Abstract
While directness is generally valued in upward communication for promoting clarity, its impact on prohibitive voice outcomes remains underexplored. Drawing on affective events theory (AET), this study develops a dual-pathway model examining how prohibitive voice directness influences supervisor voice endorsement through emotional mechanisms. We conducted a three-wave, survey-based field study with 314 managers in the United States. Our results reveal that prohibitive voice directness elicits heightened supervisor hostility and diminished gratitude, which subsequently reduce voice endorsement. Moreover, these negative indirect effects of prohibitive voice directness on endorsement are attenuated when supervisors hold positive (versus negative) implicit followership theories (IFTs). This study contributes to existing research by elucidating how prohibitive voice directness influences voice endorsement and identifying the critical moderating role of supervisors’ IFTs in this relationship.