Development and Validation of an Employee Voice Strategy Scale through Four Studies in Japan

• Author: Masaki Matsunaga
• Published date: 01 July 2015
• Date: 01 July 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21636

Human Resource Management, July–August 2015, Vol. 54, No. 4. Pp. 653–671

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).

DOI:10.1002/hrm.21636

Correspondence to: Masaki Matsunaga, College of Business, Rikkyo University, McKim Hall, M716,

3-34-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8501, Japan, Phone: (+81-3) 3985-2643, Fax: (+81-3) 3985-2292,

E-mail: matsunaga@rikkyo.ac.jp.

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION

OF AN EMPLOYEE VOICE STRATEGY

SCALE THROUGH FOUR STUDIES

INJAPAN

MASAKI MATSUNAGA

Employee voice is an important organizational behavior that affects work group

performance, and many studies have explored its mechanism; nonetheless, the

existing literature narrowly defi nes the construct and overlooks a variety of stra-

tegic approaches employees take as they engage in voice. Based on this problem-

atization, the current research has developed and validated a scale of employee

voice strategy through four studies in Japan (total N = 1,156). Employee voice

strategy is defi ned as a set of direct and indirect communicative approaches that

organizational members utilize to share ideas with intentions to exert construc-

tive infl uence to their work group. Studies 1 and 2 analyzed interview narratives

to develop an initial typology, which was refi ned in Study 3 into a six-factor scale.

Study 4 replicated it through confi rmatory factor analyses. Construct validity of

the scale was also examined by testing the strategy factors’ nomological net-

work—as expected, proactive personality was positively associated with asser-

tive strategies, while relationship maintenance goal orientation was linked to

conciliatory, nonconfrontational strategies; negative emotion display showed

negative associations with voice strategy use in general. These fi ndings were dis-

cussed vis-à-vis culturally inclusive human resource management practices, as

well as theoretical exploration of the employee voice phenomena from process-

centered perspectives. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Keywords: employee voice, exploratory and confi rmatory factor analysis,

Japan, measurement validation, process-centered perspectives, “Western” bias

Employees are a rich source of valuable

ideas for organizations, but seizing their

voice poses a challenge because employ-

ees communicate their ideas in a number

of different ways. Research shows that the

ability to tune in to employees’ ideas is crucial

for organizations to maintain competitiveness

(Black & Lynch, 2004; Bryson, Charlwood, &

Forth, 2006). For example, leveraging employees’

suggestions is indispensable to run decentralized

systems, identify emerging issues, and solve un-

precedented problems (Crant, 2000; Frese, Fay,

Hilburger, Leng, & Tag, 1997). Respecting em-

ployee voice also has merits for human resource

management, as employees who perceive their

voice heard show less stress, greater satisfaction,

654 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, JULY–AUGUST 2015

Human Resource Management DOI: 10.1002/hrm

The existing studies

tend to focus on

“speaking up” as the

only form of voice,

and there is little

theorizing about the

complexity of voice

enactment patterns.

The current research undertakes the challenge

to address this problem in the existing litera-

ture. To expand the scope of the voice research,

I present an alternative perspective to theorize

about employee voice phenomena. Based on this

expanded scope, the current research explores the

data collected in a non-“Western” culture, Japan,

to establish a novel framework to accommodate

diverse approaches—or, voice strategies—through

which organizational members communicate

their ideas in the workplace.

According to Hofstede (2001), Japan is char-

acterized by moderate power distance, a cultural

dimension that is highly relevant to voice phe-

nomena (Botero & Van Dyne, 2009). This mod-

erateness implies that employees in Japan face

a range of circumstances. Sometimes they need

to adapt to the pressure from the higher-ups,

whereas at other times they are expected to make

unique contributions in a bottom-up fashion

(see Nonaka, 1988). Hence, they should show a

greater repertoire of voice strategies. This specula-

tion is in line with the findings from the cross-

cultural literature that the Japanese utilize more

diverse conflict management strategies and show

greater adaptability across situations than do their

“Western” counterparts (e.g., Oetzel et al., 2001).

Such a behavioral variety is useful for the current

research, which aims to map out the full spectrum

of employee voice strategy dynamics.

Toward this end, a review of literature is

presented next. First, the conceptualization of

em ployee voice strategy and the contributions of

the current research will be clarified. Following

this review, a series of studies conducted in

Japan are reported. Finally, the findings obtained

through those studies and their implications will

be discussed with reference to the related theories.

Employee Voice Strategy

Conceptualization

Employee voice is a distinct, proactive organiza-

tional behavior, and the current research focuses

on upward voice, by which employees convey

ideas to supervisors (Fuller, Marler, & Hester,

2006). Voice can be expressed in a promotive or

prohibitive form (Liang, Farh, & Farh, 2012), and

it can be construed as a challenging or supportive

message by the recipient (Burris, 2012); nonethe-

less, its underlying tone is potentially provocative

as it casts questions to the status quo (Brinsfield,

Edwards, & Greenberg, 2009).

Numerous findings in the literature notwith-

standing, still a lot needs to be learned about voice.

In particular, the current research explores direct

and indirect communicative approaches by which

stronger organizational commitment, and more

trust in management (Harlos, 2001; Holland,

Cooper, Pyman, & Teicher, 2012; Ng & Feldman,

2012). Involving employees in creative problem-

solving processes by incorporating their ideas is

known to boost intrinsic motivation (Zhang &

Bartol, 2010) and lower quit rates (Batt, Colvin, &

Keefe, 2002). Finally, recognition of voice behav-

ior has impact on one’s career success and lead-

ership development (Claes & Ruiz-Quintanilla,

1998; Crant & Bateman, 2000).

Reflecting this importance, there is an exten-

sive body of literature on employee voice (Detert

& Burris, 2007; Van Dyne, Ang, & Botero, 2003).

Nonetheless, I argue the scope of this literature is

limited because the extant research only focuses

on the act of directly speaking up in face-to-face

settings. Employee voice, however, represents a

broader concept, defined as “employees’ expres-

sions of constructive challenges to others in their

work groups regarding issues of work efficiency,

with intentions to improve rather

than merely to criticize” (Van Dyne

& LePine, 1998, p. 109). Note that

there are diverse ways to express

one’s opinions or constructively

challenge the status quo in the work-

place; explicitly speaking up is no

more valid as a form of voice than

are other ways of communication.

As discussed in greater detail later,

voice provides a significant predica-

ment for employees, and individuals

typically utilize a variety of strate-

gies to deal with significant work-

related issues (Rahim, 2002). Thus,

it seems reasonable to posit that

employees would use various strategies to manage

the exigency of voicing their ideas. Yet, the exist-

ing studies tend to focus on “speaking up” as the

only form of voice, and there is little theorizing

about the complexity of voice enactment patterns

(Morrison, Wheeler-Smith, & Kamdar, 2011).

Arguably, the predilection toward direct-

ness stems from the “Western” bias in the extant

research (Kim, 2002). Most of the previous find-

ings were obtained through the studies based

on North American or western European sam-

ples (Gomez, Bryson, Kretschmer, & Willman,

2009; Greenberg & Edwards, 2009). As a result,

assertive communication, which represents the

unique standard of “Western” communication

cultures (Kim, 2002) but not the quintessential

aspect of the voice phenomenon, is highlighted

excessively in the literature, whereas other voic-

ing strategies have hardly received scholarly

attention.