The study aims to evaluate the interactive influence of proactive personality and developmental leadership on career adaptability. Additionally, we examined the impact of proactive personality and developmental leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) through the mediating role of career adaptability. We surveyed 245 employees in the Indian IT sector over two rounds. Data analysis was performed using SPSS and Mplus 7.0. Results highlight that developmental leadership moderated the proactive personality–career adaptability link. Particularly, the positive relationship between proactive personality and career adaptability was stronger at a lower level of developmental leadership. Furthermore, career adaptability functioned as a partial mediator in the proactive personality–OCB link, and developmental leadership functioned as a moderator in this indirect association. Our study links proactive personality with career adaptability from the developmental leadership perspective that no prior research has explored. The study advances the career construction theory by observing the interaction of contextual factors (i.e., developmental leadership) with individual factors (i.e., proactive personality) in developing career adaptability. We use this model to achieve work-related outcomes of OCB and verify the self-regulation mechanism of career adaptability by identifying the mechanism to develop career adaptability.
Abu SaidA. M., Mohd RasdiR., Abu SamahB., SilongA. D., & SulaimanS. (2015). A career success model for academics at Malaysian research universities. European Journal of Training and Development, 39(9), 815–835.
2.
AikenL. S., & WestS. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage Publications.
3.
AlamM. Z., RafiqM., AlafifA. M., NasirS., & BashirJ. (2023). Success comes before work only in dictionary: Role of job autonomy for intrapreneurial behaviour using trait activation theory. International Journal of Innovation Science. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIS-04-2023-0085
4.
Al-GhazaliB. M. (2020). Transformational leadership, career adaptability, job embeddedness, and perceived career success: A serial mediation model. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 41(8), 993–1013.
5.
AlKhemeiriA. K., KhalidK., & MusaN. (2021). The role of career competencies and proactive personality in early-career employee career adaptability. European Journal of Training and Development, 45(4/5), 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-05-2020-0081
6.
AllenT. D., & RushM. (1998). The effects of organizational citizenship behavior on performance judgments: A field study and a laboratory experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(2), 247–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.83.2.247
7.
ArthurM. B., KhapovaS. N., & WilderomC. P. M. (2005). Career success in a boundaryless career world. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(2), 177–202.
8.
AspinwallL. G., RichterL., & HoffmanR. R. (2001). Understanding how optimism works: An examination of optimists’ adaptive moderation of belief and behavior. In ChangE. C. (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and practice (pp. 217–238). American Psychological Association.
9.
AutinK. L., DouglassR. P., DuffyR. D., EnglandJ. W., & AllanB. A. (2017). Subjective social status, work volition, and career adaptability: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 99, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.11.007
10.
BassB. M. (1985), Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.
11.
BatemanT. S., & CrantJ. M. (1993. The proactive component of organizational behavior: A measure and correlates. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030140202
12.
BrownM. E., Trevin~oL. K., & HarrisonD. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002
13.
ChanS. H. J., MaiX., KuokO. M. K., & KongS. H. (2016). The influence of satisfaction and promotability on the relation between career adaptability and turnover intentions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 92, 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.12.003
14.
ChangC.-H.(Daisy), FerrisD. L., JohnsonR. E., RosenC. C., TanJ. A., & FerrinD. L. (2012). Core self-evaluations: A review and evaluation of the literature. Journal of Management, 38(1), 81–128. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311419661
15.
ChouhanV. S. (2022). Influence of career adaptability on career satisfaction and turnover intention of IT professionals. International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals, 13(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJHCITP.303953
16.
ChouhanV. S. (2023). Impact of career adaptability on employee performance: The moderating role of HR practices. Management and Labour Studies, 48(3), 325–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/0258042X231160956
17.
ChughtaiM. S., KhalidY., GuanR., & RazzaqT. (2023). When does leadership humility nurture career success: A moderated mediation model of career adaptability and proactive personality. Journal of Innovative Research in Management Sciences, 4(1), 35–53.
18.
CohenJ., CohenP., WestS. G., & AikenL. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Erlbaum.
19.
CrantJ. M. (2000). Proactive behavior in organizations. Journal of Management, 26(3), 435–462.
20.
DelleE., & SearleB. (2022). Career adaptability: The role of developmental leadership and career optimism. Journal of Career Development, 49(2), 269–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320930286
21.
DossingerK., WanbergC. R., ChoiY., & LeslieL. M. (2019). The beauty premium: The role of organizational sponsorship in the relationship between physical attractiveness and early career salaries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 112, 109–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.01.007
22.
FioriM., BollmannG., & RossierJ. (2015). Exploring the path through which career adaptability increases job satisfaction and lowers job stress: The role of affect. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 91, 113–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.08.010
23.
GuanY., DaiX., GongQ., DengY., HouY., & DongZ. (2017). Understanding the trait basis of career adaptability: A two-wave mediation analysis among Chinese university students. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 10, 32–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.04.004
24.
GuptaV. K., & BhaweN. M. (2007). The influence of proactive personality and stereotype threat on women’s entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 13, 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/10717919070130040901
25.
HayesA. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.
26.
HaynieJ., FlynnC. B., & HerdaD. (2020). Linking career adaptability to supervisor-rated task performance: A serial mediation model. Career Development International, 25(4), 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-08-2019-0207
27.
HigginsM., DobrowS. R., & RoloffK. S. (2010). Optimism and the boundaryless career: The role of developmental relationships. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 749–769, https://doi.org/10.1002/job.693
28.
HirschiA., HerrmannA., & KellerA. C. (2015). Career adaptivity, adaptability, and adapting: A conceptual and empirical investigation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 87, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.11.008
29.
HobfollS. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied psychology, 50(3), 337–421.
30.
HouseR. J. (1996). Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 7(3), 323–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(96)90024-7
31.
HouseR. J. (1998). Appendix: Measures and assessments for the charismatic leadership approach: Scales, latent constructs, loadings, Cronbach alphas, and interclass correlations. In DansereauE. & YammarinoF. J. (Eds.), Leadership: The multiple-level approaches contemporary and alternative (pp. 23–30). JAI Press.
32.
JiangZ. (2016). The relationship between career adaptability and job content plateau: The mediating roles of fit perceptions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 95, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.06.001
33.
JiangZ. (2017). Proactive personality and career adaptability: The role of thriving at work. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.10.003
34.
JinM. H., McDonaldB., & ParkJ. (2018). Does public service motivation matter in public higher education? Testing the theories of person–organization fit and organizational commitment through a serial multiple mediation model. The American Review of Public Administration, 48(1), 82–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016652243
35.
JohnstonC. S. (2016). A systematic review of the career adaptability literature and future out-look. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(1), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716679921
36.
JohnstonC. S. (2018). A systematic review of the career adaptability literature and future outlook. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(1), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072716679921
37.
JudgeT. A., & ZapataC. P. (2015). The person-situation debate revisited: Effect of situation strength and trait activation on the validity of the big five personality traits in predicting job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 1149–1179. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0837
38.
KalpachevS. (2021). Chaos theory of careers[Conference session]. ‘International scientific and practical conference’: Human resource management, Issue 1, pp. 198–205. https://conference.ue-varna.bg/hrm/wp-content/uploads/Proceedings/Papers2021/Kalpachev.pdf
39.
LaiF.-Y., LinC.-C., LuS.-C., & ChenH.-L. (2021). The role of team–member exchange in proactive personality and employees’ proactive behaviors: The moderating effect of transformational leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 28(4), 429–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/15480518211034847
40.
LamC. F., LiangJ., AshfordS. J., & LeeC. (2015). Job insecurity and organizational citizenship behavior: Exploring curvilinear and moderated relationships. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 499.
41.
LavyS., & Littman-OvadiaH. (2017). My better self: Using strengths at work and work productivity, organizational citizenship behavior, and satisfaction. Journal of Career Development, 44(2), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845316634056
42.
LawlerE. E. (1986), High involvement management: Participative strategies for improving organizational performance. Jossey-Bass.
43.
LeeC., HuangG. H., & AshfordS. J. (2018). Job insecurity and the changing workplace: Recent developments and the future trends in job insecurity research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 335–359. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104651
44.
LeeK., & AllenN. J. (2002). Organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviance: The role of affect and cognitions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 131–142, https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.1.131
45.
LentR. W., & BrownS. D. (2019). Social cognitive career theory at 25: Empirical status of the interest, choice, and performance models. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/jjvb.2019.06.004
46.
LePineJ. A., ErezA., & JohnsonD. E. (2002). The nature and dimensionality of organizational citizenship behavior: A critical review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 52–65. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.1.52
47.
LevyP. E. (2003). Industrial/organizational psychology: Understanding the workplace. Houghton Mifflin.
48.
LiH, XuZ, SongS, & JinH (2024). How and when does proactive personality predict career adaptability? A study of the moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 15.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1333829
49.
LiN., HarrisT. B., BoswellW. R., & XieZ. (2011). The role of organizational insiders’ developmental feedback and proactive personality on newcomers’ performance: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1317–1327, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024029
50.
MaggioriC., RossierJ., & SavickasM. L. (2017). Career adapt-abilities scale–short form (CAAS-SF). Journal of Career Assessment, 25(2), 312–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072714565856
51.
MalikP. (2024). Individual-focused transformational leadership and change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior: Mediating and moderating mechanisms of job crafting and employee resilience. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 11(1), 90–113. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-05-2022-0120
52.
NguyenQ., KuntzJ. R. C., NaswallK., & MalinenS. (2016). Employee resilience and leadership styles: The moderating role of proactive personality and optimism. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 45(2), 13–21.
53.
ÖncelL. (2014). Career adaptabilities scale: Convergent validity of subscale scores. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85(1), 13–17, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.03.006
54.
OrganD. W. (1988). Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington Books.
55.
PanJ., GuanY., WuJ., HanL., ZhuF., FuX., & YuJ. (2018). The interplay of proactive personality and internship quality in Chinese university graduates’ job search success: The role of career adaptability. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 109, 14–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2018.09.003
56.
ParkerS. K., BindlU. K., & StraussK. (2010). Making things happen: A model of proactive motivation. Journal of Management, 36, 827–856. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310363732
57.
PloyhartR. E., & BlieseP. D. (2006), Individual adaptability (I-ADAPT) theory: Conceptualizing the antecedents, consequences, and measurement of individual differences in adaptability. In BurkeC. S., PierceL. G., & SalasE. (Eds.), Understanding adaptability: A prerequisite for effective performance within complex environments (pp. 3–39). Emerald Group Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3601(05)06001-7
58.
PodsakoffP. M., MacKenzieS. B., PaineJ. B., & BachrachD. G. (2000). Organizational citizenship behaviors: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future research. Journal of Management, 26(3), 513–563.
59.
PodsakoffP. M., MacKenzieS. B., LeeJ. Y., & PodsakoffN. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
60.
PorathC., SpreitzerG., GibsonC., & GarnettF. G. (2012). Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(2), 250–275. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.756
61.
PrabhuV. P., McGuireS. J., DrostE. A., & KwongK. K. (2012). Proactive personality and entrepreneurial intent. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior Research, 18, 559–586. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551211253937
62.
PulakosE. D., AradS., DonovanM. A., & PlamondonK. E. (2000). Adaptability in the work place: Development of a taxonomy of adaptive performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(4), 612–624. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.4.612
63.
RaffertyA. E., & GriffinM. A. (2006). Refining individualized consideration: Distinguishing developmental leadership and supportive leadership. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 79(1), 37–61. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317905X36731
64.
RudolphC. W., LavigneK. N., & ZacherH. (2017). Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.002
65.
SavickasM. L. (1997). Career adaptability: An integrative construct for life-span, life-space theory. The Career Development Quarterly, 45(3), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.1997.tb00469.x
66.
SavickasM. L. (2002). Career construction: A developmental theory of vocational behavior. In BrownD. (Ed.), Career choice and development (pp. 149–205). Jossey-Bass.
67.
SavickasM. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. In BrownS. D. & LentR. W. (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 42–70). Wiley.
68.
SavickasM. L. (2013). Career construction theory and practice. In BrownS. D., & LentR. W. (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (147–183). John Wiley & Sons.
69.
SavickasM. L. (2020). Career construction theory and counseling model. In HartungP. J. & SavickasM. L. (Eds.), Career counseling: A holistic approach (3rd ed., pp. 147–183). American Psychological Association.
70.
SavickasM. L., & PorfeliE. J. (2012). Career adapt-abilities scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 80(3), 661–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.01.011
71.
SchmidtF. L., OhI.-S., & ShafferJ. A. (2012). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 100 years of research findings. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(3), 189–241.
72.
SeibertS. E., CrantJ. M., & KraimerM. L. (1999). Proactive personality and career success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 416–427. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.84.3.416
73.
SettiI., DordoniP., PiccoliB., BellottoM., & ArgenteroP. (2015). Proactive personality and training motivation among older workers: A mediational model of goal orientation. European Journal of Training and Development, 39(8), 681–699.
74.
ShamirB., & HowellJ. M. (1999). Organizational and contextual influences on the emergence and effectiveness of charismatic leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 257–283.
75.
SpitzmullerM., SinH.-P., HoweM., & FatimahS. (2015). Investigating the uniqueness and usefulness of proactive personality in organizational research: A meta-analytic review. Human Performance, 28(4), 351–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2015.1021041
76.
SpreitzerG., SutcliffeK., DuttonJ., SonensheinS., & GrantA. M. (2005). A socially embedded model of thriving at work. Organization Science, 16(5). https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0153
77.
SridadiA. R., PratamaA. S., EliyanaA., GunawanD. R., & YazidZ. (2024). Fostering organizational citizenship behavior: The role of proactive personality, job satisfaction, and affective commitment. Sage Open, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241268848
78.
TangY. Y. (2009). Interdependence and organizational citizenship behavior: Exploring the mediating effect of group cohesion in multilevel analysis. The Journal of Psychology, 143(6), 625–640. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980903218273
79.
TettR. P., & BurnettD. D. (2003). A personality trait-based interactionist model of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(3), 500–517. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.500
80.
TettR. P., & GutermanH. A. (2000). Situation trait relevance, trait expression, and cross-situational consistency: Testing a principle of trait activation. Journal of Research in Personality, 34(4), 397–423. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.2000.2292.
81.
TolentinoL. R., SedoglavichV., LuV. N., GarciaP. R. J. M., & RestubogS. L. D. (2014). The role of career adaptability in predicting entrepreneurial intentions: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 85(3), 403–412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.09.002
82.
WangH. J., DemeroutiE., & Le BlancP. (2017). Transformational leadership, adaptability, and job crafting: The moderating role of organizational identification. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 100, 185–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.03.009
83.
WangS., MeiM., XieY., ZhaoY., & YangF. (2021). Proactive Personality as a predictor of career adaptability and career growth potential: A view from conservation of resources theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 699461. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.699461
84.
WayneS. J., LidenR. C., KraimerM. L., & GrafI. K. (1999). The role of human capital, motivation and supervisor sponsorship in predicting career success. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(5), 577–595.
85.
XuX.-m., & YuK. (2019). When core self-evaluation leads to career adaptability: Effects of ethical leadership and implications for citizenship behavior. The Journal of Psychology, 153(5), 463–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2018.1564724
86.
YangC., ChenY., ZhaoX. R., & HuaN. (2020). Transformational leadership, proactive personality, and service performance: The mediating role of organizational embeddedness. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(1), 267–287. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2019-0244
87.
YangX, FengY, MengY, & QiuY (2019). Career adaptability, work engagement, and employee well-being among Chinese employees: The role of Guanxi. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01029
88.
ZacherH. (2015). Daily manifestations of career adaptability: relationships with job and career outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 91, 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.09.003
89.
ZhangY., & ChenC. C. (2013). Developmental leadership and organizational citizenship behavior: Mediating effects of self-determination, supervisor identification, and organizational identification. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(4), 534–543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.03.007
90.
ZhangY., WangF., & CuiG. (2023).When & why proactive employees get promoted: A trait activation perspective. Current Psychology, 42, 31701–31712. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04142-3
91.
ZhaoH., PengZ., & ChenH. (2014). Compulsory citizenship behavior and organizational citizenship behavior: The role of organizational identification and perceived interactional justice. The Journal of Psychology, 148(2), 177–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2013.768591
