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

• 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
• Subjects: Voice; Voice endorsement; Third-party reactions; Voice instrumentality; Voice threat; Approach-avoidance framework; Organizational Behavior and Theory; Organization Development
• 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
• Institution: Singapore Management University

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.