Subordinate's proactivity in performance planning: implications for performance management systems

Previous studies have called for the investigation of individual-level factors that influence performance management systems. Drawing on self-regulation theory, this study investigates subordinate's proactivity in performance planning. Self-regulation theory suggests that individuals can actively participate in planning for the future by having standards and monitoring themselves through self-regulatory processes. Given the integral role that subordinates play in the effectiveness of performance management systems, this study carefully examines their self-regulation in the form of proactivity in relation to performance planning. Using matched data obtained from 225 subordinates and their respective supervisors in an organisation in Australia, results show that proactive personality or the tendency of an individual to be relatively unconstrained by situational factors is found to be positively and significantly related to proactive performance planning. In addition, results show that proactive feedback-seeking behaviour or the active solicitation of feedback partially mediates the relationship between proactive personality and proactive performance planning.