The Impact of Family Supportive Supervisor Behavior on Employees’ Proactive Behavior: A Cognitive and Affective Integration Perspective

Abstract

With the increasing complexity of the external organizational environment, employees’ proactive behavior has become a critical factor for organizational success. However, there is limited research exploring the mechanisms behind employees’ proactive behavior from the perspective of family supportive supervisor behavior, which satisfies employees’ work–family balance. Based on the Cognitive–Affective Personality System theory and in the context of escalating work–family conflict and the Chinese cultural context, which emphasizes reciprocity, this study collected survey data from 535 employees in two stages. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between family supportive supervisor behavior and employees’ proactive behavior. The results show that family supportive supervisor behavior has a positive impact on employees’ proactive behavior; perceived insider status and affective commitment partially mediate the impact of family supportive supervisor behavior on employees’ proactive behavior; and perceived insider status and affective commitment play chain-mediating roles in the influence of family supportive supervisor behavior on employees’ proactive behavior. This study innovatively reveals the “black box” of the relationship between family supportive supervisor behavior and employees’ proactive behavior from the internal perspective of individual cognition–emotion. This expands the research on the consequences of family supportive supervisor behavior in the work field and provides inspiration for enterprises on how to motivate employees’ proactive behavior.