This study aims to understand how job satisfaction relates to constructive and destructive voice in cooperatives by developing an integrated theoretical model that combines Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Motivational Synergy Theory (MST). We investigate the underlying motivational explanation by adopting a follower-centric perspective and focusing on intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to leadership styles and performance-based rewards. The empirical mediation analyses of 300 workers of Italian cooperatives show specific associations of job satisfaction with constructive and destructive voice via transformational and transactional leadership and performance-based rewards. Unlike most existing literature, this study considers employee voice as an extra-role behavior that can be positive (constructive) or negative (destructive) for the organization. Moreover, it brings new theoretical perspectives to the voice debate by combining SET and MST, thus developing fertile grounds for further studies. Finally, it extends existing knowledge about employee voice to the under-investigated but highly relevant context of cooperatives.
AboramadanM.KundiY. M. (2020). Does transformational leadership better predict work-related outcomes than transactional leadership in the NPO context? Evidence from italy. International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 31(6), 1254–1267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-020-00278-7
2.
AlfayadZ.ArifL. S. M. (2017). Employee voice and job satisfaction: An application of Herzberg two-factor theory. International Review of Management and Marketing, 7(1), 150–156.
3.
Ali ArainG.BukhariS.HameedI.LacazeD. M.BukhariZ. (2018). Am I treated better than my co-worker? A moderated mediation analysis of psychological contract fulfillment, organizational identification, and voice. Personnel Review, 47(5), 1133–1151. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2016-0090
4.
AmabileT. M. (1993). Motivational synergy: Toward new conceptualizations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the workplace. Human Resource Management Review, 3(3), 185–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/1053-4822(93)90012-S
5.
ArandoS.GagoM.JonesD. C.KatoT. (2015). Efficiency in employee-owned enterprises: An econometric case study of Mondragon. ILR Review, 68(2), 398–425. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793914564966
BarryM.WilkinsonA. (2016). Pro-social or pro-management? A critique of the conception of employee voice as a pro-social behaviour within organizational behaviour. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(2), 261–284. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12114
8.
BassB. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations.
9.
BassB. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18(3), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(90)90061-S
10.
BassB. M.AvolioB. J.JungD. I.BersonY. (2003). Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 207–218. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.2.207
11.
BasterretxeaI.Heras-SaizarbitoriaI.LertxundiA. (2019). Can employee ownership and human resource management policies clash in worker cooperatives? Lessons from a defunct cooperative. Human Resource Management, 58(6), 585–601. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21957
12.
BennettR. J.RobinsonS. L. (2000). Development of a measure of workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3), 349.
13.
BlauP. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. TransactionPub
14.
BorgströmM. (2013). Effective co-operative governance: A practitioner’s perspective. Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management, 1, 49–50.
15.
BorzagaC.CariniC.TortiaE. C. (2021). Co-operative enterprise anti-cyclicality and the economic crisis: A comparative analysis of employment dynamics in Italy. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 93(3), 551–577. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12337
16.
BorzagaC.TortiaE. (2006). Worker motivations, job satisfaction, and loyalty in public and nonprofit social services. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(2), 225–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764006287207
17.
BorzagaC.TortiaE. (2017). Co-operation as coordination mechanism: A new approach to the economics of co-operative enterprises. In MichieJ.BlasiJ. R.BorzagaC. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of mutual, cooperative, and co-owned business (pp. 55-75). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199684977.013.5
18.
BoxallP.MackyK. (2009). Research and theory on high-performance work systems: Progressing the high-involvement stream. Human Resource Management Journal, 19(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2008.00082.x
19.
BreevaartK.BakkerA.HetlandJ.DemeroutiE.OlsenO. K.EspevikR. (2014). Daily transactional and transformational leadership and daily employee engagement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(1), 138–157. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12041
20.
BretosI.ErrastiA.MarcuelloC. (2018). Ownership, governance, and the diffusion of HRM practices in multinational worker cooperatives: Case-study evidence from the Mondragon group. Human Resource Management Journal, 28(1), 76–91. https://doi.org/doi:10.1111/1748-8583.12165
21.
BretosI.ErrastiA.MarcuelloC. (2020). Is there life after degeneration? The organizational life cycle of cooperatives under a “grow-or-die” dichotomy. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 91(3), 435–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12258
22.
BrislinR. W. (1980). Translation and content analysis of oral and written materials. In TriandisH. C.BerryJ. W. (Eds.), Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Methodology (pp. 389-444). Allyn and Bacon.
23.
BrykmanK. M.MaerzA. D. (2022). How leaders inspire voice: The role of voice climate and team implicit voice theories. Journal of Business and Psychology, 38(2), 327–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-022-09827-x
24.
BurrisE. R.DetertJ. R.RomneyA. C. (2013). Speaking up vs. being heard: The disagreement around and outcomes of employee voice. Organization Science, 24(1), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1110.0732
25.
Camargo BenavidesA. F.EhrenhardM. (2021). Rediscovering the cooperative enterprise: A systematic review of current topics and avenues for future research. VOLUNTAS, 32(5), 964–978. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00328-8
26.
CarnevaleJ. B.HuangL.CredeM.HarmsP.Uhl-BienM. (2017). Leading to stimulate employees’ ideas: A quantitative review of leader-member exchange, employee voice, creativity, and innovative behavior. Applied Psychology, 66(4), 517–552. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12102
27.
CavaliereV.SassettiS.LombardiS. (2021). Entrepreneurial alertness and self-perceived employability: A virtuous marriage for career development. Personnel Review, 51(1), 137–158. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-05-2020-0350
28.
ChamberlinM.NewtonD. W.LepineJ. A. (2017). A meta-analysis of voice and its promotive and prohibitive forms: Identification of key associations, distinctions, and future research directions. Personnel Psychology, 70(1), 11–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12185
29.
ChenL.LiM.WuY. J.ChenC. (2020). The voicer’s reactions to voice: An examination of employee voice on perceived organizational status and subsequent innovative behavior in the workplace. Personnel Review, 50(4), 1073–1092. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2019-0399
30.
CheneyG.Santa CruzI.PeredoA. M.NazarenoE. (2014). Worker cooperatives as an organizational alternative: Challenges, achievements and promise in business governance and ownership. Organization, 21(5), 591–603. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508414539784
31.
CooperR.MosseriS.VromenA.BairdM.HillE.ProbynE. (2021). Gender matters: A multilevel analysis of gender and voice at work. British Journal of Management, 32(3), 725–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12487
32.
CôtéK.LauzierM.StinglhamberF. (2021). The relationship between presenteeism and job satisfaction: A mediated moderation model using work engagement and perceived organizational support. European Management Journal, 39(2), 270–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.09.001
33.
CropanzanoR.MitchellM. S. (2016). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 31(6), 874–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602
34.
DeichmannD.StamD. (2015). Leveraging transformational and transactional leadership to cultivate the generation of organization-focused ideas. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(2), 204–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.10.004
35.
Della TorreE.GrittiA.WilkinsonA. (2022). Employee voice: Meanings, approaches, and research directions. Oxford University Press.
36.
Della TorreE.SalimiM.GiangrecoA. (2020). Crowding-out or crowding-in? Direct voice, performance-related pay, and organizational innovation in European firms. Human Resource Management, 59(2), 185–199. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21987
37.
DetertJ. R.BurrisE. R. (2007). Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open?Academy of Management Journal, 50(4), 869–884. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279183
38.
DetertJ. R.BurrisE. R.HarrisonD. A.MartinS. R. (2013). Voice flows to and around leaders: Understanding when units are helped or hurt by employee voice. Administrative Science Quarterly, 58(4), 624–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839213510151
39.
DuanJ.LiC.XuY.WuC-h. (2017). Transformational leadership and employee voice behavior: A Pygmalion mechanism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(5), 650–670. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2157
40.
FastN. J.BurrisE. R.BartelC. A. (2014). Managing to stay in the dark: Managerial self-efficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal, 57(4), 1013–1034. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2012.0393
41.
FlickingerM.AllscherM.FiedlerM. (2016). The mediating role of leader-member exchange: A study of job satisfaction and turnover intentions in temporary work. Human Resource Management Journal, 26(1), 46–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12091
42.
GagnéM.DeciE. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331–362. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.322
43.
GarnerJ. T.GarnerL. T. (2010). Volunteering an opinion: Organizational voice and volunteer retention in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40(5), 813–828. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764010366181
44.
GerhartB.FangM. (2015). Pay, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, performance, and creativity in the workplace: Revisiting long-held beliefs. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2(1), 489–521. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111418
45.
GuzmánC.SantosF. J.BarrosoM.d lO. (2020). Analysing the links between cooperative principles, entrepreneurial orientation and performance. Small Business Economics, 55(4), 1075–1089. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00174-5
46.
HairJ. F. (2009). Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
47.
HayesA. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Publications.
48.
HöhlerJ.KühlR. (2018). Dimensions of member heterogeneity in cooperatives and their impact on organization—A literature review. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 89(4), 697–712. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12177
49.
HollandP.CooperB. K.HeckerR. (2016). Use of social media at work: A new form of employee voice?The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(21), 2621–2634. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1227867
50.
HollandP.PymanA.CooperB. K.TeicherJ. (2011). Employee voice and job satisfaction in Australia: The centrality of direct voice. Human Resource Management, 50(1), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20406
51.
HowellJ. M.ShamirB. (2005). The role of followers in the charismatic leadership process: Relationships and their consequences. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 96–112. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2005.15281435
52.
HowellT. M.HarrisonD. A.BurrisE. R.DetertJ. R. (2015). Who gets credit for input? Demographic and structural status cues in voice recognition. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(6), 1765–1784. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000025
JadaU. R.MukhopadhyayS. (2019). Understanding the effects of empowering, transformational and ethical leadership on promotive and prohibitive voice: A moderated mediated examination. Personnel Review, 48(3), 707–730. https://doi.org/10.1108/Pr-11-2017-0365
55.
JensenA.PatmoreG.TortiaE. (2015). Cooperative enterprises in Australia and Italy: Comparative analysis and theoretical insights. Firenze University press. https://doi.org/10.36253/978-88-6655-868-2
56.
JudgeT. A.PiccoloR. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 755–768. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.5.755
57.
JussilaI.GoelS.TuominenP. (2012). Governance of co-operative organizations: A social exchange perspective. Business Management Research, 1(2), 14–25. https://doi.org/10.5430/bmr.v1n2p14
58.
KimM.KnutsonB. J.ChoiL. (2016). The effects of employee voice and delight on job satisfaction and behaviors: Comparison between employee generations. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 25(5), 563–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2015.1067665
59.
KimS.LeeH. (2006). The impact of organizational context and information technology on employee knowledge-sharing capabilities. Public Administration Review, 66(3), 370–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00595.x
60.
KimY. J.Fu LamC.OhJ.SohnW. (2022). Employee constructive voice: An integrative review and a dyadic approach. Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221108654
61.
KlineR. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford Publications.
62.
KnappJ. R.SmithB. R.SprinkleT. A. (2017). Is it the job or the support? Examining structural and relational predictors of job satisfaction and turnover intention for nonprofit employees. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 46(3), 652–671. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764016685859
LiangH. L.YehT. K. (2020). The effects of employee voice on workplace bullying and job satisfaction The mediating role of leader-member exchange. Management Decision, 58(3), 569–582. https://doi.org/10.1108/md-01-2019-0112
65.
LiangJ.FarhC. I. C.FarhJ.-L. (2012). Psychological antecedents of promotive and prohibitive voice: A two-wave examination. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0176
66.
LinX.LamL. W.ZhangL. L. (2020). The curvilinear relationship between job satisfaction and employee voice: Speaking up for the organization and the self. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 37(2), 587–607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-018-9622-8
67.
LiuF.ChowH.-S.GongY.HuangM. (2020). Affiliative and aggressive humor in leadership and their effects on employee voice: A serial mediation model. Review of Managerial Science, 14(6), 1321–1339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-019-00334-7
68.
LiuW.ZhuR.YangY. (2010). I warn you because I like you: Voice behavior, employee identifications, and transformational leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(1), 189–202.
69.
MackeyJ. D.HuangL.HeW. (2020). You abuse and I criticize: An ego depletion and leader–member exchange examination of abusive supervision and destructive voice. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(3), 579–591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-4024-x
70.
MalhotraN. K.KimS. S.PatilA. J. M. S. (2006). Common method variance in IS research: A comparison of alternative approaches and a reanalysis of past research. Management Science, 52(12), 1865–1883. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1060.0597
71.
MaynesT. D.PodsakoffP. M. (2014). Speaking more broadly: An examination of the nature, antecedents, and consequences of an expanded set of employee voice behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(1), 87–112. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034284
72.
McCleanE. J.BurrisE. R.DetertJ. R. (2012). When does voice lead to exit? It depends on leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 56(2), 525–548. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0041
MoriM.CavaliereV. (2024). Voice Behaviours within Cooperatives. The Importance of the Relational Aspects of Leadership and Integrative Mechanisms for Loyalty. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11266-024-00658-3
75.
MoriM.CavaliereV.SassettiS.CaputoA. (2022). Employee voice: A knowledge map to provide conceptual clarity and future research directions. Journal of Management & Organization, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2022.89
76.
MorrisonE. W. (2011). Employee voice behavior: Integration and directions for future research. Academy of Management Annals, 5(1), 373–412. https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520.2011.574506
77.
MowbrayP. K.WilkinsonA.HermanH. (2020). High-performance work systems and employee voice behaviour: An integrated model and research agenda. Personnel Review, 50(6), 1530–1543. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1108/PR-12-2019-0692
78.
OostlanderJ.GüntertS. T.van SchieS.WehnerT. (2014). Leadership and volunteer motivation: A study using self-determination theory. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(5), 869–889. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764013485158
79.
ÖsterbergP.NilssonJ. (2009). Members’ perception of their participation in the governance of cooperatives: The key to trust and commitment in agricultural cooperatives. Agribusiness, 25(2), 181–197. https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.20200
80.
PeiZ.PanY.SkitmoreM.FengT. (2018). Leader–member exchange and prohibitive voice in nonprofit organizations in China: The moderating roles of superior–subordinate tenure matching. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 29(2), 203–222. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21330
81.
PinderC. C. (2014). Work motivation in organizational behavior (Vol. 2nd ed.). Psychology Press.
82.
PodsakoffP. M.MacKenzieS. B.LeeJ. Y.PodsakoffN. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
83.
PodsakoffP. M.MacKenzieS. B.MoormanR. H.FetterR. (1990). Transformational leader behaviors and their effects on followers’ trust in leader, satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. The Leadership Quarterly, 1(2), 107–142.
84.
PoledriniS. (2015). Unconditional reciprocity and the case of Italian social cooperatives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 44(3), 457–473. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764013518844
85.
ReesC.AlfesK.GatenbyM. (2013). Employee voice and engagement: Connections and consequences. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(14), 2780–2798. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.763843
86.
Rincon-RoldanF.Lopez-CabralesA. (2022). Linking organisational values and sustainability: The role of AMO practices. Personnel Review, 51(6), 1651–1671. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-06-2020-0414
87.
RowoldJ.BorgmannL.BormannK. (2014). Which leadership constructs are important for predicting job satisfaction, affective commitment, and perceived job performance in profit versus nonprofit organizations?Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 25(2), 147–164. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21116
88.
SacchettiS.TortiaE. (2016). The extended governance of cooperative firms: Inter-firm coordination and consistency of values. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 87(1), 93–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12058
89.
ShabaneZ. W.SchultzC. M.Van HoekC. E. (2017). Transformational leadership as a mediator in the relationship between satisfaction with remuneration and the retention of artisans in the military. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 15, a923. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v15i0.923
90.
ShangJ.SargeantA.CarpenterK. (2019). Giving intention versus giving behavior: How differently do satisfaction, trust, and commitment relate to them?Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48(5), 1023–1044. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764019843340
91.
SignorettiA.SacchettiS. (2020). Lean HRM practices in work integration social enterprises: Moving towards social lean production. Evidence from Italian case studies. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 91(4), 545–563. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12283
92.
SongJ.GuJ.WuJ.XuS. (2019). Differential promotive voice–prohibitive voice relationships with employee performance: Power distance orientation as a moderator. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 36(4), 1053–1077. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-019-09644-6
SpectorP. E. (2019). Do not cross me: Optimizing the use of cross-sectional designs. Journal of Business and Psychology, 34(2), 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-018-09613-8
96.
StoreyJ.BasterretxeaI.SalamanG. (2014). Managing and resisting “degeneration” in employee-owned businesses: A comparative study of two large retailers in Spain and the United Kingdom. Organization, 21(5), 626–644. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508414537624
97.
TortiaE. C.GagoM.DegavreF.PoledriniS. (2022). Worker involvement and performance in Italian social enterprises: The role of motivations, gender and workload. Sustainability, 14(2), 1022. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14021022
98.
TortiaE. C.SacchettiS.ValentinovV. (2020). The “protective function” of social enterprises: Understanding the renewal of multiple sets of motivations. Review of Social Economy, 78(3), 373–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1744702
99.
UgurZ. B.HeermansG. F. (2024). Understanding altruism of nonprofit workers: The roles of motivation types. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 08997640231222241. https://doi.org/10.1177/08997640231222241
100.
ValentinovV. (2007). The property rights approach to nonprofit organization: The role of intrinsic motivation. Public Organization Review, 7(1), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-006-0024-x
101.
ValentinovV. L. (2004). Toward a social capital theory of cooperative organisation. Journal of Cooperative Studies, 37(3), 5–20.
102.
VietaM.QuarterJ.SpearR.MoskovskayaA. (2016). Participation in Worker Cooperatives. In The Palgrave Handbook of Volunteering, Civic Participation, and Nonprofit Associations (pp. 436-453). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-26317-9_21
103.
WeiX.ZhangZ.-X.ChenX.-P. (2015). I will speak up if my voice is socially desirable: A moderated mediating process of promotive versus prohibitive voice /a0039046]. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039046
104.
WernerJ. M. (2000). Implications of OCB and contextual performance for human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 10(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1053-4822(99)00036-4
105.
WestlandC. J. (2010). Lower bounds on sample size in structural equation modeling. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 9(6), 476–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2010.07.003
106.
WilkinsonA.BarryM.MorrisonE. (2020). Toward an integration of research on employee voice. Human Resource Management Review, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.12.001
107.
ZhangH.LiuZ.WangY. (2020). How transformational leadership positively impacts organizational citizenship behavior in successful Chinese social work service organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 30(3), 467–485. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21391
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
