Does Injudicious Kindness Caused by Power Distance Lead to Organizational Silence Behaviors of Research Assistants?

Abstract

Employee silence poses a significant challenge for organizations, hindering the use of innovative ideas and the establishment of democratic work environments. While previous research has predominantly focused on the cultural roots of silence within organizational culture, the influences of broader social-cultural factors have often been overlooked. In addition, investigations into the antecedents of silence have mainly relied on quantitative methodologies, leaving gaps in our understanding. To address these limitations, this study employs an exploratory qualitative case study methodology. Conducted through in-depth interviews with 12 research assistants from state universities, this study investigates the impact of power distance perceptions on academicians’ silence behavior. The findings reveal that research assistants exhibit a heightened perception of power distance, leading to instances of inappropriate deference and a tendency to remain silent on critical issues, even when such silence is undesirable.

Keywords

• Organizational silence
• Power distance
• Academicians
• State universities in Türkiye

References

1. Akan, B. B., & Oran, F. C. (2017). Akademisyenlerin örgütsel sessizlik algıları: Konuya ilişkin bir uygulama [Perceptions of Academicians’ organizational silence: An application on the subject]. Kırklareli Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 6(5), 72-90. google scholar
2. Alparslan, A.M. (2010). Örgutsel sessizlik iklimi ve işgören sessizlik davranışları arasındaki etkileşim: Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi öğretim elemanları üzerinde bir araştırma [The interaction between organizational silence climate and employee silence behaviors: A research on Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University instructors]. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Süleyman Demirel University. google scholar
3. Aquino, K., & Bommer, W. (2003). Preferential mistreatment how victim status moderates the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and workplace victimization. Organization Science, 14(4), 374-385. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.14.4.374.17489 google scholar
4. Ayan, A. (2015). Etik liderlik tarzının iş performansı, içsel motivasyon ve duyarsızlaşma üzerine etkisi: Kamu kuruluşunda bir uygulama [The effect of ethical leadership style on job performance, intrinsic mo-tivation and depersonalization: An application in a public institution]. Eskisehir Osmangazi Universitesi IIBF Dergisi, 10(3), 117-141. google scholar
5. Aydin, İ., Erdemli, Ö., Demir, T. G., & Toptaş, B. B. (2016). Silence belongs to the young, speech belongs to the old”: The reason why research assistants remain silent. Journal of Education and Human Develop-ment, 5(4), 109-118. https://doi.org/10.15640/jehd.v5n4a11 google scholar
6. Aytaç, Ö. (2007). Türk bürokrasi kültürü: Yönetsel ve toplumsal bir perspektif (Turkish bureaucratic culture: An administrative and social perspective). E. Ramazan & Ö. Aytaç (Eds.) Kültürel Bağlamda Yönetsel ve Toplumsal Bir Perspektif (An administrative and social perspective in cultural context (pp. 135-182). Turkish Psychologists Association Publications. google scholar
7. Bayram, T. Y. (2010) Organizational silence at universities. Master’s thesis. Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu google scholar
8. Blackman, D., & Sadler, E. (2009). The silent and the silenced in organizational knowing and learning, ma-nagement. Learning, 40,(5), 569-585. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507609340809 google scholar

9. Botero, I. C., & Van Dyne, L. (2009). Employee voice behavior: Interactive effects of LMX and power dis-tance in the United States and Colombia. Management Communication Quarterly, 23(1), 84-104. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0893318909335415 google scholar
10. Boyukaslan, A., & Aşıkoğlu, H. R. (2022). Does organizational culture impact on firm performance: Eviden-ce from Turkey. Istanbul Business Research, 51(1),149-174. https://doi.org/10.26650/ibr.2022.51.861397 google scholar
11. Brinsfield, C. T. (2009). Employee silence: Investigation of dimensionality, development of measures, and examination of related factors. [Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University]. OhioLink. https://etd. ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1236294604&disposition=inline google scholar
12. Buyukozturk, S., Cakmak, E. K., Akgun, O. E., Karadeniz, S., & Demirel, F. (2018). Eğitimde bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri [Scientific research methods in education]. Pegem Yayıncılık google scholar
13. Castaneda, D.I., & Cuellar, S. (2020). Knowledge sharing and innovation: a systematic review. Knowledge and Process Management, 27(3):159-173. https://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1637 google scholar
14. Cohen, A., & Baruch, Y. (2022). Abuse and exploitation of doctoral students: A conceptual model for tra-versing a long and winding road to academia. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(2), 505-522. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10551-021-04905-1 google scholar
15. Cohen, A., & Özsoy, E. (2021). Dark triad and situational variables and their relationship to career success and counterproductive work behaviors among employees in Turkey. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 14(5), 506-525. https://doi.org/DOI 10.1108/IJWHM-02-2020-0019 google scholar
16. Kirchmeyer, C., & Cohen, A. (1992). Multicultural groups: Their performance and reactions with constructive conflict. Group & OrganizationManagement, 17(2), 153-170.*ihttps://doi.org/10.1177/1059601192172004 google scholar
17. Cullinane, N., & Donaghey, J. (2014). Employee Silence. A. Wilkinson, J. Donaghey, T. Dundon & R.B. Freeman (Eds.), The handbook of research on employee voice. Edward Elgar Publishing. google scholar
18. Çaloğlu, D. Ö. (2014). Örgütsel sessizlik ve kültürel değişkenler üzerine ampirik bir araştırma [An empirical research on organizational silence and cultural variables]. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Ufuk Univer-sity. google scholar
19. Çavuşoğlu, S., & Köse, S. (2016). The effect of organizational culture to organizational silence behaviour. Dokuz Eylul University Journal of Graduate School of Social Sciences, 18(1), 115-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.16953/deusbed.46003. google scholar
20. Denzin, N.K. (1978). The research ac: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods (2rd ed.). McGraw-Hill google scholar
21. Detert, J. R., & Edmondson, A. C. (2005). No exit, no voice: the bind of risky voice opportunities in organisati-ons. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2005(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2005.18780787 google scholar
22. Dimitris, B., & Vakola, M. (2007). Organizational silence: A new challenge for human resource management. Economics and Business Faculty of Athens University, pp.1-19. google scholar
23. Dyne, L. V., Ang, S., & Botero, I. C. (2003). Conceptualizing employee silence and employee voice as multi-dimensional constructs. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1359-1392. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00384 google scholar
24. Ghosh, A. (2011). Power distance in organizational contexts- A review of collectivist cultures. The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 47 (1), 89-101. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23070557 google scholar
25. Glauser, M. J. (1984). Upward information flow in organizations: Review and conceptual analysis. Human Relations, 37, 613-643. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872678403700804 google scholar
26. Hagen, A., Udeh, I., & Wilkie, M. (2011). The way that companies should manage their human resources as their most important asset: Empirical investigation. Journal of Business & Economics Research, 1(1), 81-92. https://doi.org/10.19030/jber.v1i1.2962 google scholar
27. Henriksen, K., & Dayton, E. (2006). Organizational silence and hidden threats to patient safety. Health Ser-vices Research, 41(4p2), 1539-1554. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2006.00564.x google scholar
28. Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Abridged Version, Sage publications. google scholar
29. Hofstede, G. (1980). Motivation, leadership, and organization: do American theories apply abroad? Organi-zational dynamics, 9(1), 42-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(80)90013-3 google scholar
30. Holloway, I., & Wheeler, S. (1996). Qualitative research for nurses. Blackwell Science Ltd. google scholar
31. Huang, X., Van de Vliert, E., & Van der Vegt, G. (2005). Breaking the silence culture: Stimulation of parti-cipation and employee opinion withholding cross-nationally. Management and Organization Review, 1, 459-482. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8784.2005.00023.x google scholar
32. Johlke, M. C., & Duhan, D. F. (2000). Supervisor communication practices and service employee job outco-mes. Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 154-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/109467050032004 google scholar
33. Kiymalioğlu, A., Yaraş, E., & Ünal, D. A. (2018). Keeping up with the Joneses-the effect of individual cultural values on conspicuous consumption. Istanbul Business Research, 47(1), 88-100. http://dx.doi. org/10.26650/ibr.2018.47.01.0005 google scholar
34. Kwantes, C., & Boglarsky, C. (2007). Perceptions of organizational culture, leadership effectiveness and personal effectiveness across six countries. Journal of International Management, 13(2), 204-230. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2007.03.002 google scholar
35. Lincoln, S. Y., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications. google scholar
36. Milliken, F.J., Morrison, E.W., & Hewlin, P.F. (2003). An exploratory study of employee silence: Issues that employees don’t communicate upward and why. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1453-1476. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00387. google scholar
37. Millon, T., Millon, C. M., Meagher, S. E., Grossman, S. D., & Ramnath, R. (2012). Personality disorders in modern life. John Wiley & Sons google scholar
38. Morrison, E. W., & Milliken, F. J. (2000). Organizational silence: A barrier to change and development in a pluralistic world. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 706-725. https://doi.org/10.2307/259200 google scholar
39. Morrison, E.W., & Milliken, F.J. (2003). Speaking up, remaining silent: the dynamics of voice and silence in organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1353-1358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00383 google scholar
40. Morrison, E.W., & Rothman, N.B. (2009). Silence and the dynamics of power. J.Greenberg & M. Edwards (Eds.), Voice and silence in organizations (pp. 175-202).Emerald google scholar
41. Nakane, I., (2006). Silence and politeness in intercultural communication in university seminars. Journal of Pragmatics, 38(11), 1811-1835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2006.01.005 google scholar
42. Noelle-Neumann, E. (1991). The theory of public opinion: the concept of the spiral of silence. J. A. Anderson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 14 (pp. 256-287). Sage google scholar
43. Ozgan, H., & Külekçi, E. (2012). Öğretim elemanlarının sessizlik nedenleri ve üniversitelerine etkileri [The reasons of academic staff silence and its effect on their university]. e-International Journal of Educational Research, 3(4), 33-49. google scholar
44. Özsoy, E., & Ardıç, K. (2020). Çalışanların karanlık kişilik özelliklerinin tükenmişliğe etkisinde genel öz-yeterliliğin düzenleyici rolü. [The moderating role of general self-efficacy on the effect of employe-es’ dark personality traits on burnout]. Manas Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 9(1), 144-154. https://doi. org/10.33206/mjss.509429 google scholar
45. Parcham, E., & Ghasemizad, A. (2017). The impact of organizational culture on employees’ organizational silence in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Journal of Health Management and Informatics, 4(1), 25-30. google scholar
46. Park, C., & Keil, M. (2009). Organizational silence and whistle-blowing on IT projects: An integrated model. Decision Sciences, 40(4), 901-918. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2009.00255.x google scholar
47. Pasa, F. S., Kabasakal, H., & Bodur, M. (2001). Society, organizations, and leadership in Turkey. Applied Psychology, 50(4), 559-589. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00073 google scholar
48. Quinn, R. E., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1997). The road to empowerment: Seven questions every leader should consider. Organizational Dynamics, 26(2), 37-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(97)90004-8 google scholar
49. Rhee, C., Dantes, R., Epstein, L., Murphy, D. J., Seymour, C. W., Iwashyna, T. J., & Jernigan, J. A. (2017). Incidence and trends of sepsis in US hospitals using clinical vs claims data, 2009-2014. Jama, 318(13), 1241-1249. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.13836 google scholar
50. Rodrigues, C. A. (1998). Cultural classifications of societies and how they affect cross cultu-ral management. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 5(3), 31-41. https://doi. org/10.1108/13527609810796817 google scholar
51. Saglam, A. C., Yorulmaz, Y. I., Anasiz, B. T., Colak, I., & Dumlu, N. N. (2018). Prediction of academic staffs’ organizational silence through their power distance perceptions. Üniversitepark Bülten, 7(2), 143. http:// dx.doi.org/10.22521/unibulletin.2018.72.6 google scholar
52. Sadeghi, M., & Razavi, M. R. (2020). Organizational silence, organizational commitment and creativity: The case of directors of Islamic Azad University of Khorasan Razavi. European Review of Applied Psycho-logy, 70(5), 100557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erap.2020.100557 google scholar
53. Shenton, A. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22, 63-75. https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-2004-22201 google scholar
54. Shojaie, S., Matin, H. Z., & Barani, G. (2011). Analyzing the infrastructures of organizational silence and ways to get rid of it. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1731-1735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.334 google scholar
55. Solmaz, G., & Serinkan, C. (2020). The relationship between power distance and organizational silence in organizations: A field research. International Journal of Academic Research and Idea, 12(25), 3-19. google scholar
56. Turan, S., Durceylan, B., & Sisman, M. (2005). Üniversite yöneticilerinin benimsedikleri idari ve kültürel değerler [Administrative and cultural values adopted by university administrators]. Manas Universitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 13, 181-202. google scholar
57. Tutar, H. (2003). Örgütsel iletişim[Organizational communication]. Seçkin Kitabevi. google scholar
58. Ulker, F., & Kanten, P. (2009). Örgutlerde sessizlik ikilimi, işgören sessizliği ve örgütsel bağlılık ilişkisine yönelik bir araştırma [A research on the relationship between silence climate, employee silence and organizational commitment in organizations]. Aksaray Universitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakultesi Dergisi, 1(2), 111-126. google scholar
59. Vakola, M., & Bouradas, D. (2005). Antecedents and consequences of organisational silence: An empirical investigation. Employee Relations, 27(5), 441-458. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450510611997 google scholar
60. Wasti, S. A. (1998). Cultural barriers in the transferability of Japanese and American human resources prac-tices to developing countries: The Turkish case. The International Journal of Human Resource Manage-ment, 9 (4), 608-631. https://doi.org/10.1080/095851998340928 google scholar
61. Yaman, E., Vidinlioglu, O., & Citemel, N. (2010). Mobbing motivation and peace at the workplace: Teachers expect a lot? Mobbing victims on teachers. Journal of Human Sciences, 7(1), 1136-1151. google scholar
62. Yıldırım, A., & Simsek, H. (2013). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri [Qualitative research met-hods in the social sciences]. (9rd ed.). Seçkin Yayıncılık. google scholar