We think, we do, and vice versa: Reciprocal effects of team collective perception of voice importance for leaders and team voice

How can teams sustain their team voice behavior over time? Drawing from meta-perceptions and the collective action perspective, we propose a reciprocal relationship between collective perception of voice importance for leaders (i.e., the extent to which team members infer or pre-judge leaders’ importance assessment of team voice) and team voice. Using five-wave longitudinal field data from 554 individual team members of 71 teams, our results supported such a reciprocal relationship over time. Our findings shed new light on how team members’ inference or pre-judgement of their team leader’s attitudes towards team voice affects subsequent team voice. In turn, the team voice reversely shapes the subsequent collective perception of voice importance for leaders. Our findings provide theoretical and practical implications for how team members can sustain team voice.