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Proactivity is a type of goal-directed work behavior in which individuals actively take charge of situations to bring about future change in themselves or their organization. In this chapter, we draw on goal-regulation research to review conceptual and empirical evidence that elucidates some of the complex links of affective experience and employee proactivity. We identify the different ways in which affective experience influences different stages of proactivity, including employees’ efforts in setting a proactive goal (envisioning), preparing to implement their proactive goal (planning), implementing their proactive goal (enacting), and engaging in learning from their proactive goal process (reflecting). Overall, our review suggests an important, positive role of high-activated positive trait affectivity and moods in motivating proactivity across multiple goal stages, as compared to low-activated positive affectivity and moods. The role of negative affect is mixed, and likely depends on both its valence and the stage of proactivity that is being considered. We identify a lack of research on the role of discrete emotions for employee proactivity. We discuss future avenues for research, particularly the roles of intra- and inter-personal emotion regulation for proactivity and of affective embeddedness of proactive processes in the social environment of organizations.

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between team-level inclusive leadership perceptions, team thriving, and team proactivity as well as the moderating effect of team power distance on these relationships.

A two-wave survey study of 365 manufacturing employees comprising 85 teams in an organization in Eastern China was used to test the hypotheses.

The findings indicate that inclusive leadership stimulates collective thriving, which then promotes team proactivity. In addition, team power distance negatively moderates the relationship between inclusive leadership and collective thriving, as well as the indirect effect of inclusive leadership on team proactivity via collective thriving.

This study is one of the first to investigate the effects of inclusive leadership at the team level, and answers recent calls to investigate the mechanisms linking leadership-related constructs to team-level proactivity. The authors also identify an important boundary condition to the effects of inclusive leadership in team power distance.

In this chapter, we empirically examine leaders’ proactivity by taking the goal-process view of proactivity and from a multiple-rating source perspective. We proposed five behavioral indicators (envisioning and following goals, planning, solving problems, creating ideas, and championing change) to evaluate the key stages in the process of achieving proactive goals. We collected 360-degree ratings from leaders themselves, their supervisors, colleagues, and subordinates on these key indicators. The specific aim of this study is to (1) assess factorial validity of these five proactivity-related constructs, and (2) gauge whether different rater groups have consistent or different views in evaluating target leaders’ proactivity. Data were collected from a total of 535 part-time EMBA students, and data were analyzed by a Correlated Trait-Uncorrelated Method (CTUM) model. Results showed that (1) the five proactivity-related indicators were highly intercorrelated and can be influenced by a higher-order proactivity factor, and (2) ratings on the same construct but from different raters consistently converged on the same factor, revealing that different raters have a consistent perception in evaluating leaders’ multiple dimensions of proactivity.

This chapter discusses proactive leadership by elaborating the meaning of leaders' proactivity, the required competencies of proactive leadership, and the potentially different evaluations of leaders' proactivity by different observers, including leaders themselves, their supervisors, peers, and subordinates. Specifically, based on the goal generation – goal striving process view of proactivity, we define leaders' proactivity as “generating and enacting self-initiated and future-focused leading actions that are persistently sustained to bring changes toward the environment.” In line with the process view, we also propose the competency requirement of proactive leadership, by benchmarking against a scientifically developed, comprehensive competency dictionary, the Universal Competency Framework (UCF). Finally, we discuss the possibility that leaders' proactivity can be observed and evaluated differently by raters at different positions. Overall, this chapter provides a conceptual analysis of proactive leadership and points to potential research directions subject to empirical investigation.

This study aims to explore the association between empowering leadership and workplace proactivity.

The data have been collected through questionnaires from both the medical and non-medical staff members working in four National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare (NABH)–accredited private hospitals in India. Confirmatory factor analysis has employed test reliability and validity and PROCESS MACRO (model 6) to test the proposed serial mediation model.

The results support the proposed hypotheses of the serial mediation model. Additionally, the authors have also found that psychological safety is a strong mediating variable than knowledge sharing between empowering leadership and workplace proactivity.

The findings should be interpreted by considering the cross-sectional research design and self-reported measures.

An organization can use the findings to promote employee proactivity at the workplace.

The study makes an attempt to explore the underdeveloped relationship between empowering leadership and workplace proactivity in the context of Indian NABH-accredited hospitals based on the self-determination theory.

This research paper aims to develop and test a conceptual model which explains whether and how empowering leadership, through employee goal orientation and job conditions, influences employee proactivity. The authors suggest two simultaneous pathways from empowering leadership to employee proactivity based on path-goal theory and social exchange theory.

Data were collected from 253 frontline employees working in Indian NABH accredited hospitals. Regression analysis was performed to analyze the data with the help of SPSS 24. Further, SPSS process macro was used to test the parallel mediation effects with the help of bootstrapping procedures.

The important findings of this study are as follows: (1) empowering leadership has direct influence on employee proactivity; (2) empowering leadership, employees' goal orientation and job conditions are important antecedents of employee proactivity; (3) goal orientation and job conditions simultaneously partially mediate the relationship between empowering leadership and employee proactivity. In particular, employees' goal orientation is a more important mediating variable than job conditions in the studied relationship.

Organizations may reap the benefits of employee's proactive work behavior by hiring, training, and developing empowering leaders.

The study adds to the existing literature by building theory in the area of employee proactivity. In doing so, this study explains the less understood relationship between empowering leadership and employee proactivity.

Centered on upper echelons theory, this study aims to examine the interplay of US craft brewery owners’ green consumption values, environmental attitudes and environmental proactivity of their craft breweries. In addition, the moderating role of business challenges on the effect of environmental attitudes on environmental proactivity is assessed.

An online questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of US craft brewers through the Brewers Association Brew Forum Blog. A total of 237 valid responses were received. Structural equation modeling was used for testing hypothetical relationships among key constructs in the proposed research model: environmental values, environmental involvement, environmental sustainability practices and business challenges.

The results showed that green consumption values positively and significantly influenced environmental attitudes and environmental proactivity. Findings also confirmed the significant positive influence of environmental attitude on environmental proactivity. Furthermore, business challenges moderated the relationship between owners’ environmental attitudes and environmental proactivity of the breweries such that the higher the extent of business challenges weaker is the relationship between environmental attitudes and environmental proactivity.

It is accepted that upper management’s individual beliefs surrounding environmentalism are a contributing factor to the environmental management policy of their company. However, there is very little empirical evidence to demonstrate the impact that these values have in a tangible sense. To satisfy this deficit in the research, the study aims to analyze the relationship between the brewery owners’ environmental outlook and the sustainability practices of their brewery, regarding the former as a key psychological characteristic, which influences and motivates the direction of the latter.

The purpose of this study is to shed more light on the role of employee proactivity (self‐starting, action‐orientated behaviours aimed at greater organisational effectiveness) in relation to aging and career development. It aims to do this in two ways. First, by investigating how age and HR practices for development initiated by the organisation influence proactivity. Here, proactivity it seeks to study as a career‐relevant outcome. Second, by examining how age, proactivity and HR practices for development influence employee experiences of career opportunities. Here, it aims to use proactivity as career‐relevant predictor.

A total of 619 employees from 47 departments completed a questionnaire, including two scales on proactivity (on‐the‐job and developmental proactivity) as well as a scale on career opportunities. HR and line managers in these departments were interviewed about HR practices directed at career development of the employees. The data combine information from two levels (employee, department) as well as three different sources (employee, line manager, HR manager), and are analysed using multi‐level analysis.

First, the paper presents the results on proactivity as an outcome: age is positively related to proactivity on‐the‐job but has no association with proactivity towards development. HR practices targeted at career development are positively associated with both types of proactivity. Second, the results on proactivity as a predictor show that career opportunities have a negative association with age, a positive association with proactivity, and a positive association with career development‐orientated HR practices. An additional negative effect on career opportunities is found for the cross‐level interaction between HR practices and age.

This study is original as it combines individual, psychological, and HR perspectives in researching age‐related career issues. It contributes to the literature by showing that age has no negative, but rather a positive impact on proactivity. Proactivity furthermore is sensitive to HR practices for development, implying that organisations can influence the proactivity of their employees. For older employees the study implies that, although organisations tend to offer them fewer HR practices for development, they can offset this disadvantage to some extent by increased proactivity, and thus retain career opportunities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine if corporate entrepreneurship in terms of innovation and proactivity that has been developed in the international joint ventures (IJVs) in the Chinese cultures.

A structured questionnaire with a systematic sampling approach was adopted and sent to 800 firms (400 from the manufacturing industry and 400 from the servicing industry) in Beijing. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses and stepwise multiple regression were used.

Corporate entrepreneurship exists in the IJVs, yet the Western‐Chinese JVs are more innovative and proactive. It is found that organisational variables such as flexibility, operational delegation, control system and the implementation of differentiation or growth strategy are significantly related to both innovation and proactivity. However, organisational variables on strategic delegation and risk‐taking culture are significantly related to proactivity only. On the other hand, the implementation of cost leadership is found to be unrelated to either innovation or proactivity.

Since the sample was drawn from IJVs in Beijing, comparative studies could be done on IJVs across different cities in China.

The significant results provide insights for studying the cultural context of China's IJVs.

Asian‐Chinese JVs have to improve corporate entrepreneurship posture in their management. This will attract professionals with international experience from different parts of the world to work in China's IJVs.

The entrepreneurial posture of an IJV can be measured in terms of its ability on innovation and proactivity. It provides benefits to both foreign and local partners in terms of local knowledge, access to market, and cost consideration as well as technological and skills transfers.

The purpose of this paper is to verify if and how national culture affects firms’ environmental proactivity, by using a specific index: the Carbon Disclosure Score (CDS).

The study, an analysis of two linear regression models, examines how cultural values, measured by the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research “should be” scores, affect companies’ environmental proactivity measured by CDS. Data about CDS derive from the Carbon Disclosure Project, which monitors Global 500 companies each year.

The analysis reveals that the values of in-group collectivism, performance orientation, assertiveness and uncertainty avoidance negatively affect firms’ environmental proactivity, while future orientation and gender egalitarianism have a positive impact.

In spite of the limitations inherent in the indicator and the limited sample, the paper has some interesting implications. On a theoretical level, this study extends prior research in the field of organizations and natural environment, by examining the specific role exerted by national cultural dimensions on firms’ environmental proactivity.

From a practical standpoint, the study suggests that corporations and policy regulators should be sensitive toward national idiosyncrasies and formulate the environmental strategies according to the cultural values and contextual environment of the relevant region. Creating policies based on cultural values and adapting policies to a country’s culture can improve the effectiveness of environmental policies and raise individual and corporation awareness on the topic.

Most contributions consider environmental strategy at the national level. This study, instead, focusses on the effects of national culture on the environmental proactivity of firms.