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The Usefulness of Tenacity in Spurring Problem-Focused Voice: The Moderating Roles of Workplace Adversity

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Abstract

Purpose

Drawing from conservation of resources theory and affective events theory, this article examines the hitherto unexplored relationship between employees’ tenacity levels and problem-focused voice behavior, as well as how this relationship may be augmented when employees encounter adversity in relationships with peers or in the organizational climate in general.

Design/Methodology/Approach

The study draws on quantitative data collected through a survey administered to employees and their supervisors in a large manufacturing organization.

Findings

Tenacity increases the likelihood of speaking up about problem areas, and this relationship is strongest when peer relationships are characterized by low levels of goal congruence and trust (relational adversity) or when the organization does not support change (organizational adversity). The augmenting effect of organizational adversity on the usefulness of tenacity is particularly salient when it combines with high relational adversity, which underscores the critical role of tenacity for spurring problem-focused voice behavior when employees negatively appraise different facets of their work environment simultaneously.

Implications

The results inform organizations that the allocation of personal energy to reporting organizational problems is perceived as particularly useful by employees when they encounter significant adversity in their work environments.

Originality/Value

This study extends research on voice behavior by providing a better understanding of the likelihood that employees speak up about problem areas, according to their levels of tenacity, and explicating when this influence of tenacity tends to be more prominent.

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Notes

  1. Conscientious people focus on controlling the immediate, short-term outcomes of their actions; perseverance and the long-term focus of tenacity thus are qualities that conscientious people may or may not have (Duckworth et al. 2007). Tenacity is closer to the concept of grit, which refers to people’s perseverance and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth et al. 2007). In describing the effect of grit on academic performance, Duckworth et al. (2007) highlight the relevance of Baum and Locke’s (2004) tenacity scale for conceptualizing grit; they chose to develop a new measure so that the concept was directly applicable to the adolescents they studied. However, this previous research shows that grit has incremental predictive validity, beyond conscientiousness, for explaining outcomes such as work engagement (Suzuki et al. 2015), educational achievement (Duckworth and Quinn 2009), and psychical exercise (Duckworth et al. 2007).

  2. The response rate for employees who worked in an operational function equaled 92 % (77 participants of 84 employees), and that for employees who worked in a supportive function was 89 % (32 participants of 36 employees).

  3. An assessment of the interclass correlation coefficients of goal congruence (ICC[1] = .04 and ICC[2] = .29), trust (ICC[1] = .05 and ICC[2] = .36), and organizational support for change (ICC[1] = .02 and ICC[2] = .20)—three constructs that arguably capture group-level phenomena—indicated that hierarchical linear modeling was not appropriate to test the study’s hypotheses. The low ICC values might arise because the survey questions asked employees to assess their colleagues and organization in general, not a specific department. Therefore, we tested the hypotheses with ordinary least squares regression analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Goodman School of Business, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada

    Dirk De Clercq

  2. Small Business Research Centre, Kingston University, Kingston Hill, Kingston-Upon-Thames, KT2 7LB, UK

    Dirk De Clercq

  3. Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), Av. Camino a Santa Teresa 930, Mexico City, 10700, Mexico

    Imanol Belausteguigoitia

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  1. Dirk De Clercq
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Correspondence to Dirk De Clercq.

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De Clercq, D., Belausteguigoitia, I. The Usefulness of Tenacity in Spurring Problem-Focused Voice: The Moderating Roles of Workplace Adversity. J Bus Psychol 32, 479–493 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-016-9455-8

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