Abstract Drawing upon regulatory focus theory, this study explores the impact mechanism
that links craftsmanship to employees’ proactive behavior, and further reveals the activating effect of transformational leadership on this mechanism. A hierarchical linear model has been built based on the two-stage data collected from 71 supervisors and 342 subordinates. It is found that craftsmanship has a positive effect on proactive behavior, and promotion focus mediates the relationship between craftsmanship and proactive behavior. Transformational leadership moderates not only the positive effect of craftsmanship on promotion focus but also the mediating mechanism between craftsmanship and proactive behavior.
