Leader Behaviors and Follower Proactivity

Abstract

As the work environments become increasingly dynamic and competitive, it is necessary for employees to perform more proactively in order to meet the challenging goals of organizations. Since the core elements of proactivity are self-initiated, change oriented, and future focused, a growing body of research found that proactive behaviors bring positive individual and organizational outcomes. Recognizing the importance of proactivity, the purpose of this study is to examine a comprehensive model of employees proactive behaviors in organizations. First, the study investigates how leaders empowering or directive behavior may impact followers proactive behaviors. Second, this study examines the mediating mechanisms of followers regulatory focus motivations between leaders empowering or directive behavior and followers proactive behaviors. Third, understanding the important situational conditions, this study selects situational contexts that may increase or decrease risks in engaging proactive behaviors. Organizational politics is examined as a critical boundary factor

while, psychological safety is investigated as an enhancing factor in the relationship between regulatory focus motivation and proactive behaviors. Lastly, this study applies a higher-order structure concept of proactive behaviors. Among various proactive concepts, this study takes a behavior approach and examines a high-order concept of proactive behaviors rather than a single action which were categorized as proactive work behavior. Hypotheses for this dissertation were tested using data from 215 employee-supervisor dyads. Data were collected primarily through surveys distributed to employees and their direct supervisors located in South Korea. The results supported that empowering behavior shows a significant positive result on proactive behaviors after controlling for directive behavior. Similarly, directive behavior demonstrates a significant negative impact on proactive behaviors after controlling for empowering behavior. Also, the result demonstrated the positive relationship between empowering behavior and promotion focus motivation. Contrary to the prediction, the results did not support the mediating effects of regulatory focus motivations in the relationship between leader behaviors and proactive behaviors. Also the moderating effects of organizational politics and psychological safety in the relationship between regulatory focus motivations and proactive behaviors were not significant. The current findings have some important contributions to the existing literatures. First, the study contributes to proactivity literature by examining antecedents of proactive behaviors in a comprehensive way. Second, this study understands the importance of leader behaviors on followers proactive behaviors. Taking an integrative approach, this study adds insights to leadership literature by producing results on how two types of leader behaviors may affect employees proactive behaviors in one framework. Lastly, the study has adopted regulatory focus theory to deepen the understanding why individuals may perform challenging natures of proactive behaviors. The non-significant results of mediating effect have implied that regulatory focus may not be a linking mechanism between two types of leader behaviors and proactive behaviors. Despite its limitations of a cross-sectional design and limited variables, this study enriches the understanding of proactive behaviors by taking a comprehensive approach, examining two different types of leader behaviors, motivational factors, and situational factors in one framework. This study has revealed that it is not simply leader behavior but empowering behavior, per se, that promotes proactive behaviors in followers

whereas, directive behavior may discourage such challenging behaviors.