When Do High-Context Communicators Speak Up? Exploring Contextual Communication Orientation and Employee Voice

Past research suggests that individuals oriented toward high-context communication are less likely than are others to voice (i.e., speak up) at work. In the current article, we rely on high-/low-context theory to explore potential boundary conditions of this relationship. We conducted 2 studies exploring the relationship between contextual communication orientation and 2 distinct types of voice (prohibitive and promotive). As hypothesized, both studies showed that the negative relationship between contextual communication orientation and voice was weaker for prohibitive (compared with promotive) voice. Results of Study 1 showed that, as hypothesized, leader-member exchange (LMX) moderated the relationship between contextual communication orientation and promotive voice, such that the relationship was negative when LMX was low but not significant when high. The interaction was not significant in predicting prohibitive voice in Study 1 or in predicting either voice type in Study 2.