Workplace voice has been the subject of much research over the past 30 years. Prior work has examined the precursors of a wide variety of voice types including prosocial voice, grievance filing, whistle-blowing, informal complaints, and participation in suggestion systems. However, research on each type of voice has largely been conducted in isolation from work examining alternate types of workplace voice. The goal of this article is to review and integrate the literature on the determinants of workplace voice. The authors' review of the literature is organized around the major categories of determinants that have been observed in the separate literatures on workplace voice. Based on the review, the authors identify commonalities and differences across alternative forms of voice in the determinants observed. Following this, they explore how the nature and purpose of voice varies, with emphasis on three dimensions of voice: formality, focus, and identifiability. The authors then explore whether this variation is relevant for understanding the pattern of determinants observed across alternative forms of voice. They close by discussing the implications of an integrative perspective of scholars' understanding of the processes that determine voice and for organizations as they strive to facilitate the productive use of workplace voice.

Although HR activities have traditionally been performed in‐house, organizations are increasingly relying on outside contractors to perform these activities. Using a Transaction Cost Economics perspective, this study examined whether organizational‐level factors moderated the relationship between the degree of reliance on HR outsourcing and the perceived benefits produced by outsourcing. Moderated regression was performed using data provided by over 300 HR executives on outsourcing levels, organizational characteristics, and the perceived impact of outsourcing. Support was found for a number of the transaction cost hypotheses regarding the impact of organizational characteristics. Specifically, the relationship between the degree of outsourcing and the perceived benefits generated was moderated by reliance on idiosyncratic HR practices, uncertainty, firm size, and cost pressures. No support was found for hypotheses regarding the moderating effect associated with pay level, overall outsourcing emphasis, or strategic involvement by HR.

This study investigates the relationship between a number of organizational characteristics and the decision to outsource HR. Determinants of the outsourcing of four categories of HR are examined: HR generalists activities (e.g., performance appraisal), transactional activities (e.g., payroll), human capital activities (e.g., training), and recruiting and selection. HR executives in 432 organizations provided data on outsourcing levels and organizational characteristics. Reliance on HR outsourcing was associated with idiosyncratic HR practices, strategic HR involvement, positive HR outcomes, promotional opportunities, demand uncertainty, and pay level. As predicted, however, the impact of organizational characteristics varied among the different types of HR activities outsourced.

This field study examines the experiences of managers and professionals searching for jobs via the

This study examined how personnel managers (n, = 19) and line managers ( n = 28) make disciplinary decisions. Using a policy-capturing approach, subjects were asked to respond to disciplinary incidents that varied in terms of three factors likely to affect managerial attributions about the cause of the disciplinary problem (managerial provocation, personal problems, or tenure). The incidents also varied in terms of factors made relevant by the economic, institutional/legal, and hierarchical contexts. Of the six variables manipulated, the factor relating to the institutional/legal context had the largest impact on the decisions made by the personnel managers, and the factor relating to the hierarchical context had the largest impact on the decisions made by the line managers. While provocation was relatively important for both line and personnel managers, personal problems, tenure, and the economic implications of the decision had more modest impacts on managerial decisions. The results also suggest that there is substantial variation across managers in terms of the decision rules employed when responding to disciplinary cases.Much of existing research about how managers make disciplinary decisions uses an attribution theory framework (Jones & Davis, 1965). Consistent with attribution theory, research suggests that managers attempt to determine the cause of a behavioral problem in deciding how to respond to that problem. For example, studies show that as the consistency of a performance problem increases, so too does the likelihood of the subject making an internal attribution (attributing the cause of the problem to the employee) and, in turn, the likelihood of a harsh response (Mitchell & Wood, 1979). Similarly, when subjects believed that the reason for the performance problem was a lack of effort or ability, more severe action was taken than if the problem was attributed to task difficulty or bad luck (Pence, Pendleton, Dobbins, & Sgro, 1982). Findings that organizational status and family problems affect discipline (Rosen & Jerdee, 1974) also suggest that disciplinary decisions may be ~ Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Brian S. Klaas, College of Business Administration, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. COPYRICiHT 0 IWO PERSOKNEL PSYCHOLOGY. INC