Abstract
Proactive behavior entails self-starting actions oriented toward change in the future. Other people’s perceptions of an employee’s proactive behavior are likely shaped by personal characteristics of the employee and related expectations. We hypothesized that the intersectionality of age, gender, and two motives (i.e., achievement and benevolence) influences others’ evaluations of proactive behavior. Consistent with the social role theory and the notion of a lack of fit, results of a first experimental vignette methodology study with an employee sample (N = 101; 1818 ratings) showed that proactive behavior was rated as more effective for older men compared to younger men motivated by achievement, whereas proactive behavior was rated as more effective for younger men compared to older men motivated by benevolence. Younger women compared to older women received higher effectiveness ratings for proactive behavior independent of their motive. In a second experimental vignette methodology study with a sample of participants in supervisory roles (N = 164; 1205 ratings), we partially replicated the results of the first study: proactive behavior was rated as more effective for older men compared to younger men motivated by achievement, and proactive behavior was rated as more effective for younger women compared to older women motivated by achievement. In contrast, effectiveness ratings of proactive behavior of younger and older men as well as younger and older women motivated by benevolence did not differ. Overall, by investigating the intersectionality of age, gender, and motives, these findings advance research on influences of person characteristics on others’ evaluations of proactive behavior.
Highlights
In today’s work context, shaped by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, employees are increasingly expected to engage in proactive behavior, “a set of self-starting, action-oriented behaviors aimed at modifying the situation or oneself to achieve greater personal or organizational effectiveness” (Unsworth & Parker, 2003, p. 177)
We investigate the interactive effects of age, gender, and ascribed motives on evaluations of the effectiveness of proactive behavior based on the multiplicative approach to intersectionality
Ratings of the proactive behaviors suggest that participants successfully differentiated between the different levels of proactive behavior, as mean ratings align with the level of the presented item and are significantly different for the low and high conditions
Summary
In today’s work context, shaped by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, employees are increasingly expected to engage in proactive behavior, “a set of self-starting, action-oriented behaviors aimed at modifying the situation or oneself to achieve greater personal or organizational effectiveness” (Unsworth & Parker, 2003, p. 177). According to Cangiano and Parker (2016), proactive behavior may expose employees to both praise and criticism from others. One reason for such reactions may be coworkers and supervisors assigning. We investigate the interactive effects of age, gender, and ascribed motives on evaluations of the effectiveness of proactive behavior based on the multiplicative approach to intersectionality. We assume that the effect of a certain personal characteristic on others’ evaluations of the effectiveness of proactive behavior depends on the interplay of salient person characteristics (i.e., age, gender, and motives in this study). To learn about the relative impact of a certain person characteristic when assessing the interplay of
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