Enabling employee voice in small and medium enterprises: The role of trust and respect in the employment relationship

Abstract

There is significant research on employee voice (EV) practices in large, often unionised, workplaces. Yet, there is scarcity of empirical evidence on voice practices in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), specifically on the intricate dynamics of the employee-owner/manager relationship at the micro-level and its connection with organisational employment relations (ER) and voice climates at the meso-level. This paper addresses this gap by examining these factors from the perspective of both employees and owners/managers in SMEs. It draws on 87 interviews in 29 non-unionised SMEs. Our findings reveal SMEs as sites where the role of owners/managers in setting the employment relationship and the ER climate, and consequently the voice climate, is magnified, with profound consequences for EV behaviours. Our findings contribute to EV theory by offering a conceptualisation of how voice may be enabled or hindered in SMEs, with a focus on the role of trust and respect in the employment relationship in influencing the ER climate, voice climate and, consequently, voice behaviours, thereby guiding further research and offering practical implications for human resources practice in this respect.