Between what's said and left unsaid: conversational sensitivity and promotive voice in Indian organisations

Purpose What happens when a manager not only listens, but deeply understands what is said – and unsaid – in the workplace? This empirical study advances understanding of how managerial conversational sensitivity (CS) influences employees' promotive voice (PV) behaviours, examining the moderating role of emotional ambivalence (EA). Design/methodology/approach This study employed a two-study, multi-source design within Indian organisations. Study 1 (N = 382 employees) measured employees' perceptions of their managers' CS and their self-reported promotive voice (PV) behaviours. Study 2 (N = 237 managers) shifted the lens to the managerial perspective by assessing managers' self-rated CS and their evaluations of employees' voice, considering perceived emotional ambivalence. The data was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings Results from Study 1 indicate a significant positive association between CS and promotive voice, with EV showing no moderating effect. Study 2 reveals that EV amplifies the positive impact of managerial conversational sensitivity on promotive voice. Practical implications These findings underscore the critical role of nuanced managerial communication in fostering employee voice, particularly in emotionally complex environments and highlight perceptual differences in emotional dynamics between managers and employees. Originality/value The study contributes to voice research by integrating multi-source data and offering actionable insights for enhancing organisational communication and innovation. Overall, this research contributes nuanced insights into leader-employee dynamics, enriching employee voice literature and offering actionable directions for contemporary organisational communication development.