Many practitioner-oriented publications argue that managers should be more proactive on the job, and that proactive behavior is an increasingly important component of job performance. Organizational research on the antecedents and consequences of proactive behavior has appeared in several different literatures and has taken different approaches toward defining, measuring, and understanding proactivity. In this article, I review a diverse set of literatures that directly address proactive behavior in organizational contexts. I describe four constructs related to proactive behavior: proactive personality, personal initiative, role breadth self-efficacy, and taking charge. Next, I review six research domains that have explicitly addressed proactive behaviors: socialization, feedback seeking, issue selling, innovation, career management, and certain kinds of stress management. After considering findings from these research streams, I offer an analysis of the different approaches to the study of proactive behavior and provide a set of suggestions for future research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Achilladelis, B., Jervis, P., & Robertson, A.1971. A study of success and failure in industrial innovation. Sussex, England: University of Sussex Press.
2.
Arthur, M. B., & Rousseau, D. M.1996. Introduction: The boundaryless career as a new employment principle. In M. B. Arthur & D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), The boundaryless career. A new employment principle for a new organizational era: 3–20. New York: Oxford University Press.
3.
Ashford, S. J.1986. Feedback-seeking in individual adaptation: A resource perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 29: 465–487.
4.
Ashford, S. J., & Black. J. S.1996. Proactivity during organizational entry: The role of desire for control. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81: 199–214.
5.
Ashford, S. J., & Cummings, L. L.1983. Feedback as an individual resource: Personal strategies of creating information. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 32: 370–398.
6.
Ashford, S. J., & Cummings, L. L.1985. Proactive feedback seeking: The instrumental use of the information environment. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 58: 67–79.
7.
Ashford, S. J., & Northcraft, G. B.1992. Conveying more (or less) than we realize: The role of impression management in feedback-seeking. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 53: 310–334.
8.
Ashford, S. J., Rothbard, N. P., Piderit, S. K., & Dutton, J. E.1998. Out on a limb: The role of context and impression management in selling gender-equity issues. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43: 23–57.
9.
Ashford, S. J., & Tsui, A. S.1991. Self-regulation for managerial effectiveness: The role of active feedback seeking. Academy of Management Journal, 34(2): 251–280.
10.
Ashton, M. C.1998. Personality and job performance: The importance of narrow traits. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19: 289–303.
11.
Aspinwall, L. G., & Taylor, S. E.1997. A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121: 417–436.
12.
Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M.1999, May-June. Proactive behavior: Meanings, impact, and recommendations. Business Horizons, 63–70.
13.
Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M.1993. The proactive component of organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14: 103–118.
14.
Bauer, T. N., & Green, S. G.1998. Testing the combined effects of newcomer information seeking and manager behavior on socialization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 72–83.
15.
Becherer, R. C., & Maurer, J. G.1999. The proactive personality disposition and entrepreneurial behavior among small company presidents. Journal of Small Business Management, 38(1): 28–36.
16.
Bell, N. E., & Staw, B. M.1989. People as sculptors versus sculpture: The roles of personality and personal control in organizations. In M. B. Arthur, D. T. Hall, & B. S. Lawrence (Eds.), The handbook of career theory: 232–251. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
17.
Bennett, N., Herold, D. M., & Ashford, S. J.1990. The effects of tolerance for ambiguity on feedback-seeking behavior. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63: 343–348.
18.
Buss, D. M.1987. Selection, evocation, and manipulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53: 1214–1221.
19.
Claes, R., & Ruiz-Quintanilla, S. A.1998. Influences of early career experiences, occupational group, and national culture on proactive career behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 52: 357–378.
20.
Crant, J. M., & Bateman, T. S.2000. Charismatic leadership viewed from above: The impact of proactive personality. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21: 63–75.
21.
Crant, J. M.1996. The proactive personality scale as a predictor of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Small Business Management, 34(3): 42–49.
22.
Crant, J. M.1995. The proactive personality scale and objective job performance among real estate agents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80: 532–537.
23.
Diener, E., Larsen, R. J., & Emmons, R. A.1984. Person 3 Situation interactions: Choice of situations and congruence response models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47: 580–592.
24.
Deluga, R.1998. American presidential proactivity, charismatic leadership, and rated performance. Leadership Quarterly, 9: 265–291.
25.
Dutton, J. E., Ashford, S. J., O’Neill, R. M., Hayes, E., & Wierba, E. E.1997. Reading the wind: How middle managers assess the context for selling issues to top managers. Strategic Management Journal, 18: 407–425.
26.
Dutton, J. E., & Ashford, S. J.1993. Selling issues to top management. Academy of Management Review, 18(3): 397–428.
27.
Fedor, D. B., Rensvold, R. B., & Adams, S. M.1992. An investigation of factors expected to affect feedback seeking: A longitudinal field study. Personnel Psychology, 45: 779–805.
28.
Fisher, C. D.1986. Organizational socialization: An integrative review. In K. M. Rowland & G. R. Ferris (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resource management (vol. 4): 101–145. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
29.
Frese, M., Fay, D., Hilburger, T., Leng, K., & Tag, A.1997. The concept of personal initiative: Operationalization, reliability and validity in two German samples. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 70: 139–161.
30.
Frese, M., Kring, W., Soose, A., & Zempel, J.1996. Personal initiative at work: Differences between East and West Germany. Academy of Management Journal, 39: 37–63.
31.
Frohman, A. L.1997. Igniting organizational change from below: The power of personal initiative. Organizational Dynamics, 25(3): 39–53.
32.
Fryer, D., & Payne, R.1984. Proactive behavior in unemployment: Findings and implications. Leisure Studies, 3(3): 273–295.
33.
Gardner, W. L., & Martinko, M. J.1988. Impression management in organizations. Journal of Management, 14: 321–338.
34.
Hofstede, G.1991. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.
35.
Holder, T.1996. Women in nontraditional occupations: Information-seeking during organizational entry. Journal of Business Communication, 33: 9–26.
36.
Howell, J. M., & Higgins, C. A.1990. Leadership behaviors, influence tactics, and career experiences of champions of technological innovation. Leadership Quarterly, 1: 249–264.
37.
Jackson, C.1996. Managing and developing a boundaryless career: Lessons from dance and drama. In P. Herriot & R. Strickland (Eds.). The management of careers [Special issue]. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(4): 617–628.
38.
Jones, E. E.1990. Interpersonal perception. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.
39.
Jones, G. R.1983. Psychological orientation and the process of organizational socialization: An interactionist perspective. Academy of Management Review, 8: 464–474.
40.
Jones, G. R.1986. Socialization tactics, self-efficacy, and newcomers’ adjustments to organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 29: 262–279.
41.
Kanter, R.1988. When a thousand flowers bloom: Structural, collective, and social conditions for innovation in organizations. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, vol 10: 169–211. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
42.
Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L.1966. The social psychology of organizations. New York: John Wiley.
43.
Kinicki, A. J., & Latack, J. C.1990. Explication of the construct of coping with involuntary job loss. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 36: 339–360.
44.
Kirkman, B. L., & Rosen, B.1999. Beyond self-management: Antecedents and consequences of team empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 58–74.
45.
Kramer, M. W., Callister, R. R., & Turban, D. B.1995. Information-receiving and information-giving during job transitions. Western Journal of Communication, 59: 151–170.
46.
Kuhl, J.1992. A theory of self-regulation: Action versus state orientation, self-discrimination, and some applications. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 41: 97–129.
47.
Levy, P. E., Albright, M. D., Cawley, B. D., & Williams, J. R.1995. Situational and individual determinants of feedback seeking: A closer look at the process. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 62: 23–37.
48.
Locke, E. A.1991. The motivation sequence, the motivation hub, and the motivation core. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50: 288–299.
49.
Mignerey, J. T., Rubin, R. B., & Gorden, W. I.1995. Organizational entry: An investigation of newcomer communication behavior and uncertainty. Communication Research, 22: 54–85.
50.
Miller, V. D., & Jablin, F. C.1991. Information seeking during organizational entry: Influences, tactics, and a model of the process. Academy of Management Review, 16: 92–120.
51.
Mirvis, P. H., & Hall, D. T.1996. Psychological success and the boundaryless career. In M. B. Arthur & D. M. Rousseau (Eds.), The boundaryless career. A new employment principle for a new organizational era: 237–255. New York: Oxford University Press.
52.
Morrison, E. W., & Phelps, C. C.1999. Taking charge at work: Extra-role efforts to initiate workplace change. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 403–419.
53.
Morrison, E. W.1993a. Newcomer information seeking: Exploring types, modes, sources, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 36: 557–589.
54.
Morrison, E. W.1993b. Longitudinal study of the effects of information seeking on newcomer socialization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78: 173–183.
55.
Morrison, E. W., & Bies, R. J.1991. Impression management in the feedback-seeking process: A literature review and research agenda. Academy of Management Review, 16: 522–541.
56.
Newton, T. J., & Keenan, A.1990. Consequences of changing employers amongst young engineers. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63: 113–127.
57.
Nicholson, N.1984. A theory of work role transitions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 29: 172–191.
58.
Nicholson, N., & West, M. A.1988. Managerial job change: Men and women in transition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
59.
Organ, D. W.1988. Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
60.
Parker, S. K.1998. Enhancing role breadth self-efficacy: The roles of job enrichment and other organizational interventions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 835–852.
61.
Paunonen, S. V., Rothstein, M. G., & Jackson, D. N.1999. Narrow reasoning about the use of broad personnel measures for personnel selection. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20: 389–405.
62.
Raffety, B. D., Smith, R. E., & Ptacek, J. T.1997. Facilitating and debilitating trait anxiety, situational anxiety, and coping with an anticipated stressor: A process analysis. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 72: 892–906.
63.
Reichers, A. E.1987. An interactionist perspective on newcomer socialization rates. Academy of Management Review, 12: 278–287.
64.
Saks, A. M., & Ashforth, B. E.1996. Proactive socialization and behavioral self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 48: 301–323.
65.
Schneider, B.1983. International psychology and organizational behavior. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (vol. 5): 1–31. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
66.
Schön, D. A.1963. Champions for radical new inventions. Harvard Business Review, 41(March-April): 77–86.
67.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A.1994. Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal, 37: 580–607.
68.
Seibert, S. E., Crant, J. M., & Kraimer, M. L.1999. Proactive personality and career success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84: 416–427.
69.
Snyder, M.1987. Public appearances/private realities: The psychology of self-monitoring. San Francisco: Freeman.
70.
Snyder, M., & Ickes, W.1985. Personality and social behavior. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (3rd ed.): 883–947. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
71.
Speier, C., & Frese, M.1997. Generalized self-efficacy as a mediator and moderator between control and complexity at work and personal initiative: A longitudinal field study in East Germany. Human Performance, 10: 171–192.
72.
Staw, B. M., & Boettger, R. D.1990. Task revision: A neglected form of work performance. Academy of Management Journal, 33: 534–559.
73.
Terborg, J. R.1981. Interactional psychology and research on human behavior in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 6: 569–576.
74.
Vancouver, J. B., & Morrison, E. W.1995. Feedback inquiry: The effect of source attributes and individual differences. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 62(3): 276–285.
75.
Van de Ven, A. H.1986. Central problems in the management of innovation. Management Science, 32: 590–607.
76.
Van de Walle, D., & Cummings, L. L.1997. A test of the influence of goal orientation on the feedback-seeking process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 390–400.
77.
Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H.1979. Toward a theory of organizational socialization. In B. M. Staw (Ed.), Research in organizational behavior (vol. 1): 209–264. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
78.
Wanberg, C. R.1997. Antecedents and outcomes of coping behaviors among unemployed and reemployed individuals. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 731–744.
79.
West, M., & Farr, J.1990. Innovation at work. In M. West & J. Farr (Eds.), Innovation and creativity at work: Psychological and organizational strategies: 3–13. New York: Wiley.
80.
West, M. A., Nicholson, N., & Rees, A.1987. Transitions into newly created jobs. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 60: 97–113.
