Conceptualizing Employee Voice Within Organizations: A Systematic Literature Review Based on Five Decades' Studies

Abstract

Purpose of This Chapter: This chapter aims to clarify how employee voice (EV) is conceptualized in the extant literature. Then, the present chapter develops a model of EV based on previous studies from 1970 to 2022.

Design / Methodology / Approach: In all, 53 articles were investigated in this study – the focus was on articles in the field of management. The target articles were limited to those which were written in English and were indexed by the Web of Science (WOS).

Findings: The concepts related to EV have been presented in five main dimensions. The content analysis results revealed a theoretical agreement over the central elements reflecting an integrated description of EV.

Research Limitations: The study was limited to the sources published in the WOS database, which could affect the scope of findings.

Research Implications: The conclusion showed that EV is a multi-dimensional, emerging field that has been undergoing a definitional debate in the literature. This concept indicates an ongoing responsibility for the public’s benefit, welcomes different financial activities to supply market forces’ requirements, and investigates society’s existing demands.

Originality: It represents the first attempt to conduct an EV systematic literature review based on the definition of key factors and the complex relations in a typical EV process. Also, according to the review of selected articles from 1970 to 2022, there has been no coherent conceptualization of employees’ voices.

Citation

Hosseini, E., Sabokro, M. and Salamzadeh, A. (2024), "Conceptualizing Employee Voice Within Organizations: A Systematic Literature Review Based on Five Decades' Studies", Shrivastava, R. and Jain, K. (Ed.) Humanizing Businesses for a Better World of Work, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 127-145. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-332-320241009