Does emotional resistance to change definitely stifle voice behavior? Revealing the reversal effect of humble leadership

This study proposed a counterintuitive view of the relationship between emotional resistance to change and voice behavior by addressing the moderating role of humble leadership and the symbolic effect of emotional resistance to change. We hypothesized that emotional resistance to change and voice behavior would have a U-shaped relationship that would emerge only when humble leadership was high. To offer support for our basic view that a high level of emotional resistance to change is a signal that employees will engage in voice behavior in the near future, we conducted a pilot study using 194 daily observations from 49 participants, and the results supported our argument. Using data from 237 supervisor-subordinate matched observations, we provided support for our hypothesis. Furthermore, our study showed that the relationship between emotional resistance to change and voice behavior tended to be an inverted U-shape when leaders expressed low levels of humility. We provided a possible explanation for these results and discussed the implications of our findings.