Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T06:33:01.748Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The curvilinear impact of perceived organizational politics on employee voice behavior: Mediating role of territoriality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2023

Hao Zhou Open the ORCID record for Hao Zhou [Opens in a new window]  and
Qin Liu Open the ORCID record for Qin Liu [Opens in a new window]
Hao Zhou*
Affiliation:
Business School, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Road, Chengdu, China
Qin Liu
Affiliation:
Business School, Sichuan University, 29 Wangjiang Road, Chengdu, China
*
Corresponding author: Hao Zhou, E-mail: zhouhao@scu.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Organizational context has an important influence on voice behavior. This study investigates the curvilinear relationship between perceived organizational politics (POP) – an inevitable organizational context factor – and employee voice behavior through a conservation of resources theory lens, considering the curvilinear mediating role of territoriality. A three-wave survey of 227 full-time employees revealed that (1) POP is positively associated with territoriality, (2) territoriality has U-shaped relationships with both promotive and prohibitive voice, that is, when territoriality ranges from low to moderate, promotive/prohibitive voice behavior gradually decreases. When territoriality ranges from moderate to high, promotive/prohibitive voice behavior gradually increases and (3) territoriality acts as a curvilinear mediator between POP and promotive/prohibitive voice behavior. These findings make a significant contribution to POP literature and voice behavior literature by identifying territoriality as a mediator between these organizational factors. Implications for practice are also discussed.

Keywords

Conservation of resources theoryPerceived organizational politicsTerritorialityVoice behavior
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , First View , pp. 1 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altman, I., & Haythorn, W. W. (1967). The ecology of isolated groups. Behavioral Science, 12(3), 168–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avey, J. B., Avolio, B. J., Crossley, C. D., & Luthans, F. (2009). Psychological ownership: Theoretical extensions, measurement and relation to work outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30(2), 173–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bashshur, M. R., & Oc, B. (2015). When voice matters: A multilevel review of the impact of voice in organizations. Journal of Management, 41(5), 1530–1554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bedi, A., & Schat, A. C. H. (2013). Perceptions of organizational politics: A meta-analysis of its attitudinal, health, and behavioural consequences. Canadian Psychology-Psychologie Canadienne, 54(4), 246–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergeron, D. M., & Thompson, P. S. (2020). Speaking up at work: The role of perceived organizational support in explaining the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and voice behavior. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(2), 195–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brislin, R. W. (1980). Translation and content analysis of oral and written material. In Triandis, H. C. & Berry, J. W. (Eds.), Methodology: Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 349–444). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Brown, G., & Baer, M. (2015). Protecting the turf: The effect of territorial marking on others’ creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(6), 1785–1797.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, G., Crossley, C., & Robinson, S. L. (2014). Psychological ownership, territorial behavior, and being perceived as a team contributor: The critical role of trust in the work environment. Personnel Psychology, 67(2), 463–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, G., Lawrence, T. B., & Robinson, S. L. (2005). Territoriality in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 30(3), 577–594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, G., & Robinson, S. L. (2011). Reactions to territorial infringement. Organization Science, 22(1), 210–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burris, E. R. (2012). The risks and rewards of speaking up: Managerial responses to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 851–875.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chamberlin, M., Newton, D. W., & Lepine, J. A. (2017). A meta-analysis of voice and its promotive and prohibitive forms: Identification of key associations, distinctions, and future research directions. Personnel Psychology, 70(1), 11–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, C. H., Rosen, C. C., & Levy, P. E. (2009). The relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and employee attitudes, strain, and behavior: A meta-analytic examination. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 779–801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, T. Y., & Yang, C. T. (2014). Individual differences in Zhong-Yong tendency and processing capacity. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Du, J., Ran, M. M., & Cao, P. (2014). Contingent effect of zhongyong on employee innovation behavior. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 46(1), 113–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duan, J., & Ling, B. (2011). A Chinese indigenous study of the construct of employee voice behavior and the influence of Zhongyong on it. Acta Psychological Sinica, 43(10), 1185–1197.Google Scholar
Edney, J. J. (1974). Human territoriality. Psychological Bulletin, 81(12), 959–975.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, J. R., & Lambert, L. S. (2007). Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general analytical framework using moderated path analysis. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ete, Z., Sosik, J. J., Cheong, M., Chun, J. U., Zhu, W., Arenas, F. J., & Scherer, J. A. (2020). Leader honesty/humility and subordinate organizational citizenship behavior: A case of too-much-of-a-good-thing? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 35(5), 391–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fennimore, A. (2020). That's my stapler: Vulnerable narcissists and organizational territoriality. Management Research Review, 43(4), 411–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Adams, G., Kolodinsky, R. W., Hochwarter, W. A., & Ammeter, A. P. (2002). Perceptions of organizational politics: Theory and research directions. In Yammarino, F. J. & Dansereau, F. (Eds.), Research in multi-level issues: The many faces of multi level issues (pp. 179–254). Oxford, UK: JAI Press/Elsevier Science.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Ellen, B. P., McAllister, C. P., & Maher, L. P. (2019). Reorganizing organizational politics research: A review of the literature and identification of future research directions. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6(6), 299–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Frink, D. D., Galang, M. C., Zhou, J., Kacmar, K. M., & Howard, J. L. (1996). Perceptions of organizational politics: Prediction, stress-related implications, and outcomes. Human Relations, 49(2), 233–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, G. R., & Kacmar, K. M. (1992). Perceptions of organizational politics. Journal of Management, 18, 93–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferris, G. R., Russ, G. S., & Fandt, P. M. (1989). Politics in organizations. In Glacalone, R. A. & Rosenfeld, P. (Eds.), Impression management in the organization (pp. 143–170). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Fuller, J. B., Barnett, T., Hester, K., Relyea, C., & Frey, L. (2007). An exploratory examination of voice behavior from an impression management perspective. Journal of Managerial Issues, 19(1), 134–151.Google Scholar
Gardner, T. M., Munyon, T. P., Hom, P. W., & Griffeth, R. W. (2018). When territoriality meets agency: An examination of employee guarding as a territorial strategy. Journal of Management, 44(7), 2580–2610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gong, Z. X., Van Swol, L. M., Li, F., & Gilal, F. G. (2021). Relationship between nurse's voice and self-leadership: A time-lagged study. Nursing Open, 8(3), 1038–1047.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halbesleben, J. R. B., Neveu, J.-P., Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., & Westman, M. (2014). Getting to the “COR”: Understanding the role of resources in conservation of resources theory. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1334–1364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haldorai, K., Kim, W. G., & Phetvaroon, K. (2022). Beyond the bend: The curvilinear effect of challenge stressors on work attitudes and behaviors. Tourism Management, 90, 104482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassan, S. (2015). The importance of ethical leadership and personal control in promoting improvement-centered voice among government employees. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25(3), 697–719.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J. (2010). Quantifying and testing indirect effects in simple mediation models when the constituent paths are nonlinear. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 45(4), 627–660.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources – a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology-an International Review-Psychologie Appliquee-Revue Internationale, 50(3), 337–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobfoll, S. E., Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J.P., & Westman, M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 103–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hochwarter, W. A., Ellen, B. P., & Ferris, G. R. (2014). Examining the interactive effects of accountability, politics, and voice. Career Development International, 19(4), 358–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hochwarter, W. A., Ferris, G. R., Laird, M. D., Treadway, D. C., & Gallagher, V. C. (2010). Nonlinear politics perceptions-work outcomes relationships: A three-study, five-sample investigation. Journal of Management, 36(3), 740–763.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hochwarter, W. A., Rosen, C. C., Jordan, S. L., Ferris, G. R., Ejaz, A., & Maher, L. P. (2020). Perceptions of organizational politics research: Past, present, and future. Journal of Management, 46(6), 879–907.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsiung, H. H., & Tsai, W. C. (2017). The joint moderating effects of activated negative moods and group voice climate on the relationship between power distance orientation and employee voice behavior. Applied Psychology-an International Review-Psychologie Appliquee-Revue Internationale, 66(3), 487–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huo, W. W., Cai, Z. Y., Luo, J. L., Men, C. H., & Jia, R. Q. (2016). Antecedents and intervention mechanisms: A multi-level study of R&D team's knowledge hiding behavior. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(5), 880–897.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jam, F. A., Donia, M. B. L., Raja, U., & Ling, C. H. (2017). A time-lagged study on the moderating role of overall satisfaction in perceived politics: Job outcomes relationships. Journal of Management & Organization, 23(3), 321–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janssen, O., & Gao, L. P. (2015). Supervisory responsiveness and employee self-perceived status and voice behavior. Journal of Management, 41(7), 1854–1872.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarrett, M. (2017). The 4 types of organizational politics. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/04/the-4-types-of-organizational-politics.Google Scholar
Khalid, J., & Ahmed, J. (2016). Perceived organizational politics and employee silence: Supervisor trust as a moderator. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 21(2), 174–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khan, N. A., Khan, A. N., & Gul, S. (2019). Relationship between perception of organizational politics and organizational citizenship behavior: Testing a moderated mediation model. Asian Business & Management, 18(2), 122–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, T. H., Lee, S. S., Oh, J., & Lee, S. (2019). Too powerless to speak up: Effects of social rejection on sense of power and employee voice. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 49(10), 655–667.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladebo, O. J. (2006). Perceptions of organisational politics: Examination of a situational antecedent and consequences among Nigeria's extension personnel. Applied Psychology-an International Review-Psychologie Appliquee-Revue Internationale, 55(2), 255–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landells, E., & Albrecht, S. (2017). The positives and negatives of organizational politics: A qualitative study. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32(1), 41–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LePine, J. A., & Van Dyne, L. (2001). Voice and cooperative behavior as contrasting forms of contextual performance: Evidence of differential relationships with big five personality characteristics and cognitive ability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(2), 326–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C. W., Liang, J., & Farh, J. L. (2020). Speaking up when water is murky: An uncertainty-based model linking perceived organizational politics to employee voice. Journal of Management, 46(3), 443–469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J., Wu, L.-Z., Liu, D., Kwan, H. K., & Liu, J. (2014). Insiders maintain voice: A psychological safety model of organizational politics. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 31(3), 853–874.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liang, J., Farh, C. I. C., & Farh, J. L. (2012). Psychological antecedents of promotive and prohibitive voice: A two-wave examination. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 71–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, S. H., & Johnson, R. E. (2015). A suggestion to improve a day keeps your depletion away: Examining promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors within a regulatory focus and ego depletion framework. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), 1381–1397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, B., Law, K., & Zhou, J. (2017). Why is underemployment related to creativity and OCB? A task crafting explanation of the curvilinear moderated relations. Academy of Management Journal, 60(1), 156–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Q., Zhou, H., & Sheng, X. (2021). The inhibitory effect of perceived organizational politics on employee voice behavior: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 727893.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malmberg, T. (1980). Human territoriality. A survey on the behavioral territories of man with preliminary analysis and discussion of meaning. New York, NY: Mouton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClean, E. J., Martin, S. R., Emich, K. J., & Woodruff, C. T. (2018). The social consequences of voice: An examination of voice type and gender on status and subsequent leader emergence. Academy of Management Journal, 61(5), 1869–1891.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monaghan, N., & Ayoko, O. B. (2019). Open-plan office, employees’ enactment, interpretations and reactions to territoriality. International Journal of Manpower, 40(2), 228–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, E. W. (2011). Employee voice behavior: Integration and directions for future research. Academy of Management Annals, 5(1), 373–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, E. W. (2014). Employee voice and silence. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1, 173–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2017). Mplus: Statistical Analysis with Latent Variables: User's Guide (Version 8). Los Angeles, CA: Authors.Google Scholar
Ng, T. W. H., & Feldman, D. C. (2012). Employee voice behavior: A meta-analytic test of the conservation of resources framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(2), 216–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ng, T. W. H., & Lucianetti, L. (2018). Are embedded employees active or passive? The roles of learning goal orientation and preferences for wide task boundaries and job mobility in the embeddedness-voice link. Human Resource Management, 57(5), 1251–1269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peng, H. (2013). Why and when do people hide knowledge? Journal of Knowledge Management, 17(3), 398–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, P., MacKenzie, S., Lee, J., & Podsakoff, N. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qu, Y., Wu, W., Tang, F., Si, H., & Xia, Y. (2018). Why do I conform to your ideas? The role of coworkers’ regulatory focus in explaining the influence of zhongyong on harmony voice. Chinese Management Studies, 12(2), 346–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosen, C. C., Harris, K. J., & Kacmar, K. M. (2009). The emotional implications of organizational politics: A process model. Human Relations, 62(1), 27–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solberg, E., Lai, L., & Dysvik, A. (2021). When midway won't do: The curvilinear relationship between intrinsic motivation and willingness to be flexible. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 36(2), 156–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Song, J., Gu, J. B., Wu, J. L., & Xu, S. (2019). Differential promotive voice-prohibitive voice relationships with employee performance: Power distance orientation as a moderator. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 36(4), 1053–1077.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sundstrom, E., & Altman, I. (1974). Field study of territorial behavior and dominance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30(1), 115–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treadway, D. C., Ferris, G. R., Hochwarter, W., Perrewé, P., Witt, L. A., & Goodman, J. M. (2005). The role of age in the perceptions of politics – job performance relationship: A three-study constructive replication. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5), 872–881.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., & Botero, I. C. (2003). Conceptualizing employee silence and employee voice as multidimensional constructs. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1359–1392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Dyne, L., & LePine, J. A. (1998). Helping and voice extra-role behaviors: Evidence of construct and predictive validity. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1), 108–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Dyne, L., & Pierce, J. L. (2004). Psychological ownership and feelings of possession: Three field studies predicting employee attitudes and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(4), 439–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigoda, E. (2000). Internal politics in public administration systems: An empirical examination of its relationship with job congruence, organizational citizenship behavior and in-role performance. Public Personnel Management, 29(2), 185–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vigoda, E. (2001). Reactions to organizational politics: A cross-cultural examination in Israel and Britain. Human Relations, 54(11), 1483–1518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagle, J. S., & Kaminski, P. F. (1984). Applying territoriality to steps in the buyer seller process. Industrial Marketing Management, 13(1), 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, W., Qu, Y. Z., Zhang, Y. H., Hao, S. Y., Tang, F. C., Zhao, N., & Si, H. J. (2019). Needs frustration makes me silent: Workplace ostracism and newcomers' voice behavior. Journal of Management & Organization, 25(5), 635–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, X. L., Zhang, P. N., Zhao, J. B., Zhao, J. B., Wang, J. Q., Chen, Y., … Zhang, X. Y. (2016). Confucian culture still matters: The benefits of Zhongyong thinking (doctrine of the mean) for mental health. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 47(8), 1097–1113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, D., Wu, J., & Gu, J. (2022). Higher-quality leader-member exchange (LMX), higher-level voice? The impact of LMX differentiation and LMX mean on promotive and prohibitive team voice. Current Psychology, 41, 4692–4710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar