A psychological contract perspective on how and when employees' promotive voice enhances promotability

Abstract

While promotive voice is conventionally considered a favourable work behaviour to the organisation, whether engaging in promotive voice will help employees move up the career ladder is inconclusive across a handful of studies. Drawing on a psychological contract perspective, this study aims to understand why and when employees' promotive voice can contribute to supervisor-rated employees' promotability. We propose that employees' engagement in promotive voice will strengthen supervisor-sponsored balanced psychological contract with the employees and thus employees' promotability, and these effects will be stronger when the employees and supervisors have higher versus lower quality of leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship. Results of a three-wave field study with 281 employees and their 59 supervisors supported our hypotheses. We conclude by discussing the important implications of these findings for theory and practice.