Managerial openness and employee voice: a moderated mediation model

Purpose Drawing on a costs-benefit analysis perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between managerial openness and employee voice and its boundary conditions. Design/methodology/approach This study collected three waves of data by surveying 326 pairs of employees and their supervisors. The hypotheses were tested by using Hayes's (2018) SPSS macro application with a bootstrap approach to obtain confidence intervals. Findings Managerial openness facilitates employee voice by decreasing perceived voice costs. Felt obligation positively moderates the direct as well as the indirect relationship between perceived voice costs and employee voice. Originality/value This study uncovers the alternative mechanism underlying the relationship between managerial openness and employee voice as well as the boundary condition of this relationship.