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PurposeThis study's purpose is to examine benevolent leadership's effect on employee silence, as moderated by perceived employee agreement on leader behaviors and cultural value orientations.Design/methodology/approachTwo-wave survey data were collected from 240 Chinese employees working in various industries. Hierarchical regression and simple slope analysis were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsBenevolent leadership was negatively related to employee silence. When perceived employee agreement on leader behaviors was high, employees with high power-distance orientation or low vertical individualism were more sensitive to benevolent leadership and engaged in less silence.Practical implicationsManagers are advised to exhibit benevolent behaviors to mitigate employees' tendency to remain silence. Organizations and managers can also design interventions to encourage employees with low power distance or high vertical individualism to speak up.Originality/valueThis study advances the understanding of the relationship between benevolent leadership and employee silence. By highlighting the moderating role of employees' perception of leader behaviors and their cultural value orientations, this study helps explain the conditions that when employees choose to keep silence or not.