Servant leadership and employee voice behavior: a cross-level investigation in China

Springerplus. 2016 Sep 17;5(1):1595. doi: 10.1186/s40064-016-3264-4. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

This study tested the influence and mechanisms of servant leadership on voice behavior, including the mediating role of psychological safety, and the moderating role of supervisor-subordinate Guanxi. Data were collected from 430 civil servants and their immediate supervisors in Changsha, China. Cross-Level investigation revealed that servant leadership had a significant influence on voice behavior, psychological safety mediated the relationship between servant leadership and voice behavior, while supervisor-subordinate Guanxi negatively moderated the relationship between servant leadership and voice behavior.

Keywords: Civil servant; Psychological safety; Servant leadership; Supervisor-subordinate Guanxi; Voice behavior.