Research on the Counterfactual Thinking Process of the Employees Who Regret Speaking up because Their Opinion Is Improperly Taken

Abstract

Abstract: Supervisors listening to their employees is good for improving organization efficiency, but if employees’ opinions are improperly taken, the original intention underlying their opinions may be misunderstood, causing them to regret speaking up. Thus, by using counterfactual thinking model, this paper collects, in 3 stages, 426 dyad questionnaires from employees and their supervisors from the industry of indoor decoration to explore the relationship between supervisors’ improperly adopting employees’ opinion and employees’ regretting speaking up. The results from structural equation model and bootstrapping show that supervisors’ improper adoption has a negative influence on employees’ speaking up by the proxy mediator of performance loss and the proximal mediator of regret speaking up, which is negatively moderated by environmental uncertainty; supervisors’ improper adoption has a negative influence on employees’ speaking up by the proxy mediator of delegation following employee voice and the proximal mediator of regretting speaking up, which is positively moderated by perceptions of organizational politics. The conclusion can enrich opinion taking theory and counterfactual thinking of employee speaking up, and provide an insight for supervisors to locate application scope and manage the speaking-up environment.

Key words: regret speaking up, supervisors’ improper adoption of opinions, delegation following employee voice, environmental uncertainty, perceptions of team politics

Liu Shengmin, Guo Yun, He Jianjia. Research on the Counterfactual Thinking Process of the Employees Who Regret Speaking up because Their Opinion Is Improperly Taken[J]. Management Review, 2025, 37(4): 171-180.

References

[1] 魏昕, 张志学. 上级何时采纳促进性或抑制性进言?[J]. 管理世界, 2014, (1):132-143 Wei X., Zhang Z. X. When do Superiors Adopt Promotive or Prohibitive Voice?[J] Journal of Management World, 2014, (1):132-143
[2] 章凯, 时金京, 罗文豪. 建言采纳如何促进员工建言: 基于目标自组织视角的整合机制[J]. 心理学报, 2020, 52(2):229-239 Zhang K., Shi J. J., Luo W. H. How can Leader’s Voice Endorsement Promote Employee Voice: An Integrated Mechanism Based on the Goal Self-organization Perspective[J]. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 2020, 52(2):229-239
[3] Ashford S. J., Rothbard N. P., Piderit S. K., et al. Out on a Limb: The Role of Context and Impression Management in Selling Gender-equity Issues[J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1998, 43(1):23-57
[4] 张静, 郑伟波, 赵娜. 领导正念影响组织成员韧性的多层次机理探究[J]. 中国人力资源开发, 2021, 38(10):108-121 Zhang J., Zheng W. B., Zhao N. Research on the Multi Level Influence Mechanism of Leader Mindfulness on Organizational Members’ Resilience[J]. Human Resources Development of China, 2021, 38(10):108-121
[5] 周浩. 主管为何偏爱某些下属的建言:基于亲、忠、才与信任视角的分析[J]. 管理评论, 2021, 33(9):187-197 Zhou H. Why do Supervisors Prefer the Voice Behavior of Certain Subordinates? The Effects of Guanxi, Loyalty, Competence and Trust[J]. Management Review, 2021, 33(9):187-197
[6] Roese N. J., Epstude K. The Functional Theory of Counterfactual Thinking: New Evidence, New Challenges, New Insights[M] //Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Pittsburgh: Academic Press, 2017
[7] Li L., Zheng X., Zhang Q. Does Leaders’ Adoption of Employee Voice Influence Employee Work Engagement?[J]. Personnel Review, 2022, 51(2):683-698
[8] Saunders D. M., Sheppard B. H., Knight V., et al. Employee Voice to Supervisors[J]. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 1992, 5(3):241-259
[9] Byrne R. M. J. Counterfactual Thought[J]. Annual Review of Psychology, 2016, 67(1):135-157
[10] Griffin M. A., Grote G. When Is More Uncertainty Better? A Model of Uncertainty Regulation and Effectiveness[J]. Academy of Management Review, 2020, 45(4):745-765
[11] Lauche K., Erez M. The Relational Dynamics of Issue Selling: Enacting Different Genres for Dealing with Discontent[J]. Academy of Management Journal, 2023, 66(2):553-577
[12] 韩翼, 刘庚, 宗树伟. 计划行为视角下领导纳谏行为整合模型构建研究[J]. 管理学报, 2021, 18(8):1166-1174 Han Y., Liu G., Zong S. W. Research on the Construction of an Integrated Model of Leader Voice-taking Behavior from the Perspective of Planned Behavior[J]. Chinese Journal of Management, 2021, 18(8):1166-1174
[13] Halbesleben J. R. B., Neveu J. P., Paustian-Underdahl S. C., et al. Getting to the “COR” Understanding the Role of Resources in Conservation of Resources Theory[J]. Journal of Management, 2014, 40(5):1334-1364
[14] Gilovich T., Medvec V. H. The Experience of Regret: What, When, and Why[J]. Psychological Review, 1995, 102(2):379-395
[15] 吴维库, 王未, 刘军, 等. 辱虐管理、心理安全感知与员工建言[J]. 管理学报, 2012, 9(1):57-63 Wu W. K., Wang W., Liu J., et al. Abusive Supervision, Perceived Psychological Safety and Voice Behavior[J]. Chinese Journal of Management, 2012, 9(1):57-63
[16] 隋杨, 张悦, 陈琴. 上级发展性反馈与员工建言:情绪的中介作用及团队认同感的调节作用[J]. 管理评论, 2019, 31(11):161-170 Sui Y., Zhang Y., Chen Q. The Effect of Supervisor Developmental Feedback on Employee Voice: Positive or Negative Emotions as Mediators and Team Identification as a Moderator[J]. Management Review, 2019, 31(11):161-170
[17] 梁潇杰, 于桂兰, 付博. 与上级关系好的员工一定会建言吗?基于资源保存理论的双中介模型[J]. 管理评论, 2019, 31(4):128-137 Liang X. J., Yu G. L., Fu B. How does Supervisor-Subordinate Guanxi Affect Voice? Psychological Safety and Face Concern as Dual Mediators[J]. Management Review, 2019, 31(4):128-137
[18] Burris E. R. The Risks and Rewards of Speaking up: Managerial Responses to Employee Voice[J]. Academy of Management Journal, 2012, 55(4):851-875
[19] Milliken F. J., Morrison E. W., Hewlin P. F. An Exploratory Study of Employee Silence: Issues That Employees don’t Communicate Upward and Why[J]. Journal of Management Studies, 2003, 40(6):1453-1476
[20] Detert J. R., Edmondson A. C. Implicit Voice Theories: Taken-for-granted Rules of Self-censorship at Work[J]. Academy of Management Journal, 2011, 54(3):461-488
[21] Newton D. W., Sessions H., Lam C. F., et al. Loaded down from Speaking up: A Resource-based Examination of Voicer Regret Following Supervisor Delegation[J]. Journal of Management, 2024, 50(5):1911-1938
[22] Crawford E. R., Lepine J. A., Rich B. L. Linking Job Demands and Resources to Employee Engagement and Burnout: A Theoretical Extension and Meta-analytic Test[J]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2010, 95(5):834-848
[23] 李锐, 凌文辁, 柳士顺. 上司不当督导对下属建言行为的影响及其作用机制[J]. 心理学报, 2009, 41(12):1189-1202 Li R., Ling W. Q., Liu S. S. The Mechanisms of How Abusive Supervision Impacts on Subordinates’ Voice Behavior[J]. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 2009, 41(12):1189-1202
[24] van den Bos K., Lind E. A. Uncertainty Management by Means of Fairness Judgments[J]. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2002, 34:1-60
[25] Gagné M., Deci E. L. Self-determination Theory and Work Motivation[J]. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2005, 26(4):331-362
[26] Ferris G. R., Adams G., Kolodinsky R. W., et al. Perceptions of Organizational Politics: Theory and Research Directions[J]. Research in Multi-Level Issues, 2002, 1(2):179-254
[27] Li C., Liang J., Farh J. L. Speaking up When Water Is Murky: An Uncertainty-based Model Linking Perceived Organizational Politics to Employee Voice[J]. Journal of Management, 2020, 46(3):443-469
[28] Colquitt J. A., Lepine J. A., Piccolo R. F., et al. Explaining the Justice-performance Relationship: Trust as Exchange Deepener or Trust as Uncertainty Reducer?[J]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2012, 97(1):1-15
[29] Kacmar K. M., Ferris G. R. Perceptions of Organizational Politics Scale (POPS): Development and Construct Validation[J]. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1991, 51(1):193-205
[30] Tsiros M., Mittal V. Regret: A Model of Its Antecedents and Consequences in Consumer Decision Making[J]. Journal of Consumer Research, 2000, 26(4):401-417
[31] Van Dyne L., LePine J. A. Helping and Voice Extra-role Behaviors: Evidence of Construct and Predictive Validity[J]. Academy of Management Journal, 1998, 41(1):108-119
[32] Edmondson A. Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams[J]. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1999, 44(2):350-383
[33] Liang J., Farh C. I. C., Farh J. L. Psychological Antecedents of Promotive and Prohibitive Voice: A Two-wave Examination[J]. Academy of Management Journal, 2012, 55(1):71-92
[34] He W., Han Y., Hu X., et al. From Idea Endorsement to Idea Implementation: A Multilevel Social Network Approach toward Managerial Voice Implementation[J]. Human Relations, 2020, 73(11):1563-1582
[35] 韩翼, 肖素芳. 领导为什么拒谏:基于动机社会认知视角的阐释[J]. 外国经济与管理, 2020, 42(8):68-80 Han Y., Xiao S. F. Why do Leaders Reject Voice: An Explanation Based on a Motivated Social Cognition Perspective[J]. Foreign Economics & Management, 2020, 42(8):68-80
[36] Van Dyne L., Kamdar D., Joireman J. In-role Perceptions Buffer the Negative Impact of Low LMX on Helping and Enhance the Positive Impact of High LMX on Voice[J]. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2008, 93(6):1195-1207
[37] 徐晓望. 论中国历史上内陆文化和海洋文化的交征[J]. 东南文化, 1988, (S1):1-6 Xu X. W. On the Intersection of Inland Culture and Marine Culture in Chinese History[J]. Southeast Culture, 1988, (S1):1-6
[38] 周浩. 建言方式、建言场合、权力距离对管理者采纳建言的影响[J]. 经济与管理研究, 2021, 42(2):111-121 Zhou H. The Impact of Voice Channel, Voice Occasion, Power Distance on Managerial Voice Endorsement[J]. Research on Economics and Management, 2021, 42(2):111-121
[39] 曲金良. 西方海洋文明千年兴衰历史考察[J]. 人民论坛·学术前沿, 2012, (6):61-77 Qu J. L. An Investigation of the 1000-year History of Western Maritime Civilization[J]. People’s Tribune Frontiers, 2012, (6):61-77