Interpreting and reacting to followers’ proactive work behaviors: the role of leaders’ proactive implicit followership theories

How do leaders react to their followers’ proactive work behaviors? Drawing on follower categorization theory, this research proposes that leaders may interpret such behaviors either as benefits or as threats and, in turn, respond with support or undermining. We also identify leaders’ proactive implicit followership theories (IFTs) as key boundary conditions. After developing a measure of proactive IFTs through pilot studies, we tested our model using an experiment (Study 1) and a four-wave field survey (Study 2). Study 1 shows that when leaders hold higher (vs. lower) proactive IFTs, followers’ proactive work behaviors elicit perceived benefits (vs. threats). Study 2 replicates and extends these findings, demonstrating that perceived benefits (vs. threats) predict leaders’ social support (vs. undermining), which subsequently promotes (vs. reduces) followers’ proactive work behaviors. This research offers novel insights into the question of how to manage proactive work behaviors.