Publications
Publications
- 2005
- HBS Working Paper Series
Silent Saboteurs: How Implicit Theories of Voice Inhibit the Upward Flow of Knowledge in Organizations
By: James R. Detert and Amy C. Edmondson
Abstract
This article examines, in a series of three studies, how people working in organizational hierarchies wrestle with the challenge of upward voice. We first undertook in-depth exploratory research in a knowledge-intensive multinational corporation in which employee input was considered crucial. Qualitative data collected in 190 interviews with employees from all levels and functions suggest that fear of speaking up, even with pro-organizational suggestions, is pervasive and is driven by a set of common implicit theories about speaking up in organizations. Our second study used scenarios about speaking up to validate and extend these findings through analysis of quantitative and qualitative survey data from 71 individuals in MBA and Executive MBA programs. Our third study developed survey measures of the six implicit voice theories identified in the prior two studies in a new sample of 265 adults with diverse work experience, and examined relationships between these measures and other theoretically driven variables. The results suggest that individuals bring to the workplace specific, measurable beliefs about speaking up, and that these implicit theories operate largely independently of current leader behaviors and other current work experiences. Overall, this research provides support for a novel theoretical explanation for workplace silence based on implicit theories of voice.
Keywords
Citation
Detert, James R., and Amy C. Edmondson. "Silent Saboteurs: How Implicit Theories of Voice Inhibit the Upward Flow of Knowledge in Organizations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 06-024, December 2005. (Revised October 2006, December 2008.)