Science Research Management

Science Research Management ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (3): 191-200.

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The relationship between employees′ proactive behavior and their innovation performance: The perspective of status competition

Tang Yuhong1,2, Zhao Chenhui1, Mao Jianghua1, Ding Zhenkuo3   

  1. 1. School of Business Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, Hubei, China; 
    2. Guangxi Financial Vocational College, Nanning 530007, Guangxi, China； 
    3. School of Economics and Management, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541006, Guangxi, China
  • Received:2019-02-28 Revised:2019-09-29 Online:2021-03-20 Published:2021-03-19

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Abstract:      Previous literature assume that proactive behavior can be transformed into higher performance, however, little research discusses how and when proactive behavior can promote innovation performance. Aimed at this issue, this study, from the perspective of status competition, applies leader-member exchange theory and social dominance theory to study the mechanism of how proactive behavior influencing individual innovation performance under the Chinese cultural background which characterized by hierarchy and high power distance. Our study disentangles the "black box" of the influence of employees′ proactive behavior on their innovation performance by means of examining the mediating role of the leader-member exchange relationship and the boundary condition of the perceived status threat to leader. The data was constructed by 630 supervisor-subordinate dyads from 13 organizations are used to test the hypothesized direct, mediating and moderating effects. The result of data analysis in general indicates that employees′ proactive behavior significantly affects their innovation performance. In addition, different from the attention of previous studies are mainly on the team and organizational performance, this study expands the positive effects of proactive behavior. Furthermore, this paper verified the mediating mechanism of the leader-member exchange relationship between the relationship of employee′s proactive behavior and innovation performance. In contrast to previous research, our research also predicts and verifies that the perceived status threat to leader plays a negative moderating role on the relationship between the employees′ proactive behavior and innovation performance and between the employee′s proactive behavior and the leader-member exchange relationship. Therefore, from the perspective of status competition, our study explains how the leader′s mental state and behavior choice affect the relationship between the employee′s proactive behavior and the positive result.
    This study has three theoretical contributions to the existing literature: first, it breaks through the limitations that previous proactive behavior literature focused on individual proactive personality and traits. Based on the logic that a clear connection between behavior and results, this study mainly examines the relationship between employees′ proactive behavior and their work results. It responds to the call of Parker & Collins, Zhang and other scholars that future research should pay attention to the relationship between individual proactive behavior and work results at the same time. Second,previous theoretical and empirical researches ignore the role and perception of leaders. Our study, in association with the cultural characteristics of high power distance in China, from the perspective of status competition, integrates the perceived status threat to lead into the research framework of the relationship between employee′s proactive behavior and innovation performance, demonstrating that the perceived status threat to leader is an important boundary condition for the positive effect of employee′s proactive behavior and expanding the proactive behavior research domain.
     Third, this paper finds that the leader-member exchange relationship, as an interpersonal relationship mechanism, mediates the relationship between the employees′ proactive behavior and the results of their work. Under the social background of "Guanxi orientation" in China, leaders are willing to provide innovation support within and outside the system for employees who have established good relationships with them. Such context is less examined in western culture circumstance but plays a key role in improving employees′ innovation performance in the Chinese context where it attaches importance to human feelings and relationships.
    The practical implication of this study not only helps managers to deepen the understanding of the employees′ proactive behavior from the perspective of status competition, but also puts forward a new perspective for management practice on how to improve the employees′ innovation performance. First of all, the organization should design a scientific and reasonable incentive mechanism to reduce the psychological defense and negative behavior of leaders. At the same time, the organization should also pay attention to employees′ proactive behavior and create an inclusive and open environment for them to establish a higher quality of leader-member exchange relationship, arrange the proactive staff to a suitable position to fulfill employees′ ability and gain more innovation performance.

Key words: proactive behavior, leader-member exchange relationship, perceived status threat to leader, innovation performance