hierarchies

Do middle managers propagate novel employee communication up, down and across the hierarchy? This paper investigates characteristics of the employee input and of the job that can facilitate or impede managers ’ propagation of employees ’ improvement-oriented suggestions and ideas up, across and down the hierarchy. In particular, this study examines the effects of novelty of employee improvement-oriented voice and time pressure on the likelihood that managers will propagate suggestions and ideas along to others in the organization. Results from a field study with a sample of working middle managers suggest that the predictors of voice propagation are different depending on whether or not one is propagating employee voice up the hierarchy versus passing along input to one’s peers or other subordinates. Pitching of suggestions and ideas up the hierarchy, “fishing ” for information across the hierarchy, and “testing ” ideas down the hierarchy represent various forms of managerial voice propagation. Implications of the findings for practitioners and future research are discussed. Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other i