Mixed Messages: Why managers (do not) endorse employee voice

•Instances of uniformly promotive or prohibitive voice are more likely to be endorsed by managers than instances that mix both types of voice.•Managerial endorsement for uniformly promotive or prohibitive voice types is greater only when these voice types are consistent with the regulatory foci of managers.•Processing fluency is the explanatory mechanism for why uniformly promotive and prohibitive voice, and the fit of that type of voice with the regulatory foci of managers, results in a higher likelihood of managerial endorsement.•Our findings, based on five studies – a survey study of managers from a wide range of organizations, a field study in a hospital, and three experiments – enrich our theoretical understanding of the cognitive paths through which the type(s) of voice, and whether voice mixes these types, shapes which ideas are endorsed for implementation.