Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print.
This study aims to understand how job satisfaction relates to constructive and destructive voice in cooperatives by developing an integrated theoretical model that combines Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Motivational Synergy Theory (MST). We investigate the underlying motivational explanation by adopting a follower-centric perspective and focusing on intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to leadership styles and performance-based rewards. The empirical mediation analyses of 300 workers of Italian cooperatives show specific associations of job satisfaction with constructive and destructive voice via transformational and transactional leadership and performance-based rewards. Unlike most existing literature, this study considers employee voice as an extra-role behavior that can be positive (constructive) or negative (destructive) for the organization. Moreover, it brings new theoretical perspectives to the voice debate by combining SET and MST, thus developing fertile grounds for further studies. Finally, it extends existing knowledge about employee voice to the under-investigated but highly relevant context of cooperatives.