Linking Proactive Personality and Proactive Behavior: The Mediating Effect of Regulatory Focus

Abstract

This study investigates the linkage between proactive personality and proactive behavior using regulatory focus theory (RFT). Using a sample of 188 supervisor/subordinate dyads, I examine the different effects of promotion and prevention foci on employee behavior. Results indicate that work regulatory focus (WRF) mediates the relationships between proactive personality and both task performance and proactive behavior (taking charge and problem prevention). Findings indicate that RFT is useful in predicting different types of employee behavior. This study extends the domain of proactivity in the workplace by demonstrating that RFT provides incremental understanding of the motivational processes that underlie proactive behavior.