Buffering negative impact of psychological contract breach on employee voice behavior: the moderating role of globally responsible business leadership

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between employees’ psychological contract breach and two types of voice behavior based on the social exchange theory. Additionally, the study explores the role of globally responsible business leadership in buffering the negative impacts of psychological contract breach on voice. Design/methodology/approach Survey data was collected from Chinese full-time employees and the final sample size is 337. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Findings indicate that psychological contract breach (PCB) has a positive and significant impact on employee aggressive voice behavior (AVB), while its relationship with constructive voice behavior (CVB) is not significant. Furthermore, globally responsible business leadership (GRBL) weakens the negative relationship between PCB and CVB, while strengthens the positive relationship between PCB and AVB. Practical implications The findings assist organizations in better recognizing the detrimental consequences of psychological contract breach. Second, the findings serve as a reminder to managers of the benefits of displaying globally responsible business leadership. Third, managers should recognize the complexities of globally responsible business leadership. Originality/value First, this study sheds new light on the impact of PCB on employees’ desirable and undesirable proactive behaviors by investigating how and when psychological contract breach affects two types of voice behavior. Second, the moderating role of GRBL further enriches our understanding of how to buffer negative effects of PCB and the desirable function of GRBL. Third, this study enriches the social exchange theory by investigating whether the leader−employee relationship will compensate for the failure of organization−employee relationship.