PYGMALION MECHANISM IN TERMS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE VOICE BEHAVIOR
The research paper of Duan and his colleagues (2017) was published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior in 2017. Different than the previous studies, the authors theorized and examined Pygmalion mechanism in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee voice behavior. The key concepts of the research are transformational leadership, employee’s voice behavior, Pygmalion mechanism, leader’s voice expectation, employee’s voice role perception, personal identification.
Duan and his friends point that in the previous studies the relationship between transformational leaders and employees’ voice behavior were examined from two different perspectives as cost-benefit analysis and self-concept. The first perspective claims that speaking up in organizations is not always risky. Transformational leaders change negative concerns about speaking up and motivates employees to talk more. From the second perspective, transformational leaders tend to evoke employees to identify themselves with their leader and build a strong relational self. This relational bond motivates employees to speak up more. The previous perspectives point only external reasons to be motivated and ignore internal reasons. However, this research focuses on the internal reasons which are crucial in the process of transformational leadership. In addition, according to the Pygmalion theory, employees are active agents who determine to accept/internalize leaders’ expectations, not passive recipients.
This article directly relates with Human Relation issues in workplace since it focuses on relationship between employees and management, leaders and subordinates. Moreover, it was based on expectations, perceptions and internal relational processes of both sides which can be discussed under Human Relations in workplace. Understanding relations in organizations is very crucial due to its high impact on performance, turnover, organizational climate and employee satisfaction in short-term; costs, competitiveness, corporate culture, employee engagement and reputation of organization in middle and long-term.
The research was handled correctly from both theoretical and methodological sides. Firstly, it filled the gap between leadership and voice behavior and improved a theoretical framework of Pygmalion effect in workplaces in terms of human relations. As an alternative future direction, a new research can be conducted on relationship between different leadership styles and employees’ voice behavior. It can be explored than how leadership styles effect voice behavior of employees and what kind of leadership styles/strategies encourage employees to speak up more. On the other side, this research was conducted in the various industries of Southeast of Chine. As an alternative investigation, it can be conducted in a more diversified environment in order to explore the impact of employees’ profile on relationship between transformational leadership process and employees’ voice behavior.
Cited Reference
Duan, J., Li, C., Xu, Y., & Wu, C. H. (2017). Transformational leadership and employee voice behavior: A Pygmalion mechanism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(5), 650–670.
