My manager endorsed my coworkers’ voice: Understanding observers’ positive and negative reactions to managerial endorsement of coworker voice.

Research on managerial voice endorsement has primarily focused on the processes and conditions through which voicers receive their managers’ endorsement. We shift this focus away from the voicers, focusing instead on the dual reactions that endorsement generates for observing employees. Drawing from...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: POULTON, Emily, LIN, Szu-Han Joanna, FATIMAH, Shereen, HO, Cony, FERRIS, Lance, JOHNSON, Russell
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2024
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7471
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/8470/viewcontent/Manuscript___APL_2021_3005R2_FINAL_1.pdf
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Institution: Singapore Management University
Language: English
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Summary:Research on managerial voice endorsement has primarily focused on the processes and conditions through which voicers receive their managers’ endorsement. We shift this focus away from the voicers, focusing instead on the dual reactions that endorsement generates for observing employees. Drawing from an approach-avoidance framework, we propose that managerial endorsement of coworker voice could be perceived as a positive and negative stimulus for observers, prompting them to approach opportunities and avoid threats, respectively. Results from a pre-registered experiment and a multi-wave, multi-source field study revealed that managerial endorsement of coworker voice was positively related to observers’ voice instrumentality, thus prompting them to engage in approach behaviors (i.e., voice). We also found that managerial endorsement of coworker voice was positively related to observers’ voice threat, triggering avoidant behaviors (i.e., avoidance-oriented counterproductive work behaviors) as a result. Further, we found that the avoidant reactions more pronounced for observers with higher (vs. lower) neuroticism. Overall, our research extends theory by demonstrating the rippling effects that voice endorsement can ignite throughout the workgroup.