Denying the Contributions of Others: Relative Status and Peer Response to Voice

The present research examines how team members respond to teammates who communicate change- and improvement-oriented suggestions, focusing on the relational characteristics between voicing members and voice recipients. In a field study of 220 members in 36 work teams (Study 1), we find that an unfavorable response to voice–manifested through denial of the voicing peers’ contribution to the team–is most likely from those of equal or similar status. Further, teams in which members respond unfavorably to voicing teammates perform less effectively. A follow-up experimental study of 197 working adults (Study 2) demonstrates that members concerned with maintaining their status in the team are especially likely to deny the team contribution of equal-status voicing peers, suggesting that unfavorable reactions to voicing peers may be a deliberate act intended to protect one’s status. Together, our findings highlight the relational and motivational underpinnings of how voice is responded to in teams and how voice influences team effectiveness.