Efficacy beliefs and employee voice : the role of perceived influence and manager openness

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how and when an employee's belief in their voice self-efficacy leads to promotive and prohibitive voice behavior. By banking on social cognitive theory, this study examines perceived influence at work as a mediator and managerial openness as a moderator in the link between voice self-efficacy and the two forms of voice. Design/methodology/approach: This study's data come from 285 Indian information technology (IT) employees by adopting a cross-sectional survey design. The effect of moderator and mediator is examined by employing structural equation modeling in AMOS 22. Findings: The results reveal that perceived influence at work partially mediates the positive link between voice self-efficacy and the two forms of voice behaviors. The test of moderation also exposes that prohibitive voice is more contingent on managerial openness as compared to promotive voice. Originality/value: This is one of the initial studies to explore perceived influence at work as a mediator in the association between voice self-efficacy and employee voice behavior. The treatment of voice as a bidimensional construct in this study discloses the difference between the two forms, contributing to the voice literature and inviting further research.