Proactivity and Adaptability

Many organizational researchers have argued that proactivity and adaptability are important for performing effectively in the workplace (e.g., Griffi n, Neal, and Parker, 2007). However, there is no consensus on the meanings of these two terms and how they relate to each other. Some researchers assume that proactivity and adaptability are opposites constructs, for example by viewing proactive behavior in explicit contrast to reactive behavior and construing adaptive behavior as the latter (e.g., Frese and Fay, 2001). Other researchers, on the other hand, see proactivity and adaptability as being independent constructs (cf. Griffi n et al., 2007) or as positively interrelated constructs (e.g., Berg, Wrzesniewski, and Dutton, 2010).