The relationship between organizational authority-control and employees' proactive behavior : the moderating role of individual proactive personality

Abstract

To engage in proactive behavior requires employees to take freedom and autonomy at work. Although organizational control tactics affect employees’ authority to a large extent, prior studies had paid limited attention on the predicting effects of organizational authority-control on employees’ proactive behavior and potential individual difference that may moderate this relationship. Therefore, this research explores the relationship between organizational authority-control and employees’ proactive behavior (taking charge, voice, proactive feedback seeking, and career initiative) and the moderating role of individual proactive personality on this relationship. Starting from the initiative and change-oriented nature of proactive behavior, this research claims that via influencing the freedom and authority in employees’ action, delegation is positively related to proactive behavior, while the main effect between job routinization and proactive behavior is negatively predicted. Proactive behavior, in turn, is proposed to enhance employees’ job satisfaction and career satisfaction. However, the relationship between organizational authority-control and proactive behavior is not stopped with the aforementioned main effects. As such, this research further explores the moderating role of individual proactive personality: the positive relationship between delegation and proactive behavior, and the negative relationship between job routinization and proactive behavior are both stronger with low proactive personality rather than high proactive personality. Two studies were conducted to test all the hypotheses. In Study 1, a three-wave longitudinal study was designed to examine the main effects between organizational authority-control tactics (delegation and job routinization) and proactive behavior (taking charge, voice, proactive feedback seeking, and career initiative), and those between proactive behavior and outcomes (job satisfaction and career satisfaction). In Study 2, another field study was conducted to examine the moderating role of proactive personality on the relationship between organizational authority-control and proactive behavior. This research contributes to the literature of proactive behavior in that it begins from the nature of proactive behavior to examine how organizational environment may affect employees’ proactive actions. In addition, the interactive effect between environmental factors and individual difference is explored to flesh out the antecedent of proactive behavior.