Speaking more, offering less: The impact of voice solicitation on voice quantity and quality

Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Publication Date

7-2025

Abstract

Although voice behavior is voluntary, employees often encounter situations where they are explicitly asked or expected to share ideas, suggestions, or concerns in work-related communications, as such input is presumed to benefit the organization. However, soliciting employee voice can have double-edged effects. Drawing on dual motivational systems, we propose that voice solicitation elicits two distinct emotional responses—anxiety and attentiveness—which differentially influence the quantity and quality of voice. Specifically, voice solicitation increases voice quantity via both anxiety and attentiveness. In contrast, voice solicitation reduces voice quality through anxiety but enhances it via attentiveness. Furthermore, we identify employee voice self-efficacy as a key boundary condition, mitigating the influence of anxiety while amplifying the effect of attentiveness. Evidence from one daily experience sampling study conducted over ten workdays with 81 employees from hotels supports our conceptual model. These findings underscore the complex dynamics of voice solicitation and emphasize the importance of considering individual psychological experiences to optimize the benefits of encouraging employee voice.

Keywords

employee voice, voice solicitation, anxiety, attentiveness, voice quantity, voice quality, dual motivational systems, self-efficacy, emotional responses, workplace communication

Discipline

Human Resources Management | Organizational Behavior and Theory

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2025.

Identifier

10.5465/AMPROC.2025.10196abstract

Publisher

Academy of Management

City or Country

Copenhagen, Denmark

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2025.10196abstract

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