Internal Communication Conditions Shaping Employee Voice and Organizational Silence: A Systematic Review of Scopus-Indexed Empirical Studies

Abstract

Background Employee voice and organizational silence are central to organizational learning, innovation, safety, and problem detection. Although both concepts have been widely studied, existing research remains fragmented across leadership, psychological safety, trust, hierarchy, power distance, and organizational climate. This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence on how internal communication conditions shape employee voice and organizational silence in organizational settings. Methods A systematic review of Scopus-indexed empirical journal articles was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 framework. The search covered English-language articles published between 2010 and 2026 using title, abstract, and keyword fields. The final search identified 463 records. After duplicate removal and screening, 28 full-text records were assessed for eligibility. Twenty-six empirical studies were included in the main thematic synthesis, one study was retained as secondary contextual evidence, and one non-empirical discursive paper was excluded. Data were extracted using a structured matrix, appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and synthesized thematically. Results Six analytical themes were generated: leadership communication as a signal for voice; psychological safety and trust as relational mechanisms; hierarchy, power distance, and the production of silence; voice infrastructure and organizational response; silence as active withholding; and voice and silence in digital and high-risk organizational contexts. Across the studies, voice and silence were shaped by relational, structural, and contextual communication conditions, including leadership behavior, supervisor relations, trust, psychological safety, formal speak-up systems, hierarchy, guanxi, and power distance. Conclusions Employee voice and organizational silence are communicative responses to internal organizational conditions, not merely individual choices. Employees are more likely to speak up when communication environments signal safety, legitimacy, responsiveness, and consequence, and more likely to remain silent when they signal risk, futility, hierarchy, or low trust. This review offers a communication-centered framework for organizational voice and silence.