Enhancing a sense of competence at work by engaging in proactive behavior: the role of proactive personality

Wu, Chia-Huei, Deng, Hong and Li, Yuhui (2017) Enhancing a sense of competence at work by engaging in proactive behavior: the role of proactive personality. Journal of Happiness Studies. ISSN 1389-4978

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Abstract

To understand how individuals’ senses of competence are cultivated, scholars have primarily focused on situational factors such as job autonomy and supervisor support. Against this backdrop, we propose that individuals can work as active agents and enhance their sense of competence by initiating actions that aim to master the environment. We adopt the behavioral concordance model and propose that people higher in proactive personality are more likely to engage in proactive behavior that elevates their senses of competence over time. We further propose that such behavioral concordance contributes to boosting a sense of competence is more prominent among those with higher proactive personality. Our predictions are supported by data from 172 employees and their direct supervisors in China, after controlling for the effect of job autonomy and supervisor support for autonomy. Specifically, only those higher in proactive personality engaged in more proactive behavior and increased their sense of competence over time. This study highlights both a self-initiated and a behavioral perspective on understanding the development of a sense of competence.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/wellbeing+...
Additional Information:	© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Divisions:	Management
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date Deposited:	13 Dec 2016 11:22
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 01:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/68603

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