Are they more proactive or less engaged? Understanding employees' career proactivity after promotion failure through an attribution lens

Abstract

In existing research and practice, promotion failure is often depicted as a source of negative consequences. However, this study deviates from traditional wisdom and argues that promotion failure has the potential to be a positive motivator. Integrating attribution theory, cognitive theories of repetitive thoughts, and the integrative model of career proactivity, we investigate how different attributions of promotion failure among employees activate distinct cognitive processes, resulting in varying effects on career proactivity. Data collected from 359 IT industry employees over three waves indicated that employees who ascribe promotion failures to internal issues are more likely to reflect on them. The process of reflection encourages career proactivity, as evidenced by increased proactive career behavior and decreased career inaction. However, employees blaming external circumstances for their promotion failures are more likely to ruminate over their failure, resulting in lower career proactivity. This study emphasizes the significance of attributions in employee reactions to promotion failure and provides a cognitive perspective on the complex relationship between promotion failure and career proactivity.