Rob van Eijbergen: ‘Research into integrity requires clear quality criteria’

“An entire industry has sprung up around integrity investigations, yet there are hardly any quality criteria for them,” said Professor Rob van Eijbergen in 2024 in a podcast on BNR Newsradio. Since then, he developed a succesful training programme at the University for professionals who conduct integrity investigations.

BNR Newsradio spoke to three experts with experience in investigating inappropriate behaviour. Rob van Eijbergen, professor of Organisational Integrity at the University of Humanistic Studies, explained what is often lacking in this type of research. Together with PhD candidate Stijn Klarenbeek, he examined 30 recent research reports, and a number of issues stood out:

• “It is not always clear what the research question is. Even if you start with a vague idea, it is still important to refine your question first. Sometimes it turns out that there is no need to conduct a study, and the issue can be resolved in other ways.”
• “In much research, an unsound theoretical framework is used. For example, one report stated: ‘We will not describe what social safety is, as that is the respondents’ perception.’ That is not acceptable, according to Rob. “It is important to have a clear framework, and one simply does exist in the literature.”
• “In this sort of research, there are no hard facts; it’s largely about perception. So another important point is this: if you want to look at inappropriate behaviour, you also need to look at what’s happening in the wider context. I call this the ‘blame reflex’. Most studies focus on the question ‘Is someone guilty or not?’ If you want to help an organisation move forward, it’s much more interesting to look at what’s happening around it. What’s happening in the way people interact with one another?”
• “Finally, the right to be heard is often not properly ensured. In various investigations, only one party is interviewed.”
• He concludes by offering a number of tips to boards of directors and managers in organisations who bear governance responsibility: “Don’t panic straight away. Take a step back and stay calm. Don’t conduct the investigation yourself either, but first take a calm look at what’s going on, and see if there are other ways to resolve the problem. Don’t immediately focus solely on the question of whether someone is to blame. And if an investigation takes place and the results are in, be transparent and let everything out into the open.”