How the organizational ethical climate accounts for employee voice behavior: a multilevel analysis

Abstract

This study adopted social identity theory to explore the mediating effect of organizational identification on the relationship between the organizational ethical climate and employee voice behavior. Additionally, it examined the cross-level effects of the organizational ethical climate on employee voice behavior. We used a survey-based methodology to collect data from 232 employees and 48 managers of service firms in Taiwan. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Our findings indicate the importance of the organizational ethical climate in enhancing organizational identification, which in turn is positively related to employee voice behavior. Thus, employees who perceive an organizational ethical climate identify more strongly with organizations and are more willing to generate voice behavior.