The Voice Bystander Effect in Enterprise Social Media Workgroups: The Roles of the Type of Coworker Voice and Voice Method

Although enterprise social media (ESM) workgroups provide effective channels that enable employees to speak up, most employees tend to remain silent. This research aims to explain this phenomenon from the perspective of the voice bystander effect and, drawing on the arousal: cost-reward model, to explore when the voice bystander effect can be weakened. We used a scenario-based experiment (Study 1) to investigate the effects of group size on voice behavior and the moderating effect of the type of coworker voice. We also combined a critical incident technique with a scenario-based experiment (Study 2) to examine the effects of group size on voice behavior and the moderating effect of voice method. The results of these two studies consistently reveal that group size is negatively related to voice behavior. In addition, the type of coworker voice and voice method can weaken this effect. In the contexts of regular coworker voice and private voice, group size has no effect on voice behavior.