International Journal of Commerce and Management

Personality traits and work performance in a dutyfree industry

Abubakr M. Suliman AbdelRahman A. AbdelRahman Adeija Abdalla

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

Article information:
To cite this document:
Abubakr M. Suliman AbdelRahman A. AbdelRahman Adeija Abdalla, (2010),"Personality traits and work
performance in a duty#free industry", International Journal of Commerce and Management, Vol. 20 Iss 1
pp. 64 - 82
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10569211011025961
Downloaded on: 16 November 2014, At: 22:00 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 17 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1479 times since 2010*

Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:

Muhammad Awais Bhatti, Mohamed Mohamed Battour, Ahmed Rageh Ismail, Veera Pandiyan Sundram,
(2014),"Effects of personality traits (big five) on expatriates adjustment and job performance", Equality,
Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, Vol. 33 Iss 1 pp. 73-96 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/
EDI-01-2013-0001
Professor Song Lin and Professor David Lamond, Cheng-Liang Yang, Mark Hwang, (2014),"Personality
traits and simultaneous reciprocal influences between job performance and job satisfaction", Chinese
Management Studies, Vol. 8 Iss 1 pp. 6-26 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/CMS-09-2011-0079
John W. Lounsbury, Nancy Foster, Patrick C. Carmody, Ji Young Kim, Lucy W. Gibson, Adam W. Drost,
(2012),"Key personality traits and career satisfaction of customer service workers", Managing Service
Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 22 Iss 5 pp. 517-536

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 394654 []

For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for
Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines
are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.

About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com

Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as
providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.

Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee
on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive
preservation.

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1056-9219.htm

IJCOMA
20,1

Personality traits and work

performance in a duty-free
industry

64

Abubakr M. Suliman
The British University in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

AbdelRahman A. AbdelRahman
Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

Al Ghurair University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and

Adeija Abdalla
University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of personality traits in affecting
employees work performance.
Design/methodology/approach Using a self-administered questionnaire, 582 employees from a
duty-free organization are surveyed in order to examine the hypotheses of the study.
Findings Some personality traits are found to be significant in predicting employees work
performance. Some demographic factors such as gender are found to be mediating the links between
traits and performance.
Practical implications The theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed in
the paper, together with some recommendations for practitioners and researchers.
Originality/value The paper examines the above-mentioned links for the first time in the duty-free
industry in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle Eastern context.
Keywords Personality, Employee behaviour, Performance levels, United Arab Emirates, Middle East
Paper type Research paper

International Journal of Commerce

and Management
Vol. 20 No. 1, 2010
pp. 64-82
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1056-9219
DOI 10.1108/10569211011025961

Overview
Organizations in the private and public sectors try to improve employee performance, as
this is essential for achieving organizational goals. Public and private organizations use
numerous tools to enhance the performance of organizational members. For instance,
some organizations send their staff to motivational seminars. Other organizations put
their staff through training programs to help them relate better to the organization and
improve relationships with customers. Some organizations use rewards (in pay and
career opportunities) to induce employees to use more of their inputs (e.g. time, effort,
experience, skills, creativity, knowledge, and job behaviors) in order to increase
employee productivity.
It is fair to assume that employee performance depends on a lot of factors. One of the
most important factors that have recently come to the fore is personality, traits which
have been found to be important and valid predictors of work performance. These
personality traits include conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability,
extraversion, and openness to experience. While the impact of these personality traits
on work-related outcomes has been assessed in numerous national settings in recent
years, their influence on work performance remains unexplored in the Arab World

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

in general and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in particular. The UAE has embraced
modernity. The fast pace of modernization in the UAE is particularly manifested in the
rapid transformation of Dubai into a modern metropolis. Yet, the UAE society is a
society that cherishes traditional values and attitudes that may manifest themselves at
the workplace. The extent to which those values and attitudes affect performance at the
workplace is an interesting question to investigate.
Dubai Duty Free (DDF), the case of the study, is an institution that has embraced
modernity. Yet employees are mostly sales people who interact a lot and directly with
members of the public. Personality traits (particularly, emotional stability, extraversion,
and conscientiousness) are quite relevant as far as such interactions are concerned.
Accordingly, the principal objective of this study is to investigate the extent to which
these personality traits make any difference to the performance of sales persons at DDF.
Another objective is to explore the extent to which other factors influence the
relationship, if any, between these personality traits and the performance of the sales
person at DDF.
As the review of the empirical literature (next section) indicates, there seems to be
a consensus that some personality factors (notably, conscientiousness) are valid
predictors of job performance across all occupations. However, most of the empirical
studies investigating the relationship between personality traits and job performance
apply to Western cultures. Hence, a third objective of this study is to investigate the
extent to which these personality traits validly predict job performance in a non-Western
setting. This study could also have practical utility for DDF. The findings of the study, in
terms of which employee personality traits validly predicts job performance, could
provide the basis for employee performance-enhancing managerial strategies.
The paper is organized as follows: first section describes the context of the study.
Second section provides a review of the relevant literature. The methods employed in the
study are discussed in third section. Fourth section presents data analysis and discussion.
The context
DDF is part of Dubai Civil Aviation (DCA-state owned) which oversees all the activities
associated with the management of Dubai International Airport and its affiliated
organizations. These include DDF, Dubai Cargo Village, Dubai Airport Free Zone,
Dubai Aviation College, and Dubai Aviation Club. DCA has been remarkably successful
in establishing Dubai as the premier international airport in the region in terms of
the provision of excellent facilities and a superior service mentality. To maintain this
reputation, employee performance has always been a principal concern in the
organization.
As previously noted, DCA is the parent company of DDF. DCA also runs the
prestigious Dubai Air Show in coordination with the UAE Armed Forces. Although
DCA itself manages some of these activities, some activities such as air traffic control
and passenger and baggage handling are outsourced. In terms of organizational
structure, DCA consists of 13 departments, which report to the director general who,
in turn, reports to the president. The only exception here is the Director of Internal
Audit, who reports directly to the president. The 13 departments include cargo,
village operations, DDF, airport free zone, public relations, purchase and contracts,
engineering, finance, internal audit, strategy and management excellence, and
marketing and media relations.

Personality traits
and work
performance
65

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

66

DCA comes under civil service rules and regulations regarding position, grades, and
salary structures. However, DDF is an exception among DCA departments; it has
structure and remuneration policies more akin to the private sector. DCA works closely
with a number of other government agencies including immigration, customs, police,
and emirates airlines, the national carrier. DDF is run by a team of experts and
professionals headed by a managing director. Other members of the management team
include deputy of the managing director, heads of departments, and functional
managers. Employing 1,500 employees, DDF has the reputation of being one of the best
of its kind in the region. Its management seems to be conscious of the constant need to
maintain its good reputation. It is quite cognizant that this reputation is crucially
dependent upon the motivation of its employees. Accordingly, DDF employs a variety
of programs to boost employee motivation. Below is a brief account of those activities.
DDF has an active social and sports committee, which acts as a forum for staff to
meet other staff members and interact in an informal and leisurely setting. The
committee organizes various sports and games, outings, and other community-oriented
programs. Thus, employees have an opportunity to involve themselves in various
activities outside their work and experience possible personal growth. Another forum
for employee participation is DDFs in-house newsletter, which is called At
Your Service. This forum provides a medium for the development of literary and
journalistic skills. This is also a forum for staff members to express their views and
opinions and share information with colleagues. DDF offers prizes for outstanding
articles written by staff members. A third technique used by DDF for the motivation of
its employees is service awards. Staff members who display exemplary standards
of service are recognized and awarded a cash prize and certificate for being the
Outstanding Employee of the Month. Separate awards for length of service with the
organization are also awarded to those who complete five, ten, and 15 years in service.
A fourth technique used by DDF to increase employee participation is the Staff
Suggestion Scheme. Members of staff are encouraged to come up with creative
suggestions for improving the operations and quality of service provided by DDF.
Selected suggestions are forwarded by the suggestion scheme coordinators to
the suggestion appraisal committee. Selected suggestions are then sent to appropriate
departments for implementation. Staff members whose suggestions are implemented
are awarded points, which accumulate towards special gifts and prizes. DDF has
recently introduced a scientific performance management system; this system is
designed to identify key result areas of staff and to streamline their job roles and
responsibilities.
In sum, DDF provides a variety of ways through which employees are motivated
both at the workplace and beyond. However, as noted earlier, employee performance
may not only depend on such motivation schemes. The personality of the employee, as
the empirical literature on the relationship between personality traits and job
performance has shown, is an important determinant of employee job performance.
Literature review
In recent years, five personality traits have emerged in the literature on personality.
Known as the big five or the five factor modwel of personality, these traits encowmpass
agreeablweness, conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability, and openness to
experience. Below is a brief description of these five traits.

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

Several researchers (Barrick and Mount, 1991; Salgado, 1997; van der Walt et al.,
2002) point out that there is no agreement as to what the five personality constructs
exactly consist of. However, according to there is some general agreement that
the five personality traits can be described as follows (Barrick and Mount, 1991;
van der Walt et al., 2002): agreeableness, also referred to as likeability, concerns the
degree to which individuals are kind, cooperative, warm, and agreeable versus being
cold, rude, harsh, and antagonistic. Conscientiousness refers to the extent to which
individuals are diligent, organized, efficient, and dependable versus being lazy,
disorganized, and unreliable. Emotional stability, also called neuroticism, refers to
the degree to which the individual is calm, self-confident, and cool versus insecure,
anxious, depressed, and emotional. Extraversion, also frequently called extraversion or
surgency, concerns the extent to which individuals are outgoing, assertive, and
positively interact with others versus being reserved, timid, and quiet.
There is a growing literature on the relationship between the five personality traits
and performance. Researchers investigated the validity of these five personality traits
in predicting various kind of performance, including academic and job performance.
Furthermore, those investigations covered the relationship between these personality
traits and performance in different job settings to assess the extent to which those
settings moderate this relationship.
For the purpose of this study, three strands are discernable in the relevant literature
on the relationship between the five personality factors and job performance. One
strand investigates the extent to which the five personality traits predict job
performance in general. Another strand looks into the relationship in the context of
some moderator variables (e.g. managerial autonomy). A third strand covers meta
analyses on the relationship between the Big Five and job performance. The following
literature review briefly examines these three strands.
As for the first strand general approach researchers did not include moderator
variables or meta analyses in investigating the relationship between the Big Five and job
performance. The researchers were interested in assessing the validity of the personality
traits in predicting job performance in general. One of the early studies in this regard is
Hogans (1996) study. The study found that extraversion and agreeableness were highly
predictive of job performance. Conscientiousness and agreeableness show positive
relationship to job performance while extraversion and openness to experience are
shown to be unrelated or in some cases negatively related to job performance. Hormann
and Maschkes (1996) study, which is not directly related to the five personality traits,
examine the relationship between personality and job performance of some airline pilots.
The principal finding of the study is that superior performance of jet transport pilots was
related to high scores on personality traits such as the need for mastery and expressivity
as well as low scores on hostility and arrogance. Zhang (2001) investigated the
relationship between thinking styles and the Big Five among 900 university students.
In his study, Zhang identified five thinking styles. He reached several findings. First,
the study found that neuroticism was significantly and positively correlated with
executive and conservative thinking styles. Second, extraversion was found to be
significantly and positively related to external thinking styles. Third, openness to new
experience was significantly positively related to the legislative style. Fourth,
agreeableness was found to be significantly positively related to the external thinking
style. Finally, conscientiousness was founded to be significantly positively correlated

Personality traits
and work
performance
67

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

68

to the hierarchical thinking style. Furnham and Premuzic (2003) examined the
relationship between the five personality traits and academic examination performance.
The principal finding of the study was that conscientiousness had statistically
significant positive correlation with examination grades and that extraversion and
neuroticism had statistically significant negative correlations with examination grades.
The study also found that these three personality traits accounted for 15 percent of the
variance on the criterion variable (i.e. examination grades).
Nikolaou and Robertsons (2001) study examined the relationship between the five
personality traits and supervisor ratings of overall job performance. The study found
that none of the five traits was a valid predictor of overall job performance. The
researchers reported that similar results were obtained by several other studies,
particularly in small- and medium-sized firms. However, the study found statistically
significant correlations between openness to experience and agreeableness on one hand
and job performance on the other for occupations involving interpersonal interaction
(e.g. sales).
In second strand the role of moderator variables of the literature on the
relationship between the Big Five and job performance, researchers examined this
relationship in the presence of other predictor variables, including gender, level of
education, and managerial autonomy at the work place. In one of the early studies in
this regard, Barrick and Mount (1993) investigated the relationship between the five
personality traits and supervisor ratings of job performance in the context of
managerial autonomy as a moderator of this relationship. The study found that
conscientiousness and extraversion were significantly positively related to job
performance and that the predictive validity for these two personality traits were
greater for managers in jobs high on autonomy as compared to those jobs low on
autonomy. The study also found that agreeableness, which negatively correlated with
job performance, had greater predictive validity in high-autonomy jobs compared to
low-autonomy jobs. For the other personality constructs, the study found that they
were not significantly related to job performance. In their study, Barrick and Mount
(1998) investigated the extent to which the nature of workplace interpersonal
interactions (i.e. teamwork interactions and dyadic or direct employee-customer
interactions) moderate the relationship between the five personalities constructs and
job performance. The principal finding of the study is that conscientiousness,
agreeableness, and emotional stability are positively related to performance in jobs
involving interpersonal interactions and that emotional stability and agreeableness are
more strongly related to performance in jobs that involve teamwork (i.e. where
employees interact with coworkers rather than customers) than those where employees
interact directly with customers and clients.
van der Walt et al. (2002) investigated the impact of the five personality dimensions
on job performance with the level of education as a moderating factor. They found that
conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability were valid predictors of job
performance. Furthermore, they found that level of education was a moderator: all of the
five personalities construct yielded better predictions with a high level of education
(higher than Grade 12). Finally, Mueller and Plug (2004) explored gender as a moderating
factor in the relationship between the five personality constructs and work-related
earnings. More specifically, they explored the gender differences in the effects of the five

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

personality traits on earnings. They found that the five personality constructs correlated
significantly and differentially with earnings across genders.
In the last strand meta-analysis van der Walt et al. (2002) used a quantitative
method for accumulating results across studies to enhance understanding of some
phenomenon. Researchers undertook meta analyses and second-order meta analyses
(i.e. meta analyses of meta analyses) on the relationship between the five personality
dimensions and job performance. In an early analytic study, Barrick and Mount (1991)
investigated the validity of the five personality constructs for five occupational groups
(professionals, police, managers, sales, and skilled/semi-skilled) and for three types of
job performance criteria and job performance (job proficiency, training proficiency, and
personnel data). This meta analytic study covered 117 studies. The study arrived at a
number of findings: first, conscientiousness was a valid predictor of all job performance
criteria for all occupational groups. Second, extraversion was a valid predictor for two
occupations involving social interaction: managers and sales (across criteria types). In
addition, extraversion was a valid predictor of the training proficiency criterion (across
occupations). Third, agreeableness was not an important predictor of job performance
even in jobs containing large social components (e.g. sales). Fifth, emotional stability and
openness to experience were also not good predictors of job performance. However,
openness to experience was a valid predictor of training proficiency.
Another meta analytic study Tett et al. (1991) investigated the extent to which
personality measures, including the Big Five, predicted job performance. This study
was based on a review of 494 studies. One major finding of the study was that only
emotional stability showed non-zero correlations with job performance. Another finding
was that agreeableness and openness to experience had higher correlations with job
performance than the correlation between conscientiousness and job performances.
A third meta analytic study (Salgado, 1997) covered 36 European studies. The findings
of the study were similar to the meta analytic study by Barrick and Mount (1991).
Salgados study found, first, that conscientiousness and neuroticism were valid
predictors for all occupations and for all criteria (e.g. supervisory ratings, training
success, personnel records, etc.). Second, conscientiousness was most predictive of
employee performance over all other four-personality constructs. Third, extraversion
was a good predictor of jobs involving social interactions (e.g. managerial and police
jobs). Fourth, openness to experience was a valid predictor of police and skilled jobs as
well as training success. Fifth, agreeableness was not a good predictor of job
performance but was associated with training success. The study by Barrick and Mount
(1991) is perhaps the most important among the studies on the relationship between the
five personality traits and job performance. It is a meta analysis of 15 previous meta
analyses. It thus examines empirical results from the largest number of studies on the
relationship between the five personality traits and job performance. The study yielded
a number of important findings quite similar to earlier findings from meta analytic
studies. First, the predictive validity of conscientiousness generalizes across all criterion
types (e.g. job performance) and all occupations whereas each of the other personality
traits predicts at least some criteria for some jobs. In addition, the predictive validity of
conscientiousness is the highest. Second, emotional stability is the only personality trait,
other than conscientiousness, to have non-zero true correlations with overall job
performance criterion. However, the overall relationship is smaller than the effect for
conscientiousness. Third, extraversion predicts training performance particularly well

Personality traits
and work
performance
69

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

70

and is useful in predicting performance in managerial and sales occupations. However,

moderators are likely to influence the relationship between this trait and performance in
sales jobs. Fourth, openness to experience and agreeableness are not good predictors of
performance at the occupational level. However, openness to experience predicts
training performance very well while agreeableness (also emotional stability and
conscientiousness) predicts teamwork moderately well. Further, moderators may
influence the relationship between agreeableness and job performance, particularly in
skilled or semi-skilled and sales jobs. By the same token, the relationship between
openness to experience and job performance may be influenced by moderators in sales
and managerial jobs.
Several important points emerge from the preceding review of the literature on
the relationships between the five personality dimensions and job performance.
First, conscientiousness is a pivotally important personality trait that influences job
performance. In the light of consistent research findings, one would expect this personality
trait (in addition to emotional stability) to be positively correlated with overall job
performance, including sales jobs. Second, extraversion is an important predictor of
performance in jobs involving social interactions (sales). Third, several empirical studies
have underscored the importance of moderator factors in influencing the relationships
between some of the five personality constructs and job performance. The personality
constructs in question include agreeableness, extraversion, and openness to experience.
Further, empirical studies have highlighted the importance of moderators in influencing
the relationship between each one of these three personality traits and performance in
managerial, semi-skilled, and sales jobs. Some of the moderators that have been identified
in the literature include gender, level of education, managerial autonomy, and the nature of
interpersonal interactions at the workplace. Third, a corollary of the pervious point, the
literature underscores the importance of controlling for moderator variables when
assessing the extent to which the five personality traits provide valid predictors of job
performance. Fourth, openness to experience and agreeableness are not expected to be
good predictors of performance in sales jobs.
These points are helpful in formulating a number of hypotheses for this study.
For the purpose of this study, each one of the five personality traits, with the exception
of agreeableness and openness to experience, is expected to predict supervisor ratings
of the performance of sales assistants. This expectation is consistent with previous
empirical research findings.

Methods
Three types of data are needed for the purpose of this study. First, background data on
the sales assistants is needed. Such data comprise data on gender, educational
attainment, nationality, gender, etc. Second, data on the personality traits of the sales
assistants is required. Third, data on the performance of the sales assistants will also be
required. The first and second types of data were generated through a questionnaire.
The third type of data depended on employee performance appraisal, which is
undertaken regularly by DDF. There data are accessible and available for collection.
To secure the cooperation of those whose assistance is needed in the data generation
and collection processes, the researchers spent some time talking to operation managers,
human resource managers, and other supervisors.

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

Study instrument
The study uses the mini-markers version of the five personality factors of Saucier
(1994). The mini-markers questionnaire model includes 40 items for measuring the
Big Five. Each personality factor is measured by eight items. Appendix 1 provides a
brief discussion on this questionnaire model. Appendix 2 presents information on
coding the demographic data of the questionnaire.
Questionnaire administration
The questionnaire was administered as follows: first, the researchers used the list that
was provided by the information technology (IT) department. The list included sales
assistant names, staff numbers, and supervisor performance ratings. Second, the
operations manager was contacted to secure his permission to distribute the personality
traits questionnaires to all sales assistants. Third, the questionnaires were distributed
with each respondents name and address written on it. Fourth, the researchers
collected back the questionnaires after completion. The total number of distributed
questionnaires was 120. However, only 83 responses were collected because all the
respondents did not respond as expected. Accordingly, the response rate is 69 percent.

Personality traits
and work
performance
71

Study sample
The researchers obtained a list of employees working as sales assistants at DDF from
the IT department. The list contained a total of 582 sales assistants, all of whom are
non-nationals. This list represented the sampling frame. To select the research sample,
the following criteria were used:
.
The staff should have a minimum of two years work experience with DDF.
.
Sales assistants should have supervisor-rated performance appraisal results
available from the DDF employee database. This procedure resulted in the
selection of 120 individuals to whom the questionnaire was distributed.
Data analysis
To analyze the study data the researchers used the SPSS program. The analysis
process includes reliability analysis, factor analysis, and regression analysis. Reliability
analysis is undertaken to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaire.
Factor analysis is needed to gauge the validity of the five personality constructs.
Regression analysis is used here to empirically test the formulated hypotheses of the
study.
Reliability analysis was done for each one of the eight-item sets representing the
five personality dimensions. Table I reports the alpha reliability coefficient for each one
of the following dimensions.
Factor
Conscientiousness
Openness
Extroversion
Agreeableness
Emotional stability
Overall

Alpha reliability coefficients

0.75
0.70
0.71
0.70
0.73
0.94

Table I.
Alpha coefficients for the
five personality traits

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

72

As can be seen from the table, each one of the personality factor has a reliability
coefficient value slightly higher than 0.70, indicating an acceptable level of reliability.
However, the alpha reliability coefficient for emotional stability increases considerably
(from 0.73 to 0.81) if the item unobvious is removed. Similarly, the reliability coefficient
for agreeableness improves slightly (from 0.70 to 0.73) if the item unsympathetic is
removed. These two items are removed from the data set and not included in the
subsequent data analyses. Table I also reports overall alpha reliability coefficient (that is,
0.94) which indicate a high level of interned consistency for the questionnaire as a whole.
Factor analysis was done for the 38 questionnaire items after the removed of the
items unenvious and unsympathetic from of 40 questionnaire items. The alpha
factoring method was used for factor extraction. For rotation and factor loading,
Varimax was used. The results of factor extraction and rotation are reported in Table II.
Table III presents the original items under each one of the five personality factors.
As can be seen from Table II, five factors were extracted by the alpha factoring
extraction method. Comparing the contents of Tables II and III indicate that the results
of factor loadings are inconsistent with what is expected. Thus, items which are
supposed to represent different personality constructs load highly under Factor 1. For
instance, kind, cooperative, sympathetic, and warm (which represent agreeableness);
organized, efficient, systematic, and practical (which represent conscientiousness);
creative, imaginative, philosophical, and intellectual (which are supposed to be under
openness to experience); and energetic, talkative, and bold (which subsume under
extraversion) all load highly under Factor 1. Similarly, disorganized, inefficient, careless,
and sloppy (which subsume under conscientiousness); uncreative, unintellectual, and
complex (which represent openness to experience); and rude and harsh (which are
supposed to be under agreeableness) all load highly under one factor, i.e. Factor 2. Thus,
it can be concluded that the factors are not independent of one another. Such
combinations contradict previous research and are both conceptually and empirically
untenable. These results may be due to respondents describing themselves on the basis
of what they want to be in the future rather than on what they are at the present time.
Thus, the factor analysis results are not useful. Accordingly, this study uses only the
reliability results for each one of the five personality traits. This constraint is imposed by
the nature of the data and is thus a main limitation of the study.
The dependent variable for the study is employee performance, which is rated by
supervisors at DDF. As previously noted, the performance of sales assistants are rated
on the basis of five categories ranging from outstanding to unacceptable. Frequency
distribution of the supervisor ratings of the performance of sales assistants are
reported in Table IV.
As can be seen from the table, the performance of the majority of sales assistants was
rated satisfactory (that is, 66 percent of the total number of sales assistants). There was
only one sale assistant whose performance was rated outstanding and only two
employees with performance rated needs improvement. No performance was rated
unacceptable. Thus, there appears to be insufficient variation for a linear regression
model. However, it is possible to use a logistic regression model after a simple
transformation of the dependent variable into a binary variable (that is with values
1s and 0s). To carry out this transformation, the values for outstanding and good
(which combine 26 counts) are re-categorized into highly satisfactory. These values

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

Factors
Kind
Energetic
Cooperative
Organized
Creative
Efficient
Imaginative
Systematic
Sympathetic
Practical
Intellectual
Relaxed
Warm
Philosophical
Talkative
Deep
Fretful
Rude
Envious
Harsh
Sloppy
Withdrawn
Disorganize
Jealous
Temperamental
Moody
Touchy
Careless
Cold
Unsystematic
Unintellectual
Uncreative
Inefficient
Bashful
Quiet
Shy
Extraverted
Bold
Complex

1
0.914
0.881
0.856
0.844
0.831
0.821
0.814
0.809
0.801
0.729
0.715
0.684
0.644
0.641
0.565
0.377

0.423

Factor
3

Personality traits
and work
performance
73

0.342
0.802
0.755
0.740
0.737
0.733
0.706
0.688
0.640
0.628
0.592
0.520
0.488
0.469
0.332
0.527
0.563
0.339
0.433

0.353
0.438
0.374

20.498
0.405

0.494

0.447
0.800
0.778
0.648
0.570
0.363
0.755
0.528
0.532
0.471
0.395

Notes: Extraction method: alpha factoring; rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization

are coded 1 in the transformed dependent variable. Similarly, the category satisfactory
is left as it is and all its 55 counts are coded 0 in the transformed dependent variable.
Each one of the five personality constructs is an independent variable in the logistic
regression model. Values for each one of these variables are obtained by adding (for
each one of the 83 respondents) the scores of all eight items that together represent one
specific personality construct.
Some summary statistics for the personality traits variables are reported in Table V.
As can be seen from the table, the variables are close in values in terms of their means

Table II.
Factor loadings of
personality trait items

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

74

Table III.
Five factors with
item descriptors

Table IV.
Frequency distribution of
supervisor ratings of the
performance of sales
assistants at DDF

and standard deviations. More importantly, the variables appear to be approximately

normally distributed as indicated by the closeness of the skewness statistics to 0.
The logistic regression model also includes gender as a predictor variable. This is
consistent with previous research, which has underscored the importance of gender as
a moderator variable that influences the relationships between the five personality
traits and job performance.
In this study, gender seems to be an important factor influencing the performance of
the sales assistants. There seems to be a difference in performance between males and
females. Table VI presents a cross-tabulation of performance and gender. As the table
shows, most of the males (62 percent) had highly satisfactory performance whereas
most of the females (78 percent) had only satisfactory performance. This suggests that
Extroversion

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Emotional stability

Openness to experience

Bashful
Bold
Energetic
Extraverted
Quiet
Shy
Talkative
Withdrawn

Cold
Cooperative
Harsh
Kind
Rude
Sympathetic
Unsympathetic
Warm

Careless
Disorganize
Efficient
Inefficient
Organized
Practical
Sloppy
Systematic

Envious
Fretful
Jealous
Moody
Relaxed
Temperamental
Touchy
Unenvious

Complex
Creative
Deep
Imaginative
Intellectual
Philosophical
Uncreative
Unintellectual

Outstanding
Good
Satisfactory
Needs improvement
Unacceptable
Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid percent

Cumulative percent

1
25
55
2
0
83

1.2
30.1
66.3
2.4
0
100.0

1.2
30.1
66.3
2.4
0
100.0

1.2
31.3
97.6
100.0
100

n-statistic Mean statistic Standard statistic Skewness statistic

Table V.
Descriptive statistics

Table VI.
Cross tabulation of
performance by gender

Emotional stability
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Extroversion
Openness to experience
Valid n (list wise)

83
83
83
83
83
83

37.8193
42.9036
46.0000
46.2651
47.1084

8.4003
6.9836
7.7002
8.3827
7.4539

20.623
21.593
20.650
21.361
21.345

SE
0.264
0.264
0.264
0.264
0.264

Statement

Male

Female

Total

Performance satisfactory count percentage within gender

Highly satisfactory count percentage within gender
Total count percentage within gender

8 (38.1)
13 (61.9)
100.0

47 (78.3)
13 (21.7)
100.0

55 (67.9)
26 (32.1)
100.0

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

gender may be an important influence on the performance of the sales assistants. At

any rate, this variable needs to be controlled for. This control is achieved by
incorporating this variable into the model.
The last predictor to include in the model is the type of education of the sales
assistants. Each sales assistant received either technical education (which includes
marketing) or just regular education. The type of education is expected to influence the
performance of the employee. More specifically, those with technical education are
expected to have better sales performance than that of those receiving just regular
education. The values of this variable are 1s if a sales assistant has had technical
education and 0s otherwise.
The general form of a logistic regression function, for two independent variables X1
and X2 and a binary dependent variable (Y), is the following:
ProbY 1 P

eaB1 X 1 B2 X 2
1 eaB1 X 1 B2 X 2

where:
e

the exponentiation function.

the constant term.

B1 and B2

logistic regression coefficients for the independent variables X1

and X2, respectively.

When estimated, this equation provides estimated coefficients, which can be used to
calculate the probability that Y equals 1 for any given values of the independent
variables. In other words, logistic regression coefficients can be used to predict
dependent variable probabilities for given values of the independent variables.
The logistic regression model for the study is represented by the following equation:
ProbSRPER 1
P

eaB1 CONB2 EXTB3 EMOB4 AGRB5 OPEB6 GENB7 TEDU

1

eaB1 CONB2 EXTB3 EMOB4 AGRB5 OPEB6 OPEB6 GENB7 TEDU

where:
SRPER supervisor-rated performance.
CON

conscientiousness.

EXT

extraversion.

EMO

emotional stability.

AGR

agreeableness.

OPE

openness to experience.

GEN

gender.

TEDU type of education.

In this model, the probability that SRPER equals 1, which is the same as the
probability that a sales assistants performance is highly satisfactory, is the function of

Personality traits
and work
performance
75

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

76

each one of the five personality traits and of that persons gender and type of education.
The estimated values of the logistic regression coefficients in this model will make it
possible to calculate a sales assistants probability of having a highly satisfactory
performance given values of that assistants scores on each one of the five personality
constructs in addition to his/her gender and type of education.
In the light of the hypotheses stated at the end of the literature review, the following
null hypotheses are tested through using the logistic regression model:
H01.

Conscientiousness has no effect on the performance of the sales assistants.

H02.

Agreeableness has no effect on the performance of the sales assistants.

H03.

Emotional stability has no effect on the performance of the sales assistants.

H04.

Extraversion has no effect on the performance of the sales assistants.

H05.

Openness to experience has no effect on the performance of the sales

assistants.

H06.

Gender has no effect on the performance of sales assistants.

H07.

Type of education has no effect on the performance of sales assistants.

To test the above hypotheses, there will be two logistic regression runs. In the first run,
only the five personality traits will be included as independent variables in the model.
In the second run, all five-personality traits together with gender and education will be
included in the model as independent variables. The rationale for these two steps is to
explore the role of gender and education as moderator factors in the relationships
between the five personality traits and job performance. If, based on the results of the
second run, the coefficients on these five traits changed in terms of statistical
significance, it can then be concluded that the moderator factors affect the relationships
between the traits in question and job performance.
The results of the first run is presented in Tables VII-IX while those of the second
run are presented in Tables X-XII.
Table VII shows that the model as a whole is not statistically significant ( p , 0.05);
the models x 2-statistic is significant at 0.55.

Table VII.
Omnibus tests of model
coefficients

Step 1 step
Block
Model

Observed
Table VIII.
Classification table

Performance satisfactory highly

Satisfactory
Overall percentage

x2

df

Sig.

3.998
3.998
3.998

5
5
5

0.550
0.550
0.550

Predicted
Performance
Satisfactory
Highly satisfactory
54
25

3
1

Percentage correct
94.7
3.8
66.3

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

The models predictive power is quite moderate. The model predicts correctly only 66
percent of the values of job performance of the sale assistants. As Table VIII shows, the
model predicts correctly roughly 95 percent of the category satisfactory but only 3.8
percent of the category highly satisfactory.
Table IX shows that the coefficient on emotional stability is not statistically
significant (Wald 0.554, p . 0.05). Hence, we accept the null hypothesis that
emotional stability has no effect on job performance. The coefficient on agreeableness
is not statistically significant (Wald 0.967, p . 0.05) which means that we have to
accept the null hypothesis that agreeableness does not predict the job performance of
the sales assistants. The coefficient on conscientiousness is not statistically significant
(Wald 2.6, p . 0.05). Here, also we have to accept the null hypothesis that
conscientiousness has no effect on job performance. The coefficient on openness to

EMO
AGR
EXT
CON
OP
Constant

SE

Wald

df

Sig.

20.029
0.003
20.048
0.121
20.014
22.516

0.49
0.071
0.051
0.075
0.059
1.761

0.350
0.002
0.675
2.599
0.059
2.040

1
1
1
1
1
1

0.554
0.967
0.411
0.107
0.807
0.153

Step 1 step
Block
Model

x2

df

Sig.

16.117
16.117
16.117

7
7
7

0.24
0.24
0.24

Predicted
Performance
Satisfactory
Highly satisfactory

Observed
Step 1 performance satisfactory (0.00)
Highly satisfactory (1.00)
Overall percentage

GEN
EXT
CON
OPE
EMO
AGR
TEDU
Constant

51
16

Personality traits
and work
performance
77

Table IX.
Regression coefficients
and their statistical
significance

Table X.
Omnibus tests of model
coefficients

Percentage correct

6
10

89.5
39.5
73.5

Table XI.
Classification table

SE

Wald

df

Sig.

2.014
20.101
0.149
0.034
20.019
20.019
0.140
23.769

0.619
0.068
0.081
0.065
0.053
0.075
0.603
1.893

10.582
2.206
3.344
0.268
0.137
0.062
0.054
3.964

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

0.001
0.137
0.067
0.605
0.711
0.803
0.816
0.046

Table XII.
Regression coefficients
and their statistical
significance

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

78

experience is not statistically significant (Wald 0.06, p . 0.05). Thus, we have to

accept the null hypothesis that openness to experience has no effect on job
performance. The coefficient on extraversion is not statistically significant
(Wald 0.67, p . 0.05). Hence, the null hypothesis that extraversion has no effect
on effect job performance is accepted.
In conclusion, none of the five personality factors appears to be a good predictor of
the supervisor-rated performance of sale assistants at DDF. The relationship between
these factors and the performance of the sale assistants may be influenced by
moderator factors, particularly gender and education.
As previously noted Tables X-XII present the results of the logistic model with Gen
(i.e. gender) and TEDU (i.e. type of education) included in the model.
Table X shows that the model as a whole is not significantly significant ( p , 0.05).
However, as Table XI shows, the model predicts correctly 73.5 percent of the values of
job performance of the sale assistants.
Table XII shows that the coefficient on gender is statistically significant at 0.01 as
indicated by the value of the Wald statistic ( p , 0.01). This indicates that gender is a
good predictor of the performance of the sale assistants. None of the coefficients on the
five personality factors, as well as the coefficient on education, is statistically
significant, though the coefficient on conscientiousness (with p 0.067) comes close to
being significant at 0.05. This suggests that gender does influence the relationship
between this personality trait and the job performance of the sale assistants. However,
this relationship is significant only at 0.067.
Discussion
The principal finding in the preceding data analysis is that conscientiousness is a fairly
good predictor of sales performance if this relationship is moderated by gender. This
finding is consistent with previous research, which has found that the predictive
validity of this personality trait generalizes across all criterion types (e.g. training
proficiency) and all occupations.
The finding for extraversion is to some extent consistent with previous research
findings. As previously noted, this personality trait is useful in predicting performance
in managerial and sales occupations. However, moderators are likely to influence the
relationship between this trait and performance in sales jobs. In this study, of all
the five personality constructs (with the exception of conscientiousness), extraversion
has come closest to being a statistically significant factor influencing supervisor-rated
performance of the sales assistants. Most probably, gender, which has turned out to be
an important predictor of sales performance, may have dampened the effect of this
personality construct on supervisor-rated performance of the sales assistants.
The fact that openness to experience and agreeableness have no effect on
supervisor-rated performance of the sales assistants is also consistent with previous
research findings which indicate that these two personality constructs are not good
predictors of performance at the occupational level. In addition, the fact that
agreeableness as well as neuroticism (i.e. emotional stability) has no influence on of the
sales assistants supervisor-rated performance is consistent with previous research
findings in as much as these two personality constructs are found to be good predictors
of job performance in jobs that involve teamwork interactions rather than those
involving dyadic or direct employee-customer (e.g. sales).

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

In this context, it worth mentioning that the culture of the UAE in a way or another
has influenced the findings of this study. The inherited Arab culture that includes
Arabic traditions, customs and morals play a role in influencing the daily life of UAE
citizens. Generally speaking, two kinds of value systems regulate the UAE society:
Bedouins and the ancient values of a sedentary population (Suliman, 2006). As is the
case in most cultures (Hofstede, 1984), the conflict between these two value systems is
inevitable in UAE society. For example, the relationships between male and female
members of society have started to take a more open form. The new generations have
tended to adopt new values, attitudes and customs that are different and some times
contradicting those traditional in the society. Many factors have led to this change,
such as increased physical and social mobility and development of education. Above
all, the revolution of globalization has led to more interaction between the worlds
different cultures through satellite channels, internet and other advanced
communication means. Similar to most Arab countries (e.g. Sudan and Egypt) the
value orientation of UAE society can be summarized in Table XIII.
The overall conclusion that emerges from the logistic regression results is that
gender is the most important predictor of the sales assistants supervisor-rated
performance. However, this overall conclusion and the results of the logistic regression
model have to be interpreted with the uttermost caution in view of the inconsistency of
the factor analysis to yield valid personality constructs.
Considering the findings of the current study some conclusions and
recommendations can be discussed. This study examined the relationship between
the five personality traits, namely, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion,
emotional stability, and openness to experience for the sales assistants at DDF and the
supervisor-rated performance of those sales assistants. The principal conclusion of the
study is that none of these five personality traits has any effect on the job performance of
the sales assistants. Another important conclusion that is the gender of the sales
assistant is an important factor that affects their performance. In addition, gender also
seems to affect (or moderate) the relationship between conscientiousness and job
performance of the sales assistants. The conclusions on the relationship between the five
personality traits and job performance of the sales assistants at DDF are merely
suggestive in view of the failure of the factor analysis to yield valid personality
constructs.
The only recommendation that seems to emerge from the study is that management
at DDF needs to explore and identify the factors that are responsible for the differences
in performance between male and female sales assistants. Such an effort could be part
of a managerial performance-enhancing strategy at DDF. Once such factors are
Aspect

Characteristic

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Personalistic and particularistic

Highly respected
Group oriented
Very high concern
High degree of vertical (kinship) and lateral (class)
stratification

General ethical orientation

Authority
Interpersonal relationships
Status and prestige
Social structure

Source: Suliman (2000)

Personality traits
and work
performance
79

Table XIII.
Aspects of Jordan society
value orientation

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

80

identified, DDF can then use retraining and differential motivational strategies to
improve the performance that is below standards.

References
Barrick, M.R. and Mount, M.K. (1991), The big five personality dimensions and job performance:
a meta-analysis, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp. 1-26.
Barrick, M.R. and Mount, M.K. (1993), Autonomy as a moderator of the relationships between
the big five personality dimensions and job performance, Journal of Applied Psychology,
Vol. 78 No. 1, pp. 111-18.
Barrick, M.R. and Mount, M.K. (1998), Five factor model of personality and performance in job
involving interactions, Human Performance, Vol. 11 Nos 2/3, pp. 145-65.
Furnham, A. and Premuzic, T.C. (2003), Personality traits and academic examination
performance, European Journal of Personality, Vol. 17, pp. 237-50.
Hofstede, G. (1984), Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values,
Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Hogan, R. (1996), Personality assessment, in Barrett, R.S. (Ed.), Fair Employment Strategies in
Human Resource Management, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.
Hormann, H.J. and Maschke, P. (1996), The relation between personality and job performance
of airline pilots, The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 171-8.
Mueller, G. and Plug, E. (2004), Estimating the effect of personality on male-female earnings,
Journal of Population Economics, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 117-31.
Nikolaou, A. and Robertson, I. (2001), The stability of the five-factor model of personality
in personnel selection and assessment, International Journal of Selection and Assessment,
Vol. 9, pp. 290-301.
Salgado, J.F. (1997), The five factor model of personality and job performance in the European
community, The Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 82 No. 1, pp. 30-43.
Saucier, G. (1994), Mini-markers: a brief version of Goldbergs unipolar big five markers,
Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 63 No. 3, pp. 506-16.
Suliman, A. (2000), Relationships between work environment, commitment and performance,
unpublished PhD thesis, Liverpool Business School, Liverpool.
Suliman, A. (2006), HRM in the UAE, in Bwdware, P., Pawan, S.B. and Mellahi, K. (Eds), HRM
in the Middle East, Routledge, London.
Tett, R., Jackson, D. and Rothstein, M. (1991), Personality measures as predictors of job
performance: a meta-analytic review, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 703-23.
van der Walt, H., Meiring, D., Rothmann, S. and Barrick, M. (2002), Meta-analysis of the
relationship between personality measurements and job performance in South Africa,
paper presented at the 5th Annual Industrial Psychology Conference, Pretoria, June.
Zhang, L.F. (2001), Thinking styles and the big five personality traits, Educational Psychology,
Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 100-7.

Further reading
Zeithaml, V., Parasuraman, A. and Leonard, L. (1991), Delivering Quality Service: Balancing
Customer Perceptions and Expectations, The Free Press, New York, NY.

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

Appendix 1
The questionnaire contains two sections. The first section deals with general background
information about the respondent, including gender, age, nationality, job, education, etc.
The second section includes the 40 items, which are designed to measure the five personality traits.
As previously noted, the questionnaire items related to the five-personality traits number 40,
with eight items for each personality trait. The questionnaire asks respondents to indicate how
accurately or inaccurately certain descriptors (e.g. harsh, rude, organized, etc.) apply to them.
Respondents are to choose a number between 1 and 9 to indicate how accurately or inaccurately a
certain descriptor applies to them. Numbers between 1 and 4 indicate accurate descriptions while
those between 6 and 9 indicate inaccurate description. Numbers 1-4 refer, respectively, to the
qualifiers extremely, very, moderately, and slightly. By the same token, the numbers 6-9 indicate,
respectively, the qualifiers extremely, very, moderately, and slightly. The number 5 indicates no
opinion.

Appendix 2. Coding of the questionnaire and work performance data

Demographic data
Educational level. This refers to the highest education level a respondent has attained. The
questionnaire asked each respondent to indicate his/her highest educational level. For the
purpose of statistical analysis, responses were coded as follow: 1 for high school or below, 2 for
technical college diploma 3 for university bachelor degree, and 4 for master degree.
Gender. The questionnaire asked each respondent to indicate his/her gender. The researchers
coded a male respondent 0 and female respondent as 1.
Age. This variable refers to the age of the employee. Respondents were asked to choose an age
group range within which his/her age would fall. For the purpose of statistical analyses, age
group ranges are coded as follows: 0 for 21 to less than 26 years, 1 for 26 to less than 32 years,
2 for 32 to less than 38 years, 3 for 38 to less than 44 years, 4 for 44 to less than 50 years, 5 for 50
to less than 55 years, and 6 for 55 to less than 60 years.
Personality traits items data
Data on the items measuring the five personality traits do not require further coding. The
previously mentioned coding of the descriptors is all that is needed for the purpose of statistical
analyses.
Work performance: measurement and data source
This variable refers to how well each sales assistant staff or individual has discharged his
his/her assigned duties. The researchers used the actual score reported on the employees annual
performance report as the measure for this variable. DDF uses annual performance and
development review for each employee. It also carries out annual work performance evaluations
for its employees. Each shift supervisor fills out a wok performance evaluation form for each
employee in the sales department. The work performance forms are sent to the duty manager
for review.
The annual performance and development review form contains three sections. The first
section is performance against key outcome areas. It lists specific actual accomplishments by the
employee during the review period. The second section deals with six competencies required for
effective performance of the reviewers work dealing with customer focus, working with others,
job knowledge, numerical and analytical organizational awareness, concern for detail, quality
and accuracy, innovation and continuous learning, problem solving and decision
communication, and listening. The third section deals with an overall assessment and
development plan. This section summarizes the performance of sales assistant during the year.
The performance is then assigned one of four rating outcomes:

Personality traits
and work
performance
81

IJCOMA
20,1

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

82

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

outstanding if performance consistently exceeds requirement;

good if performance consistently meets and frequently exceeds requirements;
satisfactory if performance meets requirements; and
unacceptable if performance fails to meet performance expectations.

As previously noted, data on the performance outcomes for DDF sales assistants were make
available for the purpose of this study.

Corresponding author
Abubakr M. Suliman can be contacted at: suliman11@yahoo.com

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

This article has been cited by:

Downloaded by UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA At 22:00 16 November 2014 (PT)

1. Peter Stokes, Mitch Larson, Suram Balasubrahmanyam, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Koustab Ghosh. 2013.
Prioritization of individual success indicators for managerial success. International Journal of Organizational
Analysis 21:3, 260-287. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]