When Do Employees Speak Up? The Role of Career Empowerment and Bystanders’ Intervention Behavior

Abstract

This study inquires how career empowerment predicts promotive and prohibitive voice behavior and that how career security intervenes in this relationship. The moderating role of direct and indirect intervention behavior of bystanders is also tested between career security and voice behavior. A three-wave time-lagged data were collected from 267 non-managerial front-line banking employees to test the proposed model. Structural equation modeling (SEM) statistical technique was used for data analyses. The results showed that career empowerment significantly predicts (directly and indirectly) both promotive and prohibitive voice behavior. Further, the direct intervention behavior of bystanders significantly moderated the relationship between career security and both types of voice behavior (promotive and prohibitive). Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.