TY - JOUR
T1 - Why do employees choose defensive silence?
T2 - How concerns with formal powerholders undermine self-efficacy to dissent
AU - Millender, Lauren G.
AU - Bisel, Ryan S.
AU - Zanin, Alaina C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (HDSHC) for their financial support through ASU start-up funding as well as seed grant funding through the HDSHC Transformation project. Additionally, the authors would like to thank Dr. William Howe for his assistance with the confirmatory factor analysis for this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Eastern Communication Association.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - This study used structurational divergence theory (SDT) to explain why employees’ concerns with powerholders can encourage them to select defensive silence in their approach to workplace problems. A survey of working adults (N = 276) revealed employees who had a concern with powerholders were more likely to select defensive silence as compared to employees who were concerned about other types of workplace concerns. Results indicated that perceptions of structurational divergence—and the loss of agency and immobilization that characterize it—are associated with employees’ selection of defensive silence instead of dissent. Implications for structurational divergence theory and organizational silence conclude the paper.
AB - This study used structurational divergence theory (SDT) to explain why employees’ concerns with powerholders can encourage them to select defensive silence in their approach to workplace problems. A survey of working adults (N = 276) revealed employees who had a concern with powerholders were more likely to select defensive silence as compared to employees who were concerned about other types of workplace concerns. Results indicated that perceptions of structurational divergence—and the loss of agency and immobilization that characterize it—are associated with employees’ selection of defensive silence instead of dissent. Implications for structurational divergence theory and organizational silence conclude the paper.
KW - Structurational divergence theory
KW - defensive silence
KW - management communication
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U2 - 10.1080/08824096.2023.2236926
DO - 10.1080/08824096.2023.2236926
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85167818798
SN - 0882-4096
VL - 40
SP - 216
EP - 225
JO - Communication Research Reports
JF - Communication Research Reports
IS - 4
ER -