Beyond Aggregation: How Voice Disparity Relates to Team Conflict, Satisfaction, and Performance

Abstract

In this manuscript, we conceptualize voice disparity based on the extent to which voice is (un)evenly communicated within a team and demonstrate its empirical utility beyond team aggregate voice. Specifically, we propose that voice disparity is negatively related to task conflict and positively related to relationship conflict, whereas the inverse holds for aggregate voice, and that conflict mediates the effects of team-level voice on team outcomes. Results of our study of 178 engineering-student teams generally supported this model. Overall, we demonstrate the complexities of voice as a multilevel phenomenon, which depends on how often and equally team members express voice.