Purpose. This study examines how leader interpersonal affect regulation shapes team voice behavior through team psychological safety, extending understanding of affective pathways to collective voice in teams.
Design/methodology/approach. We conducted a multi-source survey study of 149 teams (757 team members and their leaders) in a Chilean bank. Team members rated leaders' affectimproving (e.g., acknowledging contributions, providing support) and affect-worsening (e.g., harsh criticism, dismissiveness) regulation and team psychological safety; leaders rated team voice behavior. We tested indirect effects using structural equation modeling.
Findings. Leader affect-improving regulation positively influenced team voice behavior through enhanced team psychological safety, while leader affect-worsening regulation negatively influenced team voice behavior through diminished team psychological safety.
Research limitations/implications. The cross-sectional design limits causal inferences. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to examine how affect regulation, psychological safety, and voice co-evolve over time.
Practical implications. Organizations should develop leaders' interpersonal affect regulation capabilities through targeted training emphasizing affect-improving strategies while minimizing
affect-worsening strategies.
Originality. This study contributes to the leadership and voice literature by identifying leader interpersonal affect regulation as a specific behavioral pathway linking leadership to team psychological safety and voice, and extends interpersonal affect regulation research to the team level. Testing in a Chilean organizational context contributes evidence about theory expansion beyond predominantly WEIRD samples.
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)