Transformational leadership, identification and voice

Reference paper:

Liu, W., Zhu, R., & Yang, Y. (2010). I warn you because I like you: Voice behavior, employee identifications, and transformational leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(1), 189–202. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.10.014

Conclusion:

(A 50-word quick summary from my understanding)

Study proposes that voice could be directed towards supervisors (speaking up) or peers (speaking out). Transformational leadership facilitates speaking out via social identification and speaking up via personal identification. In contrast , affiliative extra-role behavior is less target sensitive, and influenced by transformational leadership via both social and personal identifications.

Quick Notes/queries:

(For my further delving)

Upward vs. lateral voice

• How different are the two voice constructs - speaking up and speaking out? Is 'upward voice to supervisor' construct different from upward voice to others up in hierarchy (for ex: skip-level leaders)? When, why and how does employee decide on one direction of voice over the other, or on a combination of both? What factors other than personal/social identification (such as trustworthiness and fairness) influence the direction of voice?
• What motives, individual factors and contextual factors influence these different behaviors? How different are perceived costs and efficacy in one from the other? For ex - are perceived costs of lateral voice generally lower as compared to that of upward voice?
• What influence tactics are typically used and effective in upward and lateral voicing? Does one behavior preclude the other or are both used in planned sequence/conjunction for ensuring better efficacy or safety?
• Is 'upward voice on behalf of someone' a possible distinctive construct? For ex - individuals who perceive poor efficacy or high cost of speaking up, could influence peers, who are perceived to be more effective/influential, to speak up on their behalf.

Voice target

• What factors - individual (of voice source and target), motives (of voice source and target) and contextual (such as medium, articulation and culture) - influence whether the voice target perceives the message as constructive suggestion/concern/opinion/idea and not as mere complaint?
• What factors influence target's receptiveness of the voice message? Under what conditions are the targets more receptive to voice? Do these conditions differ for whether the voice source is lateral or from subordinate?
• In a lateral voice context, how are individual dispositions and demographics of the voice target related to frequency of voice episodes targeted at him/her? For ex - are junior members (individuals with lesser work tenure and/or relevant experience) frequent targets of voice by their senior peers?

Leadership

• How does transformational leadership influence contextual factors (such as psychological safety, trust and open-minded culture) relevant to upward/lateral voice?
• How is LMX related to speaking out? For ex - an employee who enjoys a better LMX relationship with his supervisor perhaps perceives greater psychological safety and is thereby more comfortable to voice to his peers.
• Do skip-level leaders perceive upward voice of employees down in the hierarchy differently as compared to that of employees' immediate supervisors? Under what conditions are skip-level leaders more receptive to voice from these employees as compared to immediate supervisors?
• How do other leadership styles (charismatic and ethical leadership) relate to lateral voice? What underlying psychological mechanisms (such as follower's self-concept) link these leadership styles and voice behavior? For ex - research shows that ethical leadership influences follower's voice behavior (Walumbwa & Schaubroeck, 2009). Does this apply both to speaking up and speaking out?
• Does the issue of "dependence" apply to ethical and charismatic leadership styles too? How do personal and social identifications mediate the relationship these leadership styles and voice/affiliative behaviors?

Other factors

• How does TMX influence speaking out?
• How do group cohesion and organizational climate influence which social exchange rules govern employee behaviors? For example - in groups with high cohesion, does generalized social exchange rule govern people's behavior than restricted social exchange rule?
• How does high power distance cultural context relate to voice behavior?