Proactivity in career development of employees : The roles of proactive personality and cognitive complexity

Purpose – Drawing on proactivity literature, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between employee’s proactive career planning (taking initiative to prepare for one’s career) and proactive career enacting (taking initiative to act on career plans). This study also looks into the influence of proactive personality and cognitive complexity in the relationship between proactive career planning and proactive career enacting. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected in Australia (study 1; n =271) and were tested using structural equation modeling. Another set of survey data were collected in a different cultural context in the Philippines (study 2; n =215) for cross-cultural validation. Findings – Results show that proactive career planning and proactive career enacting are positively and significantly related in both cultural contexts. Results also show that proactive personality or the stable disposition of an individual to take initiative and be involved in future-oriented actions plays a significant role in moderating the relationship between proactive career planning and proactive career enacting. In addition, results show that cognitive complexity which pertains to an individual’s capacity to construe social behaviors in multidimensional ways moderates the relationship between proactive career planning and proactive career enacting. Practical implications – In today’s turbulent environment, employees need to be proactive when developing their careers. This study highlights the importance of being proactive when managing one’s career. Employees’ proactive personality and cognitive complexity also help in strengthening the link between proactive career planning and proactive career enacting, hence, these individual-level characteristics need to be developed and enhanced in organizations. Originality/value – This study is valuable as it extends and advances the understanding on how proactivity (proactive career planning, proactive career enacting, proactive personality) and cognitive complexity can contribute to career development of employees.