What Managers See Affects How They Respond: The Interaction between Manager Motivational Orientation and Voice Content on Voice Response

Research on voice is a growing topic among management scholars. Despite the abundance of studies demonstrating the importance and benefits of voice in teams, there is little understanding regarding manager responses to voice and its consequences in terms of the recipient’s perspective. Specifically, the effects of manager traits on managerial response to employee voice have received scant attention. The goal of this study is to address these important gaps by focusing on the role of manager motivational orientation systems as an important individual trait within the managerial endorsement process and its consequences. By drawing on social persuasion theory and approach/avoidance motivation theory, we propose that (1) two types of voice content (promotive voice and prohibitive voice) impact managerial endorsement differently; (2) approach-oriented managers are more likely to endorse both types of voice than avoidance-oriented managers, although both types of managers prefer to listen and endorse promotive voice more frequently than prohibitive voice; and (3) the interaction between manager motivational system (approach-oriented or avoidance-oriented) and voice content results in the differentiated performance evaluation of the voicer through increased or decreased managerial endorsement. This research conceptually discusses the effect of two types of voice content on managerial endorsement, the role of manager motivational orientation in this relationship, and the consequences of the effects of the manager’s response to the voice by reviewing previous literature and developing several propositions without empirical evidence. This study also suggests theoretical contributions, practical implications, and directions for future research.