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I speak when boss Back up my family: testing the moderated mediation model of family supportive supervisor behavior and employee voice

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Abstract

This study investigated the effects of family supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) on employee voice behavior. Drawing on social exchange theory and the compensatory perspective, we proposed and examined the idea that FSSB can enhance leader–member exchange (LMX) between supervisors and their subordinates, ultimately facilitating employee voice behavior. Analysis of 6-month time-lagged data from a sample of 295 supervisor-subordinate relationships revealed an indirect positive relationship between FSSB and employee voice behavior through enhanced LMX. This effect was more pronounced when the family role of the employee’s spouse was less salient. The implications of these findings for research and practice regarding FSSB and voice are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Young Scientists Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71802073); The Young Scientists Funds of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 19YJC630236); National Natural Science Foundation Key Program of China (Grant No. 71832004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Wenjun Yin & Xi Ouyang

  2. Business School of Hubei University, Wuchang, Wuhan, 430062, China

    Shudi Liao

  3. Hubei Center for Studies of Human Capital Development Strategy and Policy, Wuhan, China

    Shudi Liao

  4. Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Science of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China, Wuhan, China

    Shudi Liao

  5. Department of Management and HR, NUST Business School, National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Naseer Akhtar

  6. Business School, Jiangxia Avenue, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, China

    Xingchi Zhou

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  1. Wenjun Yin
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Correspondence to Shudi Liao.

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We consulted our university’s ethics committee board and were approved to conduct this research. Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

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Yin, W., Liao, S., Ouyang, X. et al. I speak when boss Back up my family: testing the moderated mediation model of family supportive supervisor behavior and employee voice. Curr Psychol 42, 9017–9027 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02215-3

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