Employee voice in times of crisis: A conceptual framework exploring the role of Human Resource practices and Human Resource system strength

Abstract

Despite extensive developments in the field of Human Resource Management, we still have limited and fragmented knowledge of how the external and internal environment of an organization influences direct employee voice. In this conceptual paper, we draw on signaling theory and theorize on whether and, if so, how direct employee voice and organizational voice climate are shaped at times of macro and organizational turbulence. Specifically, we introduce the concepts of solidary, utilitarian, and opportunistic crisis-related Human Resource (HR) practices and propose that they send different signals to employees, influencing their voice perceptions in distinctive ways. We also theorize that employees interpret these signals vis-à-vis the experienced meso- and macroturbulence, a process that affects HR system strength and the subsequent formulation of voice perceptions and voice climate emergence. With this work, we contribute to the voice and strategic HR literature by offering an integrated and multilayered understanding of how top-down processes at turbulent times such as crisis-related HR practices can influence bottom-up emergent phenomena.