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For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has
been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Luke 12:48
The world has three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch what
happens, and those who wonder what happened. George Bernard Shaw
Is proactive behavior reciprocal? A study on
organizational support, affective commitment,
personality and proactive behavior.
Bachelor Thesis Organization & Strategy
Erik van de Kamp (anr: 403028)
Tilburg University (assessor: David Kroon)
June 2010
6320 words
2
Management summary
Being proactive means using initiative, taking charge, and making things happen. Examples
of proactive behavior on the work floor are:
• A management consultant who holds meetings to build relationships with knowledgeable
contacts outside his department.
• A nurse who prepares equipment and information, while waiting for the doctor to arrive,
thereby anticipating on the situation and enabling the doctor to do her job more
effectively.
• A gardener who, on his own initiative, comes up with a system of circulating equipment
by which equipment and machines are more effectively used and wear is reduced.
In the field of organizational behavior, the construct proactive behavior has drawed a lot of
attention in recent years. Over all however, a lot of research has to be done to come to a
complete framework of proactive behavior. In this thesis a gap in existing literature will be
filled by investigating the influence of (perceived) organizational support on proactive
behavior. Both a direct relationship and an indirect relationship, via affective commitment, are
investigated. The dispositional influence of personality is also taken into account, to include
both personal and work characteristic variables.
From literature review turned out organizational support has conflicting influences on
proactive behavior. Via the mediating variable affective commitment, perceived
organizational support is positively related to proactive behavior. The direct relationship
between organizational support and proactive behavior is more difficult to make clear. There
are postive effects if supervisors achieve employees are motivated to persevere, because they
feel supported by the organization. Negative effects may arise if supervisors discourage
employees to do it their own way by interfering in their bussiness. Personality of employees is
very important with regard to proactive behavior, because commitment of employees or
perfect work circumstances for proactive behavior don’t mean automatic that employees will
be proactive. For a large part this is influenced by personality traits of the employee.
3
Although this thesis is only the beginning of research to the influence of organizational
support on proactive behavior, it provides a better understanding of antecedents of proactive
behavior and recommends managers the following:
• Be aware of the influene of your behavior on the proactivity of employees. Support may
encourage employees to persevere in their proactivity, but employees may take a
comfortable attitude due to organizational support. Acting yourself proactively and being
a good example may have a greater impact on employees, besides a climate on the work
floor in which proactivity is encouraged instead of being hindered.
• For a large part proactivity can be achieved due to recruitment and selection, because
personality has a huge impact. Therefore, in certain jobs that demand flexibility and
initiative managers may add proactive personality to the desired profile of candidates.
4
Table of contents
Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 5
1.1 Problem background.................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Problem statement and research questions .................................................................. 7
1.3 Demarcation and definitions........................................................................................ 8
1.4 Academic and managerial relevance ........................................................................... 9
1.5 Research design and data collection.......................................................................... 10
1.6 Outline of the thesis ................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 2 Perceived organizational support............................................................................. 12
2.1 Perceived organizational support............................................................................... 12
2.2 Perceived organizational support and proactive behavior ......................................... 12
Chapter 3 Affective organizational commitment ..................................................................... 15
3.1 Affective organizational commitment ....................................................................... 15
3.2 Perceived organizational support and affective commitment.................................... 15
3.3 Affective organizational commitment and proactive behavior ................................. 16
Chapter 4 Personality ............................................................................................................... 19
4.1 Proactive personality ................................................................................................. 19
4.2 Proactive personality as a moderator......................................................................... 20
4.3 Proactive personality characteristics ......................................................................... 21
Chapter 5 Conclusion and discussion....................................................................................... 23
5.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 23
5.2 Discussion.................................................................................................................. 24
5.3 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 26
References ................................................................................................................................ 27
5
Chapter 1 Introduction
Organizations have shifted away from the use of hierarchical and bureaucratic structures to
more flexible, decentralized and ambiguous organizational structures. This has increased the
importance of initiative and proactivity on the work floor, as stated by Frese and Fay (2001).
According to the Mirriam-Webster Online Dictionary proactivity is “acting in anticipation of
future problems, needs, or changes”.
Already in the 1990s two conceptualizations of organizational behavior were developed:
proactive behavior (Bateman & Crant, 1993) and personal initiative (Frese, Kring, Zoose &
Zempel, 1996). These concepts both emphasize the importance of employees who themselves
take the initiative to change their current environments. Because the present world is
characterized by very dynamic and uncertain economic environments, proactive behavior and
personal initiative are still much researched concepts (Crant, 2000).
1.1 Problem background
Since the 1990s there has been ongoing research of proactivity, but until recently research was
splintered and needed to be integrated (Crant, 2000; Grant & Ashford, 2008; Parker &
Collins, 2009). Proactive concepts that focus on specific situations that demand proactivity
were developed. Examples are expressing voice (Van Dyne & LePine, 1998), taking charge
(Morrison & Phelps, 1999) and selling critical issues to management (Ashford, Rothbard,
Piderit & Dutton, 1998).
Although literature on different proactive concepts grew rapidly, they also grew isolated from
each other (Grant & Ashford, 2008). However, a general framework of these seperated
concepts remained absent and therefore Crant (2000) stated that proactive behavior did not
“emerged as an integrated research stream in the organizational behavior literature” (Crant,
2000:435). Since a few years, reviews of the research on proactive behavior have led to a
more general framework of proactive behaviors. Current literature on proactive behavior has
largely succeeded to integrate all organizational behaviors that are in nature proactive, so
proactivity is approached regardless of the (work) situation.
6
The current integrated state of research has largely been achieved by Parker and Collins
(2009), who integrated and differentiated multiple, across different research domains
investigated, concepts of proactive behaviors. Grant and Ashford (2008) contributed
furthermore by explaining “the general phenomenon of proactivity” (Grant & Ashford,
2008:5) and proposing a more extensive framework of proactive behavior by reviewing the
universal nature, antecedents, processes and consequences of proactive behavior. As a result
of these reviews a period has come in which isolated research can be transformed into
cumulative research. In order to come to a greater knowledge of proactivity, especially
research on the antecedents of proactive behavior is necessary. Grant and Ashford (2008),
who themselves focused on a sample of antecedents, stated that “considerable research is
needed to examine a broader range of situational influences on proactivity” (Grant & Ashford,
2008:22). In other words, further research should create a completer image of the influence of
situational antecedents on proactive behavior.
One direction of antecedents that has received less attention in the literature is the influence of
organizational support. The direct influence of support and leadership on proactive behavior is
researched by Strauss, Griffin and Rafferty (2009). According to their findings supportive
leadership might not promote proactive behavior, but instead transformational leadership
might encourage proactive work behaviors. On the other hand, there might be an indirect
relationship between organizational support and proactive behavior that is mediated by
affective commitment. Perceived organizational support is positively related to affective
commitment (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002) and according to Den Hartog and Belschak
(2007) affective commitment is an important correlate and a potential antecedent of proactive
behavior. Opposite to Den Hertog and Belschak (2007), Parker, Turner and Williams (2006)
argue that organizational commitment is positively related to generalized compliance, but not
to proactive behavior.
So, besides that it has been less researched, literature is also contradictory in their opinion
about the relationship between organizational support and proactivity. This thesis wants to
contribute to an increased knowledge of the relationship between organizational support and
proactive behavior by investigating both the direct relationship between organizational
support and proactive behavior and the indirect relationship between organizational support
and proactive behavior which is mediated by affective organizational commitment (from now
on: affective commitment).
7
1.2 Problem statement and research questions
The problem as indicated above could be stated as in the following question:
What is the relationship between perceived organizational support and proactive behavior,
taken into account the role of affective commitment and personality?
In order to answer the above main question, the following sub questions will first be
answered:
- How is perceived organizational support related to proactive behavior?
- What is the mediating role of affective commitment with regard to the relationship
between perceived organizational support and proactive behavior?
- What is the moderating role of personality with regard to the relationship between
affective commitment and proactive behavior?
These sub questions are conceptualized in the figure below (figure 1). Interest is in the
relationship between the antecedent perceived organizational support and the outcome
proactive behavior. The conceptual framework includes both a direct relationship and an
indirect relationship, via affective commitment..Proative personality is suggested to moderate
the relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior.
Situational Psychological Dispositional Behavioral
antecedent mechanism moderator outcome
Fig. 1: Conceptual framework
Proactive behavior Perceived
organizational
support
Affective
organizational
commitment Proactive
personality
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1.3 Demarcation and definitions
As mentioned beforie, it has taken a while before different concepts of proactive behavior
became integrated with each other. Nowadays we speak of proactive behavior in general,
because proactive behavior refers to what all specific concepts have in common: they are
“active performance concepts” (Frese & Fay, 2001:134). Proactive behaviors contrast with
traditional passive concepts which asssume people can not go beyond assigned tasks and
goals (Parker et al., 2006). Grant and Ashford (2008:8) define proactivity based on an
integrated conceptualization of Parker et al. (2006) as “anticipatory action that employees take
to impact themselves and/or their environments” and distinguish two rather general
characteristics of proactive behaviors: acting in advance and intended impact. This definition
of proactive behavior can be used as a general description for all different concepts of
proactive behavior (Parker & Collins, 2009).
This broad view on proactive behavior also includes that no distinction will be made between
in-role and extra-role behaviors. In-role behavior is behavior that takes place within the
boundaries of employees’ roles and tasks, extra-role behavior goes beyond this boundaries.
Some scholars, especially researchers of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB),
suggested proactive behavior is exclusively extra-role behavior (Morrison & Phelps, 1999).
They argue that because of in-role behaviors are prescribed by others, there is no space for
acting different than the applied task. However, recent literature agrees that proactive
behavior describes a process that implies all work activities (Crant, 2000; Frese & Fay, 2001;
Parker et al. 2006). Firstly, in-role tasks can be performed in a proactive way (Crant, 2001).
Secondly, due to more autonomous and complex jobs the distinction between in-role and
extra-role has become more unclear (Frese & Fay, 2001). Summed up, in this way proactivity
is viewed as a process, or like Grant and Ashford (2008:9): “proactivity is not a noun, but an
adverb: any behavior can be carried out reactively or proactively.”
As mentioned in the problem background, this study will focus on how commitment is related
to proactive behavior. The constructs perceived organizational support and affective
commitment will be used as descriptions of the commitment from the organization towards
employees and vice versa. Because personality is suggested to determine a huge part of
proactive behavior (Crant, 2000; Parker et al., 2006), the variable proactive personality will be
included to achieve completeness.
9
Perceived organizational support is a rather old concept which is based on the norm of
reciprocity. The main thought of the concept is that organizations that treat employees well
will be treatened well by employees. “Employees develop global beliefs concerning the extent
to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being”
(Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison & Sowa, 1986:501). Affective organizational
commitment “denotes an emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the
organization” (Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch & Topolnytsky, 2002:21). The construct
proactive personality is developed by Bateman and Crant (1993), who describe the stereotype
proactive personality as “one who is relatively unconstrained by situational forces, and who
effects environmental change” (Bateman & Crant, 1993:105)
Scholars differ in their opinion about the relationship between these antecedents. Some
include personality as a cause of proactive behavior (Bateman & Crant, 1993; Parker et al.
2006), while some recent literature proposes personality as a moderator between situational
variables and proactive behavior (Fuller et al., 2006; Grant & Ashford, 2008). As Crant
(2000:457) already stated: “proactive behaviors are caused by both individual differences and
contextual factors. This is not, of course, a new idea—reciprocal causality between person,
behavior, and situation is the hallmark of interactional psychology”. In this study we will use
a more interactional model of the antecedents (see figure 1), and therefore we suggest
proactive personality moderates the relationship between affective commitment and proactive
behavior. Affective commitment is not suggested to be a situational antecedent, but is viewed
as a psychological or motivational mechanism which mediates the relationship between the
independent variable perceived organizational support and the dependent variable proactive
behavior (Parker et al., 2006; Grant & Ashford, 2008).
1.4 Academic and managerial relevance
This study will provide insight in the role of organizational support and affective commitment
in relation to proactive behavior. The relevance of investigating affective commitment is
pointed out by Grant and Ashford (2008) in their agenda for further research; they suggest
further studies pay attention to this role of affect. Clarifying the role of affective commitment
may solve existing contradictions in literature (Den Hartog & Belschak, 2007; Parker et al.,
2006). It may also combine and integrate research on the antecedents of different specific
10
proactive behaviors. Integration because these specific proactive behaviors all share the same
direction or process, as suggested by Parker et al. (2006) and Grant & Ashford (2008).
It is important for managers to know to what extent different antecedents of proactive
behavior determine proactive behavior. When proactive behavior is especially a consequence
of personality, managers will have to focus on training and selection of employees. When
clear is how organizational support and affective commitment determine proactive behavior,
organizations may support and lead employees in a different way.
1.5 Research design and data collection
This study will be an exploratory research. Before descriptive research can be done, more
insight is needed into the antecedents of proactive behavior. So, this research can be best
defined as a literature review.
For this study only secondary sources will be used. In order to find literature different search
methods are used. Firstly, different search engines (as ABI/Inform and JSTOR) of the library
of Tilburg University are used to obtain a broad range of relevant literature on proactive
behavior, perceived organizational support and affective commitment. Keywords that are used
are proactive behavior, affective commitment and perceived organizational support.
Secondly, references of other relevant literature were found by reading articles. The website
of the Proactivity Research group (http://proactivity .group.shef.ac.uk) also provided a helpful
bibliography of research on proactive behavior. Literature about proactivity was screened in
order to select only literature related to the nature of proactive behavior and antecedents as
organizational support, leadership, affective commitment and proactive personality.
1.6 Outline of the thesis
The outline of this thesis has the same structure as my research questions. In the first chapter
it will be discussed what perceived organizational support is and how it is related to proactive
behavior and affective commitment. In the second chapter it will be discussed what affective
commitment is and how it is related to proactive behavior. In the third chapter will be
discussed how personality moderates the relationship between affective commitment and
11
proactive behavior. In the final chapter a conclusion on the research problem, a discussion
about the research and further recommendations will be given.
12
Chapter 2 Perceived organizational support
In this second chapter the meaning of perceived organizational support will be explained first.
Afterwards there will be examined what its relationship with proactive behavior is.
2.1 Perceived organizational support
Employees who perceive that the organization is committed to them, will be themselves more
committed to the organization (Eisenberger et al., 1986). This social exchange interpretation
of organizational commitment has been labeled perceived organizational support (POS) by
Eisenberger et al. (1986). The main meaning of perceived organizational support is that
“employees develop global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organization values
their contributions and cares about their well-being” (Eisenberger et al., 1986:501). Based on
the norm of reciprocity perceived organizational support supposes a positive reciprocal
relationship between employees and organizations. When both employee and employer keep
the norm of reciprocity, both parties will repay favorable behavior with favorable behavior
(Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002). Perceived organizational support is grounded on the idea that
employees personificate organizations, so they ascribe humanlike characteristics to the
organization (Eisenberger et al., 1986). According to Rhoades & Eisenberger (2002)
perceived organizational support, or the perceived favorable treatment received from the
organization, is generally increased by three types of antecedents: fairness, supervisor support
and organizational rewards and job conditions.
2.2 Perceived organizational support and proactive behavior
Research on the relationship between (perceived) organizational support and proactive
behavior is, despite the recent growth of literature, limited and, maybe due to the fact that it
has been limited researched, rather contradictory. The only aspect of organizational support
that has been investigated in its relationship to proactive behavior is supervisor support.
In literature in which the point of view is taken that supervisor support has a negative
relationship with proactive behavior, it is argued that organization support ‘helps’ the
employee too much and therefore destimulates proactivity. Taking work off employees hands
13
may lower self-starting expectations and reduce employees’ motivations to realize change
themselves (Parker et al., 2006). In an other study Frese, Teng and Wijnen (1999) researched
among other things the relationship between supervisor support and (the specific construct of
proactive behavior) personal initiative. They suggested supervisors influence the climate that
hinders or supports creativeness and innovativeness, but they found instead that
organizational support and supportive supervisors did not influence creativity and initiative
processes. This opinion is also shared by Frese and Fay (2001), who found that supervisor
support does not have a major influence on personal initiative. Instead of supervisor support,
they propose environment and climate have a bigger influence on the willingness to be
proactive. Because of that they suppose environmental support has a greater influence on
personal initiative (Frese & Fay, 2001).
Literature that proposes the opposite opinion argue that a high perceived degree of
organizational support will stimulate proactive behavior, because it creates beliefs that the
realization of change will succeed (Crant, 2000). Empirical evidence is provided by Ashford
et al. (1998), who found perceived organizational support related to the willingness to sell
gender-equity issues. However, this is a very specific concept of proactive behavior in the
sense that it is about rather exceptional and relatively little appearing situations. Based on
these findings about the willingness to sell gender-equity issues nevertheless, Morrison and
Phelps (1999) state that openness of the top management and support of risky change-oriented
activities will encourage suggestions and initiative.
These conflicting theories and results may be caused by a missing comprehension in what the
right support for stimulating proactive behaviors might be (Parker et al., 2006). Some forms
of organizational support may contribute to proactive behavior, while others may hinder
proactive behavior. Forms of organizational support that help and encourage employees to be
self-directed and self-managing, as that of supervisors that ‘lead others to lead themselves’,
will boost proactivity (Manz and Sims, 1987; Parker et al., 2006). This kind of organizational
support is similar to transformational leadership, a type of leadership which according to
Strauss, Griffin and Rafferty (2009) might be a more appropriate leadership behavior for
promoting proactivity. Transformational leadership changes employee attitudes from being
only compliant to the supervisor towards going beyond standard tasks and expectations,
because the followers (employees) indicate themselves with the proactive leader (Strauss,
Grifin & Rafferty, 2009). From this follows that (perceived) organizational support may both
14
encourage and discourage proactive behavior, depending on the form of support. Therefore
we will not develop a hypothesis regarding the relationship between perceived organizational
support and proactive behavior.
15
Chapter 3 Affective organizational commitment
In this chapter the meaning of affective commitment will first be explained. Secondly, the
relationship between perceived organizational support and affective commitment will be
discussed. Finally, the relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior will
be discussed.
3.1 Affective organizational commitment
Organizational commitment is a work-related attitude that is “defined in terms of the strength
of an individual's identification with and involvement in a particular organization” (Porter,
Steers & Mowday, 1974). Allen & Meyer (1990) developed the Three-Component Model of
organizational commitment. In this model three components of organizational commitment
are distinguished: affective, continuance and normative commitment. Affective commitment
is emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization. It is also
defined by Buchanan (1974:533) as: “partisan, affective attachment to the goals and values,
and to the organization for its own sake, apart from its purely instrumental worth”
Continuance commitment denotes the perceived costs associated with leaving the
organization. Normative commitment reflects a perceived obligation to remain in the
organization. Affective commitment is generally regarded as having the strongest positive
relationship with outcomes of commitment for the organization, as turnover intention and
employee well-being (Meyer et al., 2002).
3.2 Perceived organizational support and affective commitment
Lots of studies have found a strong positive relationship between perceived organizational
support and affective organizational commitment (Settoon, Bennet & Liden, 1996;
Eisenberger et al., 1986; Armeli et al, 1998). This is not surprising, since perceived
organizational support is based on the norm of reciprocity. Because employees feel the
organization is committed to them, they will feel an obligation to commit to the organization
(Eisenberger, Armeli, Rexwinkel, Lynch & Rhoades, 2001). This commitment to the
organization is affective in nature, as Eisenberger et al. (1986:501) put forward: “To the
extent that the perceived support also met needs for praise and approval, the employee would
16
incorporate organizational membership into self-identity and thereby develop a positive
emotional bond (affective attachment) to the organization.” Affective commitment is
strengthened by the tendency of employee’s to assign humanlike characteristics to the
organization (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002). By fulfilling the socioemotional needs of the
employee, the personified organization is able to increase affective commitment. Meyer et al.
(2002) reviewed the literature on affective commitment and found that of the work experience
variables perceived organizational support has the strongest positive relationship with
affective commitment. Because of the findings mentioned before a positive relationship
between perceived organizational support and affective commitment is suggested.
Hypothesis 1: Perceived organizational support is positively related to affective
organizational commitment.
3.3 Affective organizational commitment and proactive behavior
Recently, research has emerged in which the relationship between affective commitment and
proactive behavior is investigated. Researchers are not unanimous in the value that they
attribute to affective commitment. Some acclaim a quite large and unique portion of the
variance in proactive behavior can be explained by affective commitment (Den Hartog &
Belschak, 2007), while others propose affective commitment will rather lead to generalized
compliance than to proactive behavior (Parker et al., 2006).
The most important research to affective commitment has been done by Den Hartog and
Belschak (2007), who investigated the influence of commitment and affect on personal
initiative. They suggest affective commitment might be a mediating variable of personal
initiative. One argument that they put forward is that various antecedents of proactive
behavior, like job autonomy and job complexity, are also antecedents of affective
commitment. That is, it is probable that the relationship between these antecedents and
proative behavior is mediated by affective commitment. Furthermore, employees who are
affectively committed feel responsible to convert this commitment into specific targets and
goals. Personal initiative is a means to fulfill these targets and return goodness. The research
of Den Hartog and Belschak (2007) turned out that there is a positive relationship between
affective commitment and personal initiative.
17
These suggestions and findings are for a large part supported by studies from the field of
general work affect. Seo, Feldmann Barrett and Bartunek (2004) argue that positive affect is
especially useful in situations when proactive coping, creativity and flexibility is required. On
the other hand, positive affect may sometimes lead to overconfidence, illusive optimism, and
persistence in a specific way of acting. In a research of the effect of recovery on day-to-day
work engagement and proactive behavior Sonnentag (2003) found a significant relationship
between work engagement and proactive behavior. Work engagement is defined as a
“persistent, positive, affective motivational state of fulfillment” (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter,
2001: 417) and is very related to affective commitment (Sonnentag, 2003). Work engagement
and affective commitment are likely to affect proactive behavior, because acting proactive
requires additional effort.
Those who ascribe a smaller influence to affective commitment, claim affective commitment
is an important motivational state for different forms of work behavior, but not especially for
proactive behavior (Parker et al., 2006; Griffin, Neal and Parker, 2007). According to Parker
(2000) putting in extra effort as a result of affective commitment can be done in either a
proactive or a passive way. Positive affects do not necessary lead to proactive behavior. A lot
of times negative affects, like dissatisfaction, are incentives for acting proactively (Frese &
Fay, 2001). Therefore Parker et al. (2006) include affective commitment as an additional
mediating variable predicting generalized compliance and not proactive behavior. Griffin et
al. (2007) included in their research also both proactive and passive outcomes: proactivity and
proficiency. Proactivity involves self-starting goals and initiative, different from core tasks
and more passive behavior. Proficiency involves tasks that can be planned in advance, like
core tasks. They showed affective commitment is positively related to proactive behavior.
However, their research turned out that affective commitment has a greater influence on
proficiency.
Although these findings of Parker et al. (2006) and Griffin et al. (2007) contribute to a better
understanding of the relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior, they
don’t alter the fact that there is a positive relationship between them. Even though it may be
true that affective commitment has a positive relationship with different organizational
behaviors, and not only proactive behavior, Den Hartog and Belschak (2007) proved that it is
unlikely that employees who are not affectively committed will show proactive behavior.
18
Therefore a positive relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior is
suggested.
Hypothesis 2: Affective commitment is positively related to proactive behavior.
19
Chapter 4 Personality
In this fourth chapter the moderating influence of personality on the relationship between
affective organizational commitment and proactive behavior will be considered. The concept
of proactive personality will first be explained. Afterwards will be discussed why proactive
personality moderates the relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior.
4.1 Proactive personality
In the field of psychology, all behaviors are regarded as caused by both personal and
situational factors (Bateman & Crant, 1993). Nevetheless, early research of proactive
behavior has largely focused on researching the relationship between personality and
proactive behavior. Bateman & Crant (1993) studied proactive behavior as being only a
personal disposition – the relative stable tendency to behave proactively. The reason that they
made this focus is likely to be caused by their opinion that literature on organizational
behavior has focused too much on situational antecedents, and too short on personal
dispositions. Proactive concepts supposes against this that people are not only a result of their
environment, but are able to change their current organizational circumstances (Frese et al.,
2007; Bateman & Crant, 1993). Current research supposes a more dynamic and reciprocal
relationship between work characteristics and personality (Frese et al., 2007). Employees are
not determined by work characteristics and employees do not determine work characteristics,
but they are mutually influencing each other.
So, proactive personality was first researched by Bateman & Crant (1993), who defined a
proactive person as: “one who is relatively unconstrained by situational forces, and who
effects environmental change” (Bateman & Crant; 1993:105). People who have these
characteristics identify opportunities, show initiative, take action and persevere until change is
realized. People who do not have these characteristics behave opposite: counteractive,
adaptive and passive (Crant, 2000). Of course, these descriptions of proactive and passive
personalities are the two extremes of the range. There is a great variety concerning the degree
of proactiveness between these two extreme examples of proactive and passive personalities.
20
The personality scale of personal initiative, as developed by Frese and Fay (2001), is very
similar to the proactive personality scale developed by Bateman and Crant (1993). A
correlation of 0.96 makes it assumable that the variables are largely the same. Bateman and
Crant (1993) found personal characteristics as conscientiousness, extraversion, need for
achievement and need for dominance significantly related to proactive behavior. Frese and
Fay (2001) suggest that need for achievement, action control, need for cognition, proactive
personality and psychological conservatism are personality characteristics causing personal
initiative.
4.2 Proactive personality as a moderator
In literature there has been discussion about which influence proactive personality has on
proactive behavior. Lots of studies have regarded individual differences between employees,
as being more or less proactive, as antecedents of proactive behavior (Crant, 2000; Frese &
Fay, 2001; Parker et al., 2006). Others suggest that proactive personality is moderating the
relationship between work characteristics and proactive behavior (Fuller et al., 2006; Grant &
Ashford, 2008). They suggest situational circumstances create opportunities for proactive
cognition and behavior instead of constraining it. However, employees don’t respond in the
same way to given opportunities, because one employee is more proactive than the other
(Fuller et al. 2006). Work characteristics may be designed in such a way that proactive
behavior is encouraged, which will make it easier for employees who are high on proactive
personality to realize change. Nevertheless, the opposite holds too. Even though work
characteristics are perfect for acting proactive, passive individuals will not (or to a lower
extent) show initiative because they stick to the status-quo (Fuller et al., 2006).
The same holds for the relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior. As
argued in the previous chapter, when employees are affectively committed there is an
‘opportunity’ for proactive behvior. The extent to which employees will be proactive in the
end however, depends on the extent to which employees have (proactive) personality
characteristics as conscientiousness and extraversion. It is unlikely that employees who are
considerable affectively committed, but are passive, will show proactive behavior (Den
Hartog & Belschak, 2007). Therefore, affective commitment of proactive personalities is
more valuable than affective commitment of passive personalities, because passive
personalities will not show proactive behavior either.
21
The opinion that proactive personality moderates the relationship between situational
variables and proactive behavior is consistent with suggestions of Parker, Wall and Cordery
(2001), who discuss the more dynamic role of individual factors (as personality). In this
dynamic perspective employees shape their own work environment to fit with their
personalities, and therefore personality should be considered as moderating the relationship
between work characteristics and outcomes (Parker et al., 2001).
After all, proactive personality is supposed to have a positive moderating influence on the
relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior. Although there may be
some discussion about whether proactive personality has a moderating relationship or a direct
relationship with proactive behavior, a moderating relationship is consistent with recent
literature and fits best when considered from the relationship between affective commitment
and proactive behavior.
Hypotheses 3: The relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior will be
positively moderated by proactive personality.
4.3 Proactive personality characteristics
In their model of proactive behavior, called ‘the dynamics of proactive behavior’, Grant and
Ashford (2008) also include personal traits as moderators between situational antecedents and
proactive behavior. In contrast to other literature however, they don’t stick to the scale of
proactive personality as devoloped by Bateman and Crant (1993), but suggest that specific
personality traits will moderate specific relationships between situational antecedents and
proactive behavior. For example, Grant and Ashford (2008) concluded that consciousness and
self-monitoring are moderating personality characteristics in situations that require
accountability of employees. In situations of ambiguity personal traits as neuroticism and
openness to experience moderate the outcome – proactive behavior. Finally, in situations of
high autonomy on the work floor, the way employees evaluate themselves and the degree to
which employees prefer ideal outcomes above acceptable outcomes are fitting characteristic is
moderating the relationship between the work characteristic (autonomy) and outcome
(proactive behavior).
22
Although these distinctions between certain personality characteristics have not been tested
yet and it is vague which characteristics moderate certain situations, it is probable that the
relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior will be more significant
moderated by some specific personality traits instead of the broader construct of proactive
personality. The approach of Grant and Ashford (2008) is therefore a step in the right
direction. Although it goes beyond the intention of this thesis to broadly research the
moderating influence of personality on the relationship between affective commitment and
proactive behavior, some general remarks about some specific personality characteristics will
be made.
As mentioned in chapter three, being affectively committed does not mean that one will return
this commitment in a proactive way. So, in a situation in which employees are affectively
committed it are especially the employees which go for the optimal outcomes instead of the
acceptable outcomes (i.e. are maximizers instead of satisficers), which behave proactive.
(Grant & Ashford, 2008). Other personal traits as conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to
experience, need for achievement, action control, self-monitoring may to a greater or lesser
degree moderate the relationship between affective commitment and proactive behavior
(Bateman & Crant, 1993). A characteristic as neuroticism will not be helpful in a situation in
which employees are affective committed, but it will be useful in more ambiguous situations
(Grant & Ashford, 2008). Up to know however, the moderating influence of personality
characteristics on proactive behavior, being under the assumption that employees are
affectively committed, has never been investigated yet (Den Hertog & Belschak, 2007).
23
Chapter 5 Conclusion and discussion
In this final chapter the main question of this thesis will be answered and conclusions will be
drawn based on the research questions discussed in the last three chapters. Besides that, some
points of discussion which have risen due to this study will be described and both academic
and managerial recommendations will be given.
5.1 Conclusions
The aim of this thesis was to explain the relationship between perceived organizational
support and proactive behavior. The construct affective commitment was expected to mediate
the relationship between perceived organizational support and proactive behavior, due to
reciprocity between employee and organization. From literature review it turned out that this
reciprocal relationship strongly exists between perceived organizational support and affective
commitment, even so strong Meyer et al. (2002) suggest that of all work experience variables
perceived organizational support has the greatest positive impact on affective commitment.
Also between affective commitment and proactive behavior a positive relationship exist,
although this relationship isn’t as strong as the relationship between perceived organizational
support and affective commitment. Employees who perceive their organization supports them
well, will develop an affective tie with the organization and intend to return the goodness
given to them with acting well in relation to the organization.
One of the means to show this intrinsic motivation is proactive behavior, but it isn’t
necessarily a response to affective commitment. The reason of this is that the relationship
between affective commitment and proactive behavior is moderated by the personality of the
employee. Employees who are passive are unlikely to turn the motivation they have towards
the organization into proactive behavior, because they are predisposed to the status quo and
they don’t feel enthusiastic to engage in change-oriented behavior. In comparison, employees
with proactive personality characteristics are likely to act proactively. However, they are even
more likely to engage in proactive behavior when they are affectively committed to the
organization.
24
It remains largely unclear how the direct relationship between perceived organizational
support and proactive behavior looks like. Organizational support might stimulate proactive
behavior. If organizations (represented by their managers) show their believe in their
employees, this will motivate employees to persevere. However, organizational support can
also discourage proactive behavior when it is doesn’t allow employees to go on their own
way. Because the relationship between different forms of organizational support and proactive
behavior haven’t been researched yet, we can only agree with Parker et al. (2006) that there is
a lack of understanding of what is the right organizational support to enhance proactive
behavior.
Figure two contains a graphical reproduction of the conceptual framework including the
hypotheses developed in the previous chapters. It gives a summary of the conclusions
described above.
Situational Psychological Dispositional Behavioral
antecedent mechanism moderator outcome
Fig. 2: Conceptual framework with hypotheses
5.2 Discussion
By reviewing the literature, this thesis has provided a better understanding of the relationship
between organizational support proactive behavior. By focussing on a direct relationship and
an indirect relationship which is mediated by affective commitment it has become clear how
organizational support influences proactive behavior, and via which variables. It is however
debatable how this model should be fitted in a more extensive framework, in which more
various antecedents of proactive behavior are included. If variables about work structure and
work culture would be added, the mediating variable affective commitment might also have a
++
?
+ _
++
Proactive behavior Perceived
organizational
support
Affective
organizational
commitment Proactive
personality
25
moderating influence on the relationship between work structures and proactive behavior. For
example, it is showed that in ambiguous and unclear situations employees are stimulated to be
proactive (Grant & Ashford, 2008). It could however be argued that in these ambiguous
situations only employees who are at least a little commited to the organization will feel the
incentives to give a proactive respons. Therefore, it is likely that in a more extensive model
the variable affective commitment will have more different relationships with other variables
than only the mediating relationship proposed in this thesis.
Another point of dicussion remains the role of proactive personality. In chapter four is
proposed proactive personality moderates the relationship between affective commitment and
proactive behavior, but a direct relationship between proactive personality and proactive
behavior isn’t also unthinkable. The choice for a direct relationship is plausible, if proactive
personality is considered as an entity (Crant, 2000; Parker et al., 2006). This is consistent with
the definition of proactive personality, i.e.“one who is relatively unconstrained by situational
forces, and who effects environmental change” (Bateman & Crant; 1993:105). However, this
way of thinking passes the fact that personality is also divisible in different personality
characteristics. If proactive personality is considered as a list of personality characteristics a
moderating relationship is more assumable, because these characteristics have influence on
whether employees who are affectively committed will show proactive behavior or not (Grant
& Ashford, 2008; Fuller et al., 2006).
Finally, in relation to proactive behavior, the construct perceived organizational support has
been limited to what better could be called ‘perceived supportive supervision’. This doesn’t
reduce the completeness of this research however. The relationship between perceived
organizational support and proactive behavior hasn’t not been investigated a lot yet. Existing
literature about proactive behavior only pays attention to the supportive supervision part of
organizational support. The other two antecedents of perceived organizational support,
fairness and organizational rewards and job conditions, are ignored. This isn’t surprising
anyway, because it is likely that supportive supervision will have more impact on proactive
behavior than fairness and organizational rewards and job conditions. These two variables
may have a general influence on the motivation and commitment of the employee, but do not
have a direct relation with proactivity. In the relationship with affective commitment,
perceived organizational support is approached as broad as possible. This has been done
26
particularly because a lot is known about the relationship between perceived organizational
support and affective commitment.
5.3 Recommendations
Future research of the relationship between organizational support and proactive behavior
should focus on the question what type of organizational support fits best to stimulate
proactive behavior. Is it only a matter of finding the balance between the negative impact of
interfering and the positive impact of encouraging or are more aspects of organizational
support relevant? Future research could also pay more attention to the role of personality in
different situations. Until now literature has largely ignored the fact that in different situations
different personality characteristics might influence the proactivity of the employee. To a
great extent literature has only included the construct proactive personality to their models.
More extensive models should consider this two recommendations about organizational
support and personality, because including a already existing construct for these variables
would be an underestimation of the influence of organizational support and personality.
For managers, the most important practical question based on this thesis will be to which
extent personality and organizational support relate to proactive behavior. In order to
stimulate proactivity managers have to know if proactivity must be achieved by taking on
employees with a proactive personality or if organizational support can also contribute
considerable to proactive behavior. Firstly, at recruitment and selection employees can be
judged on their proactivity. Especially in more dynamic and complex work environments
proactivity will be, assigned or unassigned, be an important condition. Therefore,
organizations for recruitment and selection can be asked to pay a lot of attention to proactivity
to their assessments. Secondly, organizations can design their work structure and form their
work culture so proactive behavior is promoted. Managers should realize that they, as
representatives of the organization, to a great extent determine how employees perceive the
organization supports them and so how commited the employees will be to the organization.
Managers should therefore care about their employees, but should also realize that supporting
an employee ‘too much’ will realize in descending proactivity. With this ‘organizational
support paradox’ in mind, organizations and managers should find the appropriate way for
each individual to engage in proactive behavior.
27
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