Employees’ perceived respect and performance in Logistics 4.0: a dyadic perspective of the congruence between employee voice and supervisor listening

Purpose This paper uses social exchange theory to explore the interaction between logistics employees and supervisors, focusing on how the degree of congruence between employee suggestions for improving smart logistics platforms and supervisor listening affect employees’ perceived respect, with the aim of enhancing work performance in the context of logistics 4.0. This study also investigates whether the social sustainability orientation of a company amplifies the effect of this congruence on employee respect. Design/methodology/approach This study employs polynomial regression and response surface analysis to examine a dyadic dataset collected from logistics employees and their supervisors. Findings The empirical results confirm a positive relationship between employees’ perceived respect and their performance. Our findings also demonstrate that, when employee voice and supervisor listening are congruent, the level of employees’ perceived respect is always higher, and this effect is amplified when the firm exhibits a stronger social sustainability orientation. However, despite the positive congruence effect, the results suggest that high–high congruence is not necessarily superior to low–low congruence. Originality/value These findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for organizations seeking to create respectful and efficient logistics 4.0 work environments.