Do they need us? Linking functional indispensability and voice behavior: The role of psychological ownership, job insecurity and organizational ambidexterity

Abstract

This study looked into how workers’ perception of their team’s functional indispensability motivates them to engage in promotive voice behavior. The mediating role of psychological ownership and the moderator roles of job insecurity and organizational ambidexterity were also examined. Data from 820 Portuguese workers from different business sectors were analyzed using multiple regression techniques. Results indicate that perceived functional indispensability is positively associated with employee voice behavior, and this relationship is mediated by increased psychological ownership of the organization. Moreover, quantitative job insecurity weakens the link between indispensability and ownership, while ambidexterity reinforces the relationship between indispensability and voice.

“We Need Them, They Need Us”: Perceived Indispensability and Intergroup Relations

“…In a study among native Dutch participants, it was found that higher perceived functional indispensability and perceived identity indispensability of ethnic minority groups were both independently associated with a lower sense of ingroup ownership of the country, which, in turn, was related to more positive minority outgroup attitudes (Verkuyten, 2022). Further, in organizational contexts it has been found that perceived functional indispensability of a team increases feelings of shared ownership which, in turn, is positively associated with team members engagement in promotive behaviors (Alves, 2020).…”