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PROACTIVE VERSUS REACTIVE MANAGER: IS THE DICHOTOMY REALISTIC?
Author(s) -
Larson Lars L.,
Bussom Robert S.,
Vicars William,
Jauch Lawrence
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of management studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.398
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1467-6486
pISSN - 0022-2380
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1986.tb00424.x
Subject(s) - proactivity , dimension (graph theory) , psychology , process management , computer science , business , positive economics , social psychology , economics , mathematics , pure mathematics
The terms proactive and reactive are frequently used to describe managers. This paper examines the proactive‐reactive behaviour patterns of 16 top‐level managers and compares their behaviour patterns with conceptual views from the literature. The usefulness of the proactive‐reactive dichotomy is evaluated and issues are raised concerning the proactive‐reactive label. It is concluded that the dichotomy is overly simplistic for describing complex managerial behaviour and a more complex model is proposed for examining the proactive dimension.