Proactive personality and job performance: a social capital perspective

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Social Networks
• Human Resources Management

Background:

• Proactive personality is linked to career success.
• Social capital theory suggests network resources enhance individual capabilities.
• Understanding the mechanisms linking proactive personality to performance is crucial for employee development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the mediating roles of network building and initiative taking in the proactive personality-job performance relationship.
• To test a mediated model informed by social capital theory.
• To provide empirical evidence for how proactive individuals achieve higher job performance.

Main Methods:

• Survey data collected from 126 employee-supervisor dyads.
• Structural equation modeling (SEM) used to analyze the proposed mediated model.
• Measurement of proactive personality, network building, initiative taking, and job performance.

Main Results:

• Proactive personality significantly predicted both network building and initiative taking.
• Network building and initiative taking were significant mediators in the relationship between proactive personality and job performance.
• The findings support the proposed mediated model, highlighting the importance of social capital and proactive behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Proactive personality influences job performance indirectly through the development of social networks and the pursuit of initiatives.
• Organizations can foster employee performance by encouraging proactive behaviors and supporting network development.
• The study underscores the value of social capital in translating individual traits into workplace achievements.