Taking Stock: Integrating and Differentiating Multiple Proactive Behaviors

Abstract

The authors aimed to clarify the similarities, differences, and interrelationships among multiple types of proactive behavior. Factor analyses of managers’ self-ratings (N = 622) showed concepts were distinct from each other but related via a higher-order structure. Three higher-order proactive behavior categories were identified—proactive work behavior, proactive strategic behavior, and proactive person-environment fit behavior—each corresponding to behaviors aimed at bringing about change in the internal organization (e.g., voice), the fit between the organization and its environment (e.g., issue selling), and the fit between the individual and the organization (e.g., feedback seeking), respectively. Further analyses on a subsample (n = 319) showed similarities and differences in the antecedents of these behaviors.