The Inspection and Integration of Employee Voice Research in View of Its Nature and Effects

Chen Kun; Liu Xing

doi:doi:10.16538/j.cnki.fem.2016.08.007

Abstract

Contrary to negative reactions like counterproductive work behavior, employee voice(EV)is employees' autonomous and active vocal behavior, which can provide opportunities for the solution to a variety of problems for both sides of employees and organizations, thereby bringing multi-effects and thus being of great research value. However, though various and numerous, extant EV research is fragmented, narrowed and sometimes conclusion-divergent, and on the whole in a status of segregation and lack of communication and integration due to perspective differences. Based on EV's evolution context and the concepts like zone of acceptance, this paper inquires the nature and general intension of EV, highlights the significance of voice to employees, and raises the concept of peripheral zone of acceptance. This paper reviews and inspects EV research focusing on EV effects from the perspectives of pluralist industrial relation view and unary human resource management theory, and constructs an integrated framework of EV research and two-dimensional continuum of EV's presentation form, to form more comprehensive and deep understanding of EV and have implications for future research and practice.