TAKING CHARGE: EXAMINING ANTECEDENTS, MODERATORS, AND CONSEQUENCES
Open Access
- Author:
- Lim, Suat Hui Audrey
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 16, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Susan Mohammed, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Susan Mohammed, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
James Lewis Farr, Committee Member
Kevin Murphy, Committee Member
Sumita Raghuram, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Taking Charge
Extra Role Behavior - Abstract:
- Taking charge is an extra role behavior that is change oriented and aimed at organizational improvement. The present study was the first empirical attempt to simultaneously examine antecedents, moderators, and consequences of taking charge. Specifically, resistance to change, proactive personality, and goal orientation were proposed as antecedents. The unit-level climate dimensions of manager supportiveness and climate for innovation were examined as moderators of the relationship between proposed antecedents and taking charge behavior. Consequences of taking charge included perceived taking charge effectiveness and rated task performance. Employee political skill was expected to moderate relationships between taking charge and its outcomes. Hypotheses were tested using a field sample comprising 160 employees working in a public agency. In addition, 25 managers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of employee taking charge behavior. Proactive personality and performance approach goal orientation positively predicted taking charge. The routine seeking dimension of resistance to change positively predicted taking charge when a negative direction had been predicted. Correlational analyses indicated that employees who were newer to the organization and who were more satisfied with their unit were more likely to take charge. Regression analyses indicated that a combined variable of taking charge and perceived taking charge effectiveness was positively related to rated task performance. Political skill was not found to moderate the relationship between taking charge and rated task performance. Managerial interviews revealed that, for this particular organization, contextual features and job competence were more dominant themes than individual qualities in understanding taking charge behavior.