Socially responsible behaviors in extreme contexts: comparing cases of economic sanctions, COVID-19 pandemic, and internal war

Socially responsible behaviors (SRBs) in the workplace and in life more generally can positively contribute to the well-being of society and the environment at large. SRBs can benefit many people, especially in extreme contexts. In this article, we report on an investigation of the relationship between employees’ proactive personality and their engagement in two types of SRBs: societal behaviors and sustainability-oriented behaviors. Furthermore, we test the moderation effect of perceived danger (contextual factor) on these relationships. To assess the hypotheses, three studies were conducted in different countries: (1) Iran, which is under intense economic sanctions; (2) Peru, which has dealt with severe restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (3) Afghanistan, which is involved in a long-standing internal war. We tested the direct relationship between proactive personality and SRBs by using survey-based data from 292 employees in Iran and 306 employees in Peru. The moderation effect of perceived danger (contextual factor) is assessed using data from 172 employees in Afghanistan. Accordingly, we found a consistent pattern of relationships between employees’ proactive personalities and their involvement in both societal behaviors and sustainability-oriented behaviors in Iran and Peru. Interstingly, the results from Afghanistan revealed that employees with a proactive personality engaged more in societal behaviors under threatening and stressful situations.