Overqualification perception and employee voice: Mediation by dual path autonomous and controlled motivation

Drawing on person–vocation fit and self-determination theory, we explored the role of the autonomous and controlled motivation in the relationship between overqualification perception and employee voice. The sample consisted of 251 employees from different enterprises in China (female = 52.6%; mean age = 29.74 years, SD = 7.28 years; bachelor's degree or above = 84.9%). Path analysis and bootstrap tests were conducted to test all hypotheses simultaneously. Employees with perceived overqualification will inhibit autonomous motivation and stimulate controlled motivation, and the mediating effect of these two motivations together reduces their voice behaviour. The findings increase our understanding of ways to enhance employees work enthusiasm by using diversified incentive strategies to accurately touch different motivations of employees.