How do team faultlines damage team voice behavior? Comparing the effects of objective and perceived faultlines

Abstract

Purpose The continuous upgrading of new technologies and rapid changes in their external environment have made organizations more dependent than ever on the ability of their employees to quickly identify problems and make timely course corrections. This dependency is not limited to individual employee voice but extends to the collective voice of the team. In the Chinese context, collective silence prevails. Following social identity theory, this study aims to explore the mechanisms and conditional processes underlying the relationship between team faultlines and team voice behavior and examine whether there are differences between the effects of objective and perceived faultlines. Design/methodology/approach The proposed model was tested through questionnaires with 377 team members from 71 teams, which were conducted through team leader–member pairing survey. The correlation and hierarchical stepwise regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses rigorously, and the questionnaire data was analyzed using SPSS 26.0, AMOS 25.0 and R 3.6.1. Findings The results show that both objective and perceived faultlines have a negative impact on team voice behavior and that the latter has a stronger negative effect. Team psychological safety mediates the relationship between team faultlines and team voice behavior. In addition, benevolent leadership, moral leadership and Zhongyong thinking positively moderate the negative effect of objective faultlines on team voice behavior; Zhongyong thinking also moderates the mediating effect of team psychological safety on the relationship between objective faultlines and team voice behavior. Originality/value The results of this study provide a deeper understanding of team faultlines and team voice behavior, and practical implications are provided for managers and future researchers to improve voice behavior in organizations.