The Role of Subjective Threat in Upward Influence Situations Vincent R. Waldron & James Sanderson The practice of organizational democracy requires members to exert influence. However, members often ‘‘pass’’ on the opportunity to exercise upward influence because they per- ceive the act to be threatening to them or to their supervisors. Drawing from Porter’s early political theory of upward influence (Porter, Allen, & Angle, 1981), this study examined the role of relationship maintenance behavior and relationship quality in shaping threat perceptions in 2 different influence contexts. A survey of 319 working adults revealed that established patterns of relationship maintenance behavior predis- posed employees to view situations involving upward influence to be more or less threat- ening. The current quality of the leader–member relationship was an even more substantive predictor. However, context moderated the relational effects. Relationship variables accounted for more variance in perceived threat when the influence was intended to advance legitimate (organizational), rather than illegitimate (personal), objectives. It is suggested that a ‘‘threat management’’ model of communication could guide future research on upward influence and similarly risky forms of workplace communication. Keywords: Leader-Member Exchange; Relationship Maintenance; Upward Influence; Work Relationships Organizations encourage employee participation through a bewildering variety of bureaucratic forms and processes, but fundamental to all of these is the opportunity for members to ‘‘register concerns, suggestions, and ideas’’ (Stohl & Cheney, 2001, p. 357). These activities are often persuasive, as members are invited to make a case Vincent R. Waldron (Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1989) is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Arizona State University–West. James Sanderson (M.A., Arizona State University West, 2008) is a Ph.D. student in the Hugh Downs School of Communication at Arizona State University. Correspondence: Vincent R. Waldron, Department of Communication Studies at Arizona State University–West, 4701 W. Thunderbird Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85069; E-mail: vincew@asu.edu Communication Quarterly Vol. 59, No. 2, April–June 2011, pp. 239–254 ISSN 0146-3373 print/1746-4102 online # 2011 Eastern Communication Association DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2011.563444