A systematic review of employee voice literature in hospitality

Abstract

With the growing popularity of employee voice in the hospitality field, a lack of consistency and clarity around this construct has impacted the development of related literature in hospitality. This review aimed to understand what we know about employee voice in the context of hospitality, identify trends and gaps in the literature, and provide suggestions and directions for future research. Reviewed studies were searched by keywords from various databases. Content analysis was used to review and analyze those studies for research design, theoretical framework, and constructs related to employee voice, including antecedent, mediator, outcome, and moderator. The inclusion criteria resulted in 36 studies as the final sample. Most studies used a quantitative research design. Social exchange and the conservation of resources theories were the most commonly applied theoretical frameworks. The literature heavily focused on investigating the antecedents of voice. A comparison between hospitality and general business voice literature was also conducted. Research gaps and limitations in the literature were discussed. The review concluded by proposing directions and suggestions for future studies. As the first systematic review of employee voice in hospitality, this study provides a holistic picture of hospitality voice literature to date, making both theoretical and practical contributions.