Investigating the Uniqueness and Usefulness of Proactive Personality in Organizational Research: A Meta-Analytic Review

Abstract

Using meta-analysis (283 effect sizes from 122 studies), we extend prior qualitative and quantitative reviews of research on proactive personality in a number of meaningful ways. First, we examine the discriminant and incremental validity of proactive personality using meta-analytic regression analyses. Our results reveal that more than 50% of variance in proactive personality is unrelated to the Big Five personality traits collectively. Also, proactive personality accounts for unique variance in overall job performance, task performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors, even after controlling for the Big Five personality traits and general mental ability (for overall job performance and task performance). Moreover, we find no subgroup differences in proactive personality, highlighting its potential use in selection contexts. In conclusion, we discuss implications of our findings for research and practice. Using meta-analysis (283 effect sizes from 122 studies), we extend prior qualitative and quantitative reviews of research on proactive personality in a number of meaningful ways. First, we examine the discriminant and incremental validity of proactive personality using meta-analytic regression analyses. Our results reveal that more than 50% of variance in proactive personality is unrelated to the Big Five personality traits collectively. Also, proactive personality accounts for unique variance in overall job performance, task performance, and OCBs, even after controlling for the Big Five personality traits and general mental ability (for overall job performance and task performance). Moreover, we find no sub-group differences in proactive personality, highlighting its potential use in selection contexts. In conclusion, we discuss implications of our findings for research and practice. D R A F TThe Uniqueness and Usefulness of Proactive Personality 3Investigating the Uniqueness and Usefulness of Proactive Personality in Organizational Research: A Meta-Analytic Review Proactive work behaviors are associated with a number of meaningful individual and organizational outcomes. For example, Hall and Moss (1998) and Thompson (2005) argued that initiative taking and a self-starting approach to work have become increasingly important for individual job performance and career success. Parker (1998) and Parker, Williams, and Turner (2006) further suggested that a self-starting approach to work will ultimately result in innovation on the organizational level. Given the widespread use of decentralized organizational structures, performance of proactive work behaviors has become the source of competitive advantage for organizations (Crant, 1995;Organ, 1988). These developments led Bandura (2002) to conclude that transnational interdependencies and market forces have created a global demand for a self-starting approach to work.The increasing importance of a self-starting approach to work has been reflected in scholarly work on proactive work behaviors. Over the past twenty years, research has examined the n...

Predicting innovative performance through proactive personality: Examining its criterion validity and incremental validity over the five‐factor model

“…Focusing on the second major goal of this study, our findings suggest that proactive personality constitutes a valid predictor of innovative performance with incremental validity over and beyond the FFM, indicating that this compound trait represents a valid predictor, nonredundant with the big five, when predicting this criterion. These results are in line with previous findings supporting the assumption that this compound trait does represent a dispositional element that is not encompassed in the five‐factor model (Crant, ; Spitzmuller et al, ).…”

“…Prior theoretical and empirical work has ascribed a prominent role to this personality disposition for explaining several outcomes with great value for both individuals and organizations. Indeed, previous research has shown that this individual tendency to adopt a self‐starting approach to work and to exhibit proactive behavioral patterns positively impacts several important work outcomes, like career success, leadership, and overall performance (Crant, ; Spitzmuller et al, ). Our study contributes to extend these findings by indicating that this disposition is also relevant to enacting innovative behaviors at work.…”

“…Moreover, Thomas et al (2010) also provided meta-analytical evidence supporting the incremental validity of proactive personality over the big five for predicting overall job performance. These findings were complemented by a more recent meta-analysis conducted by Spitzmuller, Sin, Howe, and Fatimah (2015), which showed that proactive personality increments the prediction of overall job performance and the specific dimensions of task performance and citizenship performance criteria, beyond general mental ability and the big five.…”

“…First, it is argued that this disposition encompasses a conceptual and empirical element not entirely covered by the FFM (Crant & Bateman, 2000). Recent meta-analytical evidence supports this aspect, by showing that more than 50% of its variance is not accounted for by the big five (Spitzmuller et al, 2015). Secondly, since proactive personality refers to a compound personality trait, entailing a tendency to "show initiative, take action and persevere until meaningful change occurs" (Crant, 2000, p. 439), it might be especially relevant to enacting innovative behaviors, due to their implicit change-related nature.…”

Examining why employee proactive personality influences empowering leadership: The roles of cognition‐ and affect‐based trust

“…Moreover, Spitzmuller et al . () report that proactive personality explains incremental variance in these important outcomes after controlling for the effects of the Big Five personality traits.…”