The Mediating Effect of Silence Motivation on the Relationships among Employee Silence Behavior, Perceived Supervisor Support, and Perceived Procedural Justice

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate the relationship between perceived supervisor support and employee silence behavior, the mediating roles of acquiescent silence motivation and defensive silence motivation in the relationship between perceived supervisor support and employee silence behavior, the relationship between perceived procedural justice and employee silence behavior, and the mediating roles of acquiescent silence motivation and opportunistic silence motivation in the relationship between perceived procedural justice and employee silence behavior. Using the survey research method, data were collected from 498 employees who were working in a variety of organizations in Korea. The results of this study showed that perceived supervisor support is negatively related with employee silence behavior. And the relationship between perceived supervisor support and employee silence behavior is partially mediated by acquiescent silence motivation and defensive silence motivation. Also, perceived procedural justice is negatively related with employee silence behavior. The relationship between perceived procedural justice and employee silence behavior is fully mediated by acquiescent silence motivation and opportunistic silence motivation. Based on these results, we discussed the implications of study, limitations, and the suggestions for future research.