Speaking up, falling silent: Voice, silence and the emergence of toxic organizational culture in a technology company
基于对一家新成立科技公司的六年定性研究，探讨了有毒组织文化如何形成和持续，以及员工发声与沉默在其中扮演的角色，尤其关注性别和职业角色的交叉影响。
Abstract Research shows that employee voice and silence are critical to organizational functioning. However, their role in the emergence and persistence of toxic organizational cultures remains under‐theorized, particularly where gender and occupational roles intersect. Drawing on a 6‐year qualitative study of a newly established technology company, we examine (a) how and why a toxic organizational culture emerges and persists, (b) how employee voice and silence interact with this culture's dynamics and (c) the roles occupational position and gender play in these processes. Our findings indicate that a candid speak‐up climate, combined with self‐management and asymmetrical role clarity, can lead to an uneven distribution of voice and silence among siloed and highly gendered occupational roles. We theorize that these dynamics shape shared beliefs about whose knowledge ‘counts’, whose voices are legitimate and who becomes marginalized in a toxic organizational culture characterized by functional silofication. Contributing a culturally embedded perspective on voice and silence, we highlight the importance of addressing systemic inequality to prevent toxic organizational cultures from emerging.