Speaking up in groups: A cross-level study of group voice climate and voice.

Abstract

Despite a growing body of research on employee voice-defined as the discretionary communication of ideas, suggestions, or opinions intended to improve organizational or unit functioning-the effects of shared or collective-level cognitions have received scant attention. There has also been relatively little research on voice within work groups. Our goal in this study was to address these important gaps by focusing on the effects of group-level beliefs about voice (i.e., group voice climate) on individual voice behavior within work groups. We conducted a cross-level investigation of voice behavior within 42 groups of engineers from a large chemical company. Consistent with our hypotheses, group voice climate was highly predictive of voice and explained variance beyond the effects of individual-level identification and satisfaction, and procedural justice climate. Also consistent with predictions, the effect of identification on voice was stronger in groups with favorable voice climates. These findings provide evidence that voice is shaped not just by individual attitudes and perceptions of the work context, as past research has shown, but also by group-level beliefs. The results also highlight the importance of broadening our conceptual models of voice to include shared cognitions and of conducting additional cross-level research on voice.

Clima de grupo na terapia vocal de pacientes com Doença de Parkinson

“…Taking into account that the voice is shaped by individual aspects and by the environment where the communication takes place (26) , it is possible that these conditions promoted a better self-evaluation of the voice.…”

Voicing Is Costly, but Team Can Change That: A Three-Wave Study on Employee “Voice” through the Lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior

“…Because most of the existing studies have focused on the issue of frequency (i.e., whether employees "voice" or not), few empirical findings are available regarding this issue of strategy use patterns (Morrison et al, 2011). In addition, it was expected that individuals would utilize multiple strategies in a variety of combinations-for example, employees might rehearse how they would "voice" with coworkers first and eventually speak up to the supervisor, and also follow up on the discussion via e-mails.…”

“…Morrison et al (2011) point out that the majority of the existing studies on "voice" devote their efforts to predicting whether employees speak up or not; as a result, little is known about how they actually communicate their "voice. …”

“…Because few studies have examined specific communication strategies people use to enact "voice" behavior at work settings (Morrison et al, 2011), the current study draws on Afifi and Steuber's (2009) …”

Researching at the Intersection of Innovation, Operations Management, and Entrepreneurship

“…Furthermore, while we have highlighted the possibilities of psychological safety, there are other aspects of organizational climate and culture. Organizational climate refers to "the meanings people attach to inter-related bundles of experiences they have at work" (Schneider, Ehrhart, & Macey, 2013, p. 361), such as procedural justice climate (Naumann & Bennett, 2000), voice climate (Morrison, Wheeler-Smith, & Kamdar, 2011), and climates for initiative (Baer & Frese, 2003). Organizational culture consists of employees' "basic assumptions about their work and the values that guide life in organizations" (Schneider et al, 2013, p. 361) and includes the notions of clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy culture (Hartnell & Walumbwa, 2011)-culture factors that could facilitate the integration of learning into staged decisions in the innovation process.…”