The Effect of Proactive Personality on Creativity: The Mediating Role of Feedback-Seeking Behavior

While the effects of a proactive personality on creativity have been well established, the behavioral mechanism underlying this relationship remains poorly understood. This study suggests the salience of the mediating mechanism of feedback-seeking behavior in explaining the process by which proactive individuals can perform creative outcomes. Specifically, based on the two axes-the types (inquiry vs. monitoring) and the methods (frequency vs. breadth)-this study proposes that four methods of feedback-seeking behavior (frequency of feedback inquiry, breadth of feedback inquiry, frequency of feedback monitoring, and breadth of feedback monitoring) mediate the relationship between the proactive personality and creativity. The results, which are based on data collected from 367 individuals across Korean companies, reveal that the proactive personality has a significant indirect effect on creativity via two methods only: frequency of inquiry and frequency of monitoring. Finally, this study represents a theoretical and practical contribution to academic research on creativity and proactivity in the workplace.