The Janus Face of Leadership Instructional Event Novelty: Suppression and Compensation in Self-Interested Voice

• In Event: Organizations, Occupations, and Work Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 8: Supervisor-Subordinate Communication

Abstract

Drawing on event system theory and uncertainty theory, this study develops an event-based perspective on leadership guidance by introducing the concept of leadership instructional event novelty. We argue that instructional encounters vary in the extent to which they convey novel information and reflect leader–employee information asymmetry, thereby triggering distinct employee responses. Using a two-wave, multisource sample of 435 supervisor–subordinate dyads from 7 companies in China, we examine how instructional event novelty influences employees’ self-interested voice through feedback-seeking behavior and how these effects depend on employees’ driven to work. Results from moderated mediation analyses reveal a suppression–compensation pattern. Instructional event novelty directly suppresses self-interested voice, while simultaneously promoting such voice indirectly by increasing feedback-seeking behavior. Moreover, the indirect effect is contingent on driven to work, such that employees high in driven to work are more likely to translate instructional event novelty into feedback seeking and subsequent self-interested voice. By conceptualizing leadership guidance as a sequence of events rather than a stable behavior, this study advances event system theory and uncertainty theory, enriches research on employee voice, and highlights the importance of information asymmetry and employee agency in shaping responses to everyday leadership interactions.

Authors

• Honglei Zhao, Harbin Institute of Technology

• Qingming Su

• Li Zhang