Abstract
This study aims to examine the effect of transformational leadership on employee voice behavior. Specifically, this study investigates the mediating role of positive affect in linking transformational leadership with voice and the moderating role of over-qualification in influencing the mediation of positive affect. In particular, a two-wave survey was conducted. A sample of 271 participants complete a questionnaire measuring transformational leadership, positive affect and various demographic variables in the first wave. Then, they complete a second questionnaire measuring perceived over-qualification and voice behavior 2 weeks later. We conduct a series of multiple regression analyses to test the model. The results show that positive affect partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and employee voice behavior. Over-qualification moderated the relationship between positive affect and voice. In addition, moderated mediation analyses reveal that positive affect mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and voice only for highly over-qualified employees. This study investigates a new method linking transformational leadership and voice from an affective perspective by finding the mediating effect of positive affect. We also verify the role of “energized to” process in shaping proactive behaviors. Finally, this study examines the boundary conditions of the effect of positive affect on voice.
Highlights
Voice behavior refers to an employee’s constructive change-oriented communication that is intended to improve a situation (LePine and Van Dyne 2001)
The results of the present study indicate that employees with transformational leaders are more likely to engage in voice and that positive affect mediates the association between transformational leadership and voice
The results suggest that perceived over-qualification moderates the association between positive affect and voice
Summary
Voice behavior refers to an employee’s constructive change-oriented communication that is intended to improve a situation (LePine and Van Dyne 2001). Due to the potential benefits of voice, methods to motivate employees to voice their thoughts at work have become an important topic in organizational behavior research. Because leaders are usually the targets of voice and their attitudes and behaviors directly shape the willingness of employees to speak up (Morrison 2014), leader's behavior is considered an important antecedent that motivates employees to voice their thoughts. Transformational leadership may have a particular effect on employee voice behavior since it has been associated with personal and organizational changes and high performance (Bass and Riggio 2006).
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