Workplace politics and citizenship behavior: investigating employee silence as a key moderator in manufacturing firms

Purpose This paper aims to examine the negative influence of organizational politics on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and the exacerbating role of employee silence as a moderator. The study is contextualized within the manufacturing sector of a developing economy (India). Design/methodology/approach Drawing on conservation of resources and social exchange theory, this study develops and tests a moderated-mediation model. The model was validated using survey data from 205 employees in Indian manufacturing firms and analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The results indicate that perceived organizational politics are negatively associated with OCB. Critically, employee silence exacerbates this negative relationship; the detrimental effect of politics on OCB is strongest when employees remain silent. Furthermore, the study confirms that OCB is positively associated with both employee engagement and performance, with engagement mediating the OCB-performance chain. Practical implications The findings provide actionable insights for managers in manufacturing settings, highlighting the need to mitigate political environments and foster a climate of psychological safety to reduce silence, thereby protecting employee citizenship, engagement and performance. Originality/value This study contributes to the human resources management literature by theorizing and empirically demonstrating the critical moderating role of employee silence in the politics-citizenship relationship. It offers a nuanced model grounded in a dual Conservation of Resource (COR)-Social Exchange Theory (SET) framework and provides rare empirical evidence from the under-researched manufacturing sector of a major developing economy.