Sustaining the equality of employee voice: a dynamic capability

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to addresses the ethically and strategically important question: “How can managers sustain the equality of employee voice in a dynamic environment?”.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the above question, this paper conceptually integrates two theoretical streams that are prominent in their respective traditions: Amartya Sen's capabilities approach (SCA) in the economics and ethics literature and the dynamic capabilities approach (DCA) in strategic management.

Findings

Adapting SCA, this paper conceptualizes “voice” as employees' “capability” or “freedom” to achieve what they morally “value” in an organization, and “justice” as the equality of employee voice. Following DCA, it outlines a framework for “dynamic capability” (“voice management capability”) building by managers. It describes the processes by which executives leverage their knowledge to find new ways of creating equality in employee voice and continually remedy inequities in a changing environment. The creation of paths during the discovery of such processes and the subsequent path dependence can influence the persistence of employee voice equality.

Originality/value

The paper is unique in that it extends Sen's notion of “equality of individual capabilities” to employee voice. Although SCA overcomes several flaws in the competing ethics theories, it remains seriously underexplored in organizational analysis. DCA is valuable in explaining how the equality in employee voice can be sustained over time. The equality of employee voice is important not only because of its moral implications but also because of its potential desirable consequences (e.g. employee trust, commitment, and loyalty).

Citation

Kulkarni, S.P. (2010), "Sustaining the equality of employee voice: a dynamic capability", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 442-465. https://doi.org/10.1108/19348831011081903