An Empirical Study of the Effect of Communication Visibility on Innovation Behavior

The effect of communication visibility on employee behaviors has garnered attention for the widespread use of enterprise social media; yet, this research has rarely considered the typical employee behavior of innovation behavior. This paper explores the relationship between communication visibility and innovation behavior. In addition, the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions are examined drawing on communication visibility theory, regulatory focus theory, and voice literature. Data were collected in a field experiment from a Chinese enterprise. It was found that communication visibility was positively associated with innovation behavior, and the positive association was mediated by voice behavior. Meanwhile, the positive indirect effect of communication visibility on employee innovation behavior was strengthened by promotion regulatory focus. Our research expands our understanding of the outcome behaviors of communication visibility and provides valuable management implications by shedding light on measures to promote innovation behavior.