Receptivity to Voice: The Influence of Cultural Logics of Honor, Face, and Dignity Cultures

Abstract

Soliciting and incorporating employee voice is essential to organizational performance, yet managers display considerable variation in their openness to subordinate voice. To help explain when leaders will be open to employee voice, we draw on the CuPS (Culture x Person x Situation) approach that jointly and equally considers cultural differences and individual differences. Drawing on a sample from three different countries (e.g., the United States, China, and Lebanon), we present participants with a vignette in which they are asked to respond to a situation where a subordinate speaks up to them, a senior manager, with a concern about an aspect of work. Our studies show that in cultures where self-worth is derived more from external social relationships (face and honor) than from one's own subjective judgments (dignity) that people tend to respond less favorably to employee voice (i.e., with lower willingness to consider the input). The respondent's endorsement of the cultural ideal and the nature of the social relationship between the senior manager and the subordinate employee in the scenario also influence these results. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for the justice and cross-cultural literature discussed, as well as practical implications and suggestions for future research.