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Speaking or Keeping Silent? Investigating the Impact of Young Leadership on Voice Behavior
- 1 The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In recent years, employee voice behavior has emerged as a prominent topic within the domain of organizational behavior research. There has been a substantial increase in empirical studies examining its antecedents, outcomes, and moderators across various levels of analysis. Nevertheless, the mechanisms through which young leaders facilitate employee voice behavior remain inadequately understood. To address this research gap, the present study explores the role of young leaders in enhancing employee voice behavior through the mediating factors of perceived psychological safety and openness, grounded in established theoretical frameworks. A survey-based questionnaire was administered to a sample of over 160 employees to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. The findings indicate a negative correlation between leader age and both perceived safety and openness, while these mediating factors are positively correlated with employee voice behavior. This study makes two significant contributions to the literature on voice behavior. Firstly, it empirically and theoretically establishes leader age as a critical antecedent influencing subordinates' voice behavior. Secondly, it offers practical insights for the management and enhancement of employee voice behavior.
Keywords
Voice Behavior, Perceived Safety, Perceived Openness, Leader Age
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Cite this article
Ding,J. (2025). Speaking or Keeping Silent? Investigating the Impact of Young Leadership on Voice Behavior. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,165,12-24.
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