High Commitment Work System and Employee Proactive Behavior: The Mediating Roles of Self-Efficiency and Career Development Prospect

Abstract

At present, proactive behavior has become a major concern in the field of organizational behavior. Drawing from the proactive motivation theory, this article proposes the influence of a high commitment work system (HCWS) on employees’ proactive behavior and constructs the mediation model, including self-efficacy and career development prospect. Moreover, conformity values as a micro context factor are used to illustrate the process that affects employees’ proactive behavior. Analyzing the matched data from 117 enterprises and 1,055 employees, this article finds that HCWS are positively related to employees’ proactive behavior. This article also finds that self-efficacy and career development prospect are mediated by the relationship between HCWS and employees’ proactive behavior. Conformity value moderates the positive relationship between self-efficacy and employees’ proactive behavior, but it does not moderate the positive relationship between career development prospect and employees’ proactive behavior. This study sheds light on whether and how line managers’ leadership influences the human resource management (HRM) process.