Personality as a predictor of the value of voice

The opportunity for workers to provide input, also known as voice, has received extensive study. The contrasting relational and instrumental theories of voice have stimulated research investigating why people value voice. However, researchers have yet to assess individual differences in the actual value that people place on voice. This consideration is particularly important because the effect of voice on perceived procedural fairness varies according to the value of voice. This laboratory study is an examination of the Big Five (extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, neuroticism, and conscientiousness; L. Goldberg, 1992) and core self-evaluations (neuroticism, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and locus of control; T. Judge, E. Locke, & C. Durham, 1997) as predictors of the value of voice for 96 undergraduates. Although both the Big Five and core self-evaluations accounted for significant variance in the value of voice, only 2 individual components (extraversion and self-efficacy) significantly predicted the value of voice.