Although proactivity is thought to have positive effects in the workplace, researchers still need to learn more about the contingent aspects of these effects. Proactivity, a…
Abstract
Purpose
Although proactivity is thought to have positive effects in the workplace, researchers still need to learn more about the contingent aspects of these effects. Proactivity, a challenging form of promotive behavior that is generally desired by organizations, can lead to unexpected consequences such as role overload, job strain, and conflict with coworkers, which may undermine future proactivity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of proactive behavior on job satisfaction, affective commitment, and conflict with coworkers, in the context of collaborative work. This study investigates the extent to which collaborative behavior, an affiliative form of promotive behavior, can mitigate the impact of proactive behavior on conflict and promote positive individual psychosocial outcomes, thus making proactive behavior more sustainable in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey methodology, data were collected from a sample of 170 teachers engaged in collaborative work.
Findings
Results show that both proactivity and collaborative behavior positively impact affective outcomes, but have opposite effects on conflict. Collaborative behavior complements proactive behavior in that it enhances the effects of proactivity on satisfaction and reduces its impact on conflict.
Research limitations/implications
Creating the appropriate organizational conditions to support employee proactivity is critical for enhancing proactive employees’ work experience and success, effectively motivating and retaining them, and promoting future proactivity. The results indicate that collaboration creates a context where the positive effects of proactivity are enhanced and its negative effects are weakened.
Originality/value
This research is one of the first studies to examine the interactive effects of proactivity and collaboration. The study shows that collaborative behavior can play an important role in enhancing the benefits of proactivity. Thus, the research advances a contingency perspective of proactivity and contributes to a better understanding of its effects.
Details
Keywords
Brenda E. Ghitulescu, Shalini Khazanchi, Zhi Tang and Yang Yu
Mentoring relationships have been proposed as a potential intervention to alleviate gender disparities in scholarly output. Yet, previous research has not provided a systematic…
Abstract
Purpose
Mentoring relationships have been proposed as a potential intervention to alleviate gender disparities in scholarly output. Yet, previous research has not provided a systematic understanding of the relationship between mentoring and scholarly output. The authors propose that individuals with a proactive personality are especially suited to leverage mentoring relationships to enhance scholarly outcomes. Structural features of mentoring relationships – gender composition, mentor supervisory status, and mentoring relationship length – provide cues that encourage the expression of proactive personality and result in higher scholarly impact.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected via surveys from faculty members in a US university and were matched with objective scholarly impact data. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used for hypothesis testing.
Findings
The impact of proactive personality on scholarly impact was more positive for women protégés with women mentors than for all other mentor-protégé pairings. Results also showed support for two hypothesized three-way interactions with mentor status and mentoring relationship length.
Originality/value
This research provides insights into the contexts where mentorship makes the most difference in protégés' scholarly achievement. Gender composition of mentoring dyads and mentor status are important boundary conditions that impact the effect of proactive personality on scholarly output.