Give a plum in return for a peach:linking employee caring practice to employee voice behavior

Abstract

This study used multilevel and multisource data from 54 hotels, 226 teams, and 876 frontline employees in China to investigate how and when employee caring practice can motivate employee voice behavior. Drawing on social exchange theory, we proposed that employee gratitude is an important mediator in the influence of employee caring practice on employee voice behavior. Furthermore, the extent to which employee gratitude are associated with employee voice behavior depended upon employee’s positive reciprocity norm, such that the positive impact of employee gratitude on employee voice behavior is stronger when employee’s positive reciprocity norm is a higher rather than lower level. The empirical results of this study also confirmed our theoretical arguments and hypotheses. These findings provide new insights into how a service organization facilitates frontline employee voice behavior.