Exploring the Link between Human Capital and Voice Behavior: Propositions Based on the Conservation of Resources Perspective

Despite efforts to identify the antecedents of voice behavior, research exploring the link with employees' knowledge, skills, and abilities—namely, human capital—has been scarce both conceptually and empirically. However, the level of human capital embodied within employees may have the potential to influence voice behavior that challenges the status quo. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the link between human capital and voice behavior from the perspective of the conservation of resources theory which suggests that individuals are motivated to protect and increase their resources. First, this study explores the concepts of voice behavior and human capital and their connection. Further, based on the conservation of resources theory, this study proposes the non-linear relationship between them. Specifically, this study suggests that human capital is positively related to employee voice behavior at the low and moderate levels of human capital, but beyond an inflection point, the relationship between human capital and employee voice behavior becomes flat or negative. Also, this study proposes that social contexts moderate the non-linear relationship between human capital and voice behavior. When ethical leadership or ethical climate in the organization is high, such a condition may enhance the voice behavior of employees both with low and high human capital, subsequently resulting in a gradually positive linear relationship. On the contrary, when ethical leadership or ethical climate in the organization is low, the voice behavior of those with high and low human capital may significantly diminish, resulting in a symmetrically inverted U-shaped relationship.