds with whistleblowers’ perceptions, showing that organisational context does not merely frame HR’s role but actively co-constructs how the discursive conflict manifests in the post-disclosure phase. The findings highlight the challenges and tensions shaping HR’s role and offer theoretical insights and practical recommendations to improve their support during the post-whistleblowing process.