When Authoritarian Leadership Fuels Employee Self-interested Voice: The Roles of Authoritarian Type

Abstract

Drawing on uncertainty management theory, this research investigates whether different types of authoritarian leadership are associated with employees’ work alienation and their subsequent self-interested voice, and whether employees’ perceived overqualification moderates these relationships. We tested our hypotheses using multisource and two-wave data collected from 11 Chinese companies. Results showed that discipline-focused AL had a negative indirect effect on self-interested voice via work alienation, whereas dominance-focused AL had a positive indirect effect on self-interested voice via work alienation and this positive indirect effect are stronger for employees high in perceived overqualification. Through this study, we help inform managers of the different types of authoritarian leadership they can use and their impact on different employees’ work alienation and self-interested voice.