The role of paradoxical leader behavior in shaping the relationship between employees' individualistic orientation and proactive behavior

Individualistic orientation is becoming increasingly prevalent among the younger workforce in contemporary China. This shift poses a significant challenge to the applicability of traditional yet effective paradoxical leadership, raising the question of whether such leadership approaches remain suitable for managing and guiding younger generations who embrace more individualistic values. In this study, integrating trait activation theory and paradoxical leadership theory, we examine whether paradoxical leader behavior (PLB) and non-PLB constitute different situations interacting with individualistic orientation to shape employee proactive behavior. Specifically, while PLB emphasizes both sides of the organizational (structural) demands and employee (individual) demands, non-PLB overemphasizes one side of the demands. We conducted two studies to test our hypothesis. The first study was a pilot study to compare the influence of PLB versus non-PLB conditions (n = 312). The main study was a survey study (n = 239). Results of the two studies consistently showed that individualistic orientation had positive influences on employee proactive behavior in non-PLB situations rather than PLB situations. Theoretical and practical implications for managers to foster employee proactivity are discussed.