Antecedents and Consequences of Proactive Work Behavior Among Thai Employees

Abstract

This study aimed to identify antecedents and consequences of proactive work behavior among Thai employees. Three new antecedents (i.e., psychological empowerment, organizational identification, and relationship with supervisor), and three positive work-related outcomes (i.e., work-life balance, career satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior) were included in the research model. Moreover, this study tested causal relationships among these variables. The sample consisted of 1,161 persons working in public and private organizations in Bangkok Metropolitan Region and Chiang Mai Province of Thailand. As predicted, psychological empowerment (γ =.54, p <.001), organizational identification (γ =.25, p <.001), and relation with supervisor (γ =.09, p =.002) are related to proactive work behavior as its antecedents. The results indicate that proactive work behavior influences work-life balance (β =.11, p =.017) and career satisfaction (β =.17, p <.001). In addition, proactive work behavior acts as a mediator between these antecedents and work-related outcomes. These findings offer implications for promoting proactivity in organizations including enhancing employees’ sense of empowerment at work, facilitating employees’ perceptions of organizational identification, and fostering better quality of supervisor-subordinate relationships.