Communication is critical to organizations’ functioning but is often ineffective in both ways. Can organizational downward communication, that is, information sharing, promote upward communication, that is, employee voice? Drawing on social identity theory, we argue that information sharing timeliness (IST) and information sharing informality (ISI) foster employees’ perceived insider status (PIS) and subsequently employee promotive and prohibitive voice. A stronger indirect effect (as well as moderating effect) towards promotive voice is further contended, compared to prohibitive voice, to distinguish the two types of voice. We test our hypotheses using three empirical studies, including a multi-wave, multisource field survey and two experiments. The empirical evidence supports the mediating role of PIS in the relationship between IST and employee voice and the moderating effect of ISI on the relationship between PIS and voice. The results also show that the indirect effect of IST on promotive voice via PIS is stronger than that on promotive voice. By examining whether, how, and when an organization’s information sharing features affect employee voice, our research offers theoretical and practical insights in communication and PIS at work.
