Employee Voice in Digital Service Platform Environments: The Roles of Perceived Digital System Support and Psychological Empowerment

Digital transformation has reshaped work processes across the tourism industry, increasing the need to understand how employees perceive organizational digital systems and how these perceptions are associated with workplace behaviors. This study examined the relationships among perceived digital system support (PDSS), psychological empowerment, and voice behavior among tourism employees from an organizational behavior perspective grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model.

What the research examined

Data were collected through an online survey of employees working in travel agencies, airlines, hotels, and foodservice organizations in South Korea, and 314 valid responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that PDSS was positively associated with psychological empowerment, and psychological empowerment was positively associated with voice behavior.

What the findings mean

By contrast, the direct relationship between PDSS and voice behavior was not statistically significant, whereas the indirect association via psychological empowerment was significant, indicating a pattern consistent with full mediation. These findings suggest that employees' positive perceptions of organizational digital systems show an indirect association with constructive voice behavior via psychological empowerment, particularly competence, self-determination, and impact. The study extends the application of the Technology Acceptance Model from technology acceptance to employee organizational behavior in digital work environments and highlights the importance of fostering psychologically empowering workplaces during digital transformation.

Study authors: Kim Y, Shin H.. This report is based on the openly licensed abstract and source record and has been formatted for newsroom reading.