From Silence to Voice: How Ethical Leadership Influences Employees’ Promotive Voice Behavior Through Feedback Seeking Behavior and Role Ambiguity

Ce Zhang; Yueying Wang

doi:10.62177/apemr.v2i3.310

Authors

Ce Zhang Gyeongsang National University
Yueying Wang Xijing University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/apemr.v2i3.310

Keywords:

Ethical leadership, Promotive Voice Behavior, Feedback Seeking Behavior, Role Ambiguity, Conservation of Resources Theory

Abstract

This study focuses on two key dimensions—employees’ psychological cognition and behavioral motivation—to examine the dual effects of ethical leadership on employees’ promotive voice behavior. A questionnaire survey was conducted among workers from various industries in China, and data from 396 valid responses were analyzed. The findings supported our hypotheses, indicating that employees’ feedback-seeking behavior and role ambiguity fully mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and promotive voice behavior. Specifically, we found that ethical leadership enhances promotive voice behavior by fostering employees’ feedback-seeking behavior and by reducing their role ambiguity. These results demonstrate that ethical leadership indirectly influences promotive voice behavior by strengthening employees’ behavioral motivation and alleviating their negative perceptions of roles. This study contributes significant theoretical and practical insights into the exploration of leadership and employees’ voice behavior for organizational improvement and offers valuable directions for future research.

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