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The purpose of the present study is to identify key personality traits which distinguish customer service (CS) employees from other occupations and are related to their career satisfaction. As hypothesized, 2,610 CS employees were differentiated from other occupational groups by higher levels of conscientiousness, customer service orientation, and lower tough‐mindedness. Conscientiousness, customer service orientation, emotional stability, extraversion, and tough‐mindedness were significantly, positively related to customer service representatives’ (CSRs’) career satisfaction. Results are discussed in terms of the adaptive value of these traits for the recruitment, selection, and management of customer service employees.

Data for this study were extracted from an archival database containing information on individuals’ many different occupations and industries, including 2,641 CSRs and 76,788 individuals in other occupations. Measures included demographic items and the Big Five personality traits as well six other narrow personality traits.

As hypothesized, CS employees differed from other occupational groups by having higher levels of conscientiousness, customer service orientation, and lower tough‐mindedness. Also, conscientiousness, customer service orientation, emotional stability, extraversion, and tough‐mindedness were significantly, positively related to career satisfaction. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the Big Five traits (Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Emotional Stability) accounted for 22 percent of the variance in CSR career satisfaction, while the narrow traits added an additional 6 percent.

The findings of the present study are original in that the authors used a relatively large sample to identify key personality traits which distinguish CS employees from other occupations and are related to their career satisfaction. An empirically validated personality profile of CS workers was presented. The typical CS representative is more: conscientious, optimistic, intrinsically motivated, tender‐minded, deferential, conventional, willing to serve other people, and reluctant to work long hours or become workaholics.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically compare managers with employees in other occupations on Big Five and narrow personality traits to identify a distinctive personality profile for managers.

An archival data set representing employees in a wide range of business sectors and organizations was utilized to compare trait scores of 9,138 managers with 76,577 non-managerial employees. Profile analysis (PA) with MANOVA and analysis of covariance was used to compare managers and non-managers on Big Five traits Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability; and narrow traits Assertiveness, Optimism, Work Drive, and Customer Service Orientation.

As hypothesized, compared to non-managers, managers had significantly higher scores across nine traits, all of which correlated significantly with managerial career satisfaction.

Although job tenure and managerial level are not examined, the findings align with managerial competence models, the Attraction-Selection-Attrition model, and vocational theory and raise questions for research on the adaptive value of these traits for managers’ satisfaction and effectiveness.

The results carry practical implications for selection, placement, training, career planning for managers, and particularly for their professional development.

A distinctive personality profile for managers clarifies the occupational identity of managers, which contributes to public and professional understanding of managers and their roles.

This study is original in reporting an empirical, theoretically grounded personality profile of managers that includes both Big Five and narrow traits.

Although individual difference variables are important in the prediction of leadership effectiveness, comparatively little empirical research has examined distal and proximal traits/characteristics that help managers lead effectively in organizations. The aim of this paper is to extend previous research by examining whether and how specific distal, narrow personality traits and the more proximal characteristic of political skill are related to decisiveness, a specific competency of leadership effectiveness, as rated from direct reports and peers.

Self-report data on political skill and personality traits (i.e. perceptiveness and affability) from 225 practicing managers from the US, together with other-report (i.e. peer and subordinate) ratings of their leadership effectiveness (i.e. decisiveness) were used to test the mediating effects of political skill.

Results show that political skill (i.e. the social astuteness dimension) mediated the relationships between narrow personality traits and evaluations of leadership effectiveness as rated by some, but not other rater sources. Specifically, the social astuteness dimension of political skill mediated the relationship between perceptiveness and decisiveness ratings from direct reports but not for ratings from peers, and the full political skill composite measure mediated the relationship between affability and decisiveness ratings from peers but not for ratings from direct reports.

Limitations include the availability of only two narrow personality traits, which constrained the scope of the possible mediation tests of all individual dimensions of political skill.

Political skill is shown to be a more proximal predictor of leadership effectiveness than personality dimensions. Thus, political skill should be considered over personality for emerging leaders. Further, differences in ratings due to source (i.e. peer and subordinate) indicate the need for organizational leaders to consider the source when evaluating effectiveness reports.

This study is one of the first to integrate the Ferris et al. model of political skill and the Zaccaro et al. distal-proximal trait model of leadership effectiveness.

The present study examines the relation of individual differences in personality to one's preferences for approaching and managing conflict in work settings. This investigation offers a conceptual foundation for relating the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) of personality to strategy preference, tests strategy‐FFM dimension hypotheses, and explores strategy relations with narrower FFM midlevel traits. Managers and supervisors (N = 249) from public, governmental, and private sector organizations completed the Organizational Communication and Conflict Instrument and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Preferences for conflict strategies were found to relate to distinct patterns of FFM dimensions, while narrower midlevel traits provided meaningful insights into the nature of the observed relations.

In this chapter, we argue that despite the fact that empirical research on trait neuroticism has shown fairly weak relations between the broad neuroticism trait and overall job performance, organizational research can benefit by increased attention to the neuroticism construct. This is because the influence of neuroticism on work behavior can be best understood by separating the more general neuroticism domain into its lower level facets. We discuss various conceptualizations of neuroticism and then review existing research on the relation between the facets of neuroticism and job performance. Next, we turn our attention to a theoretical framework that suggests that the relations between neuroticism facets and job performance outcomes are explained by the social, cognitive, and behavioral effects of having varying levels of neuroticism-based traits. In so doing, we not only focus on mediated relationships between facets of neuroticism and job performance dimensions but also recognize some important moderators, as well as some expected direct relations between the facets and job performance. Finally, we discuss implications for further conceptual development, offer some suggestions for testing the propositions, and discuss potential practical implications of finding support for this model.

This paper aims to investigate whether academic reference librarians, archivists, catalogers, distance education librarians, public librarians, records managers, school librarians, special collections librarians, and systems librarians differ in personality traits measured by the Personal Style Inventory: i.e. adaptability, assertiveness, autonomy, conscientiousness, customer service orientation, emotional resilience, extraversion, openness, optimism, teamwork, tough‐mindedness, visionary/operational work style, and work drive. It also aims to investigate whether personality traits of those in person‐oriented library specialties differ from those in technique‐oriented (technical) library specialties.

A total of 2,075 librarians/information professionals were surveyed in non‐random sample. The Personal Style Inventory is a normal personality inventory assessing important traits for the world of work. It was used in a two‐step cluster analysis for the data analysis.

The paper finds that distinct personality traits were associated with the different types of librarians. There was also a “unadaptive” cluster composed of individuals from all specialties. There were distinguishing traits associated with person‐oriented and technique‐oriented specialties.

Results were not generalizable due to the non‐random sample. Gender was not collected. The research has implications for career counseling.

There have been few studies of personality traits in library specialties, none measuring both narrow work trait and broad personality trait variables.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the existing literature on entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) by employing the integrated model of personality traits and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). It further examines the mediating role of TPB’s dimensions between personality traits and EIs of final-year university students in two diverse economies: China and Pakistan.

The paper uses a survey method for data collection, administered both in electronic and paper form. The authors use structural equation modeling and the partial least square (PLS) method on a sample of 1,016 students and present PLS path modeling, mediation analysis and multigroup analysis.

Results reveal several differences regarding personality traits and TPB on EIs across the two countries. The impact of TPB was positive and significant in both countries; however, TPB demonstrated more explaining power in China’s student sample. Using three personality traits (risk-taking propensity, proactive personality and internal locus of control) as antecedents to TPB, the results reveal a stronger influence of personality traits among Chinese students. The mediation of three dimensions of TPB also revealed differences between country samples.

This is the first study of its kind to compare and contrast the differences between EIs in terms of personality and the determinants of planned behavior among university students in two diverse economies. The integrated model is original, supports both TPB and personality factors and provides a valuable perspective through its findings on two culturally diverse Asian countries. By applying the model in two different cultures, this study distinguishes the results for the two economies from those conducted in other economies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships between a priori‐chosen personality traits and the tendency for a manager to rate his/her job performance more favourably than well‐acquainted superiors, peers, and subordinates do.

The job performance of 204 managers was evaluated using multi‐source (i.e. 360E) ratings (self, subordinates, peers, and superiors). Managers also completed personality measures. Relationships between managers' personality and the tendency for managers to rate their own job performance higher than subordinates, peers, and superiors did were analyzed using advanced regression techniques.

The paper finds that self‐superior and self‐peer disagreement in performance ratings (i.e. self‐rating inflation) was associated with high Achievement and high Self‐Esteem. Additionally, self‐superior disagreement (i.e. self‐rating deflation) was associated with high Anxiety. Self‐subordinate disagreement was not associated with self‐rater personality.

The paper studied a single sample of financial services managers. Generalization requires cross‐validation with other occupational groups and organizations.

Human resources professionals should be informed that self‐superior and self‐peer disagreement (i.e. self‐rating inflation) in multi‐source job performance ratings is potentially beneficial because it is associated with personality traits that can facilitate positive responses to feedback. Peers and superiors should therefore not inflate their ratings of managers in an effort to reduce self‐superior and self‐peer disagreement in ratings.

This study improved upon most previous investigations of this topic by using a field setting, considering a wider range of personality variables, using 360( job performance ratings (self‐, supervisor‐, peer‐, and subordinate‐ratings) rather than just a subset of these rating sources, and employing superior statistical procedures.

Using trait activation theory (TAT), this paper aims to empirically assess that work drive (WD) personality characteristics of employees will express better towards intrapreneurial behaviour (IB) outcomes in higher levels of job autonomy (JA) at the workplace.

Using cross-sectional design, a total of 258 engineering employees from the automotive industry of Pakistan were surveyed. The partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) statistical method was used to evaluate the hypothesised theoretical model.

Statistical results revealed a significant and positive relationship between WD and IB. WD personality was also found to be activated with its interplay with JA for personality expression towards IB.

The present study offers a deeper insight into the interplay of organisational and individual factors as determinants of IB of employees. The study's findings suggested the importance of the rightful application of organisational situational cues in person–situation interaction for positive workplace behaviours by employees. Personality assessment of employees and their interplay with situational cues, as per conceptualisation of TAT, can assist the corporations towards enhanced levels of employees' behavioural tendencies towards intrapreneurship.

The application of TAT from the present study's perspective is novel theoretically as the literature on the activation of personality traits towards IB outcomes is non-existent. Also, the assessment of situational cues in JA will open avenues for organisational behaviour researchers to seek more organisational situational moderators for their assessment of various personality–outcome relationships in diverse contexts to activate personality traits.