Abstract

Employees’ proactive behaviors are increasingly important for organizational development and they are highly influenced by the employees’ working atmosphere, such as its level of competitiveness. However, the implications of competitive climates for employees’ proactive behaviors remain unclear to date. This study aims to examine whether employees will engage in more or less proactive behaviors in a competitive working environment. To add more nuance to this investigation, I (a) differentiate the outcome of employees’ proactive behavior as self-beneficial (e.g., self-development) or organizational-beneficial; and (b) explore whether the relationship between competitive climates and proactive behavior is moderated by individual (learning goal orientation) and organizational factors (procedural justice). The results of this research show that competitive climates can indeed increase employees’ proactivity, for the benefit of both the organization and the individuals themselves. As expected, employees with high perceptions of procedural justice engaged in more organizational beneficial proactivity under high competitive climate, instead of more proactive behaviors targeting their own development. Contrary to expectations, the results indicate that employees with a high learning goal orientation become less motivated to engage in proactive behavior aimed at both the organization and themselves under competitive climates compared to employees with a low learning orientation. These results and their implications are discussed to encourage more research as well as supportive organizational practices for increased proactivity.