【作者】 周建涛；

【导师】 廖建桥；

【作者基本信息】 华中科技大学 ， 工商管理， 2013， 博士

【摘要】 在中国这样的高权力距离主义国家,员工沉默作为一种组织行为普遍地存在于组织中。员工沉默被定义为当员工有能力改进当前组织的现状时却保留了对组织环境等方面的行为的、认知的或情感的评价。员工沉默包含默许性沉默、防御性沉默和漠视性沉默三种类型。员工沉默不仅掩盖了组织的问题,同时也将会造成组织沟通渠道的破坏,给组织的管理和运行带来破坏性的影响。作为高权力距离国家的一个典型代表,中国情境下的个体认同“沉默是金”,强调上级对下级拥有绝对的支配权,未经允许下级不得越权向上级提出异议。权力距离导向作为个体文化价值观的一个提炼,它反映了个体对待权力以及权力关系的态度。高权力距离导向的领导强调权力并倾向于用权力来控制下属,使员工顺从于自己的观点而选择沉默。高权力距离导向的员工认同与领导的权力差异并且会维持自己在权力关系中的从属地位。本研究将从文化价值观和员工行为动机的视角出发,探讨中国情境下领导权力距离导向和员工权力距离导向对员工沉默的效应及作用机制。在对权力距离和员工沉默相关文献进行回顾的基础上,本文通过三个实证研究分别检验了领导权力距离导向对员工沉默的影响以及影响的边界条件、员工权力距离导向对员工沉默的影响以及影响的边界条件、以及领导和员工权力距离导向对员工沉默效应的中介作用机制。实证研究一从文化价值观的视角探讨了中国情境下领导权力距离导向对员工三种沉默的跨层次效应,以及LMX和分配公平氛围在其中的调节效应。通过问卷调查收集了81名团队领导与其467名下属的配对样本,HLM的分析结果表明,领导权力距离导向对员工的默许性沉默、防御性沉默和漠视性沉默都具有显著的正向预测作用,LMX和分配公平氛围对领导权力距离导向与员工默许性沉默、防御性沉默和漠视性沉默间的关系也都具有显著的调节效应。实证研究二采用问卷调查方式收集了108名团队领导与其568名下属的配对样本,运用多层线性模型方法,从文化价值观的视角探讨了中国情境下处于两个层级的领导和员工的权力距离导向对员工三种沉默的效应,以及领导组织地位感知和员工组织地位感知分别在其中的调节效应。统计分析结果表明,领导权力距离导向和员工权力距离导向对员工默许性沉默、防御性沉默和漠视性沉默都具有显著的正向预测作用,领导组织地位感知显著调节领导权力距离导向与员工默许性沉默和防御性沉默间的关系,员工组织地位感知显著调节员工权力距离导向与员工三种沉默间的关系。实证研究三从“授权”的视角分别探讨了团队授权氛围、员工心理授权在领导权力距离导向和员工权力距离导向与员工沉默关系中的中介作用。通过问卷调查收集了108名团队领导与其568名下属的配对样本,HLM的分析结果表明,在个体层面,员工权力距离导向对员工心理授权有着显著的负向预测效应,并且员工心理授权部分中介员工权力距离导向对员工默许性沉默、防御性沉默和漠视性沉默的效应。在团队层面,领导权力距离导向对团队授权氛围有着显著的负向预测效应,并且团队授权氛围部分中介领导权力距离导向对员工默许性沉默、防御性沉默和漠视性沉默的跨层次效应。在进行完三个实证研究后,本文又在组织情境下分析了员工权力距离导向的认知发生机制以及对员工沉默的影响过程。领导和下属之间各种权力基础的差异都会导致员工权力距离导向认知的产生。组织情境下的员工权力距离导向认知不仅反映了领导和下属间职能权力的差距,还描述了两者间个人权力的差距。从领导权力行使二重性的角度来看,下属对领导者权力行使既有着一定的依赖性,又有着一定的疏远性。下属对领导权力行使依赖性和疏远性程度的不同将导致下属权力距离导向认知的不同,同时下属对领导者的情感涉入、领导和下属间关系的属性也都有着显著的差异,最终这些又导致了员工面对领导时沉默水平的差异。最后,本文对主要研究结论进行了总结,并指出本研究的局限性以及未来的研究方向。更多还原

【Abstract】 Whereas both management scholars and practitioners emphasize the importance of employee input for improving workplace practices, research suggests that many employees are hesitant to express their opinions or voice their views because doing so might lead to retaliation. Consequently, they remain silent rather than speak up about workplace happenings, actions or ideas of others, needed changes, and other job-related issues. Employee silence as a multifaceted construct is the intentional withholding of critical work-related information by employees from their workgroup members. It has detrimental effects on decision-making and process of change by blocking alternative views, negative feedback, and accurate information. China as a high power distance country, Employee silence is universal in various organizations and it has culture value roots. Employees perform more silence in high power distance country like China. Chinese traditional culture values silence is gold, emphasizes employees must obey and respect their leaders. Power distance orientation explains someone’s opinion about power and power relation. This research integrates the theories of individual culture value and employee behavior motivation to explore the employee silence mechanism in Chinese context and examine how employee leader power distance orientation and leader power distance orientation influences employee silence by creating both the silence employee at the micro level and the silence environment at the macro level.The present research first reviewed the power distance and employee silence related literatures, and then conducted three empirical studies. Study one examined the effects of leader power distance orientation on employee silence (Acquiescent Silence, Defensive Silence and Disregardful Silence) with LMX and distributive justice climate as the moderator in individual level and team level respectively. Study two examined the effects of employee power distance orientation on employee silence (Acquiescent Silence, Defensive Silence and Disregardful Silence) with employee perceived organizational status as the moderator. As a comparison, Study two also examined the effects of leader power distance orientation on employee silence (Acquiescent Silence, Defensive Silence and Disregardful Silence) with leader perceived organizational status as the moderator. Study three examined the mediating mechanisms of how employee power distance orientation and leader power distance orientation influence employee silence in individual level and team level respectively.In a survey-based study of467employees nested within81workgroups, Study one found that leader power distance orientation has positive cross-level effects on employee acquiescent silence, defensive silence and disregardful silence, and LMX and distributive justice climate respectively moderated the cross-level relationships between leader power distance orientation and three dimensions of employee silence in different levels.In a survey-based study of568employees nested within108workgroups, Study two found that leader power distance orientation and employee power distance orientation both have significant effects on employee acquiescent silence, defensive silence and disregardful silence, and leader perceived organizational status and employee perceived organizational status respectively moderated the relationships between power distance orientation and employee silence in different levels. Employee perceived organizational status can weaken the relationships between employee power distance orientation and employee acquiescent silence, defensive silence and disregardful silence, In contrast, leader perceived organizational status strengthen the relationships between leader power distance orientation and employee acquiescent silence, defensive silence.Study three based on empowerment theories examined the mediating mechanisms of how employee power distance orientation and leader power distance orientation influence employee silence in individual level and team level respectively. In a survey-based study of568employees nested within108workgroups, Study three found that in team level leader power distance orientation was positively related to employee acquiescent silence, defensive silence and disregardful silence, with team empowerment climate partially mediating these relationships. In individual level, employee power distance orientation was also positively related to employee acquiescent silence, defensive silence and disregardful silence, with employee psychological empowerment partially mediating these relationships.After completing the three empirical studies, the present research qualitatively analyzed the cognitive mechanism of employee power distance orientation and its effect on employee silence. All the power bases differences between leader and subordinate can create employee power distance orientation. Employee power distance orientation not only reflects leader and subordinate’s position power bases distance, but also their individual power bases distance. From the view of power using duality, subordinate will have a certain degree of dependence and alienation on leader’s power using. In four types of dependence--alienation contexts, subordinate will have different power distance orientation perception, different emotional involvement and different exchange relations with leader. Thus employee will have different level of silence toward their leader finally.Finally, this research summarized the main conclusions. Research limitations and future research directions were also discussed.更多还原