Do information and communication technology demands promote or hinder employees' proactive work behavior? The roles of role breadth self-efficacy and perceived job insecurity

Background As digital work blurs boundaries, information and communication technology (ICT) demands increasingly extend into off-hours, yet research has emphasized their downsides (e.g., work-life conflict) while neglecting upsides for motivation and proactivity. Given ICT's aim to boost performance, this study—grounded in role theory—examines how ICT demands foster proactive work behavior via role breadth self-efficacy (RBSE), and whether perceived job insecurity amplifies this link.. Methods This study employed a multi-method approach across three studies to test the proposed moderated mediation model. Study 1 ( n  = 144) was a scenario-based experiment that manipulated ICT demands to examine its effects on role breadth self-efficacy and proactive work behavior. Building on this, Study 2 ( n  = 168) used a 2 × 2 scenario-based experimental design to further manipulate perceived job insecurity and test its moderating role in the mediated pathway. Study 3 ( n  = 182) validated the full model using a two-wave, time-lagged questionnaire survey in an organizational context, with ICT demands and perceived job insecurity measured at Time 1, and role breadth self-efficacy and proactive work behavior at Time 2 (one month later). All studies controlled for relevant demographics, and analyses included regression, ANOVA, and bootstrapped mediation/moderation tests. Results The results supported the theoretical model across all studies. ICT demands were positively associated with employees' role breadth self-efficacy. Role breadth self-efficacy mediated the positive relationship between ICT demands and proactive work behavior, with evidence of full mediation in the experiments and partial mediation in the survey. Perceived job insecurity positively moderated the relationship between ICT demands and role breadth self-efficacy, such that the positive association was stronger at higher levels of perceived job insecurity. Finally, perceived job insecurity moderated the indirect effect of ICT demands on proactive work behavior via role breadth self-efficacy, with the indirect effect being significant and stronger only when perceived job insecurity was high. Conclusions The study finds that ICT demands enhance proactive work behavior through role breadth self-efficacy, with stronger effects under high job insecurity. By introducing ICT demands as a contextual antecedent of role cognitions and proactivity in digital work environments, this study extends role theory. Practically, organizations should amplify the positive effects of ICT demands by communicating benefits, providing training, and supporting employees’ family lives while preventing negative outcomes. Employees should view crises as opportunities for role adjustment, and organizations should foster a “preparedness” climate with crisis-awareness training to encourage role redesign.