Big Five Personality Factors: Its Role in Determining Organizational Commitment

Retaining the highly committed employees is a key to success and flourishing of an organization. Plethora of research has been carried out in the field of organizational behaviour reflecting the importance organizational commitment holds in predicting variables of interest to organizations such as job satisfaction (Cooper-Hakim & Viswesvaran, 2005), organizational citizenship behaviour (LePine, Erez, & Johnson, 2002), reduction in turnover intentions (CooperHakim & Viswesvaran, 2005; Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 2013; Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch, & Topolnytsky, 2002), curtailment in absenteeism (Farrell & Stamm, 1988; Klein, Becker, & Meyer, 2009), and job performance (Becker & Billings, 1993; CooperHakim & Viswesvaran, 2005). The organizational commitment is a positivejob attitude which generates loyalty of an employee and acts as a propeller for employee's performance (Porter, Steers, Mowday, & Boulian, 1974). The organizations strive for retaining committed employees (Petrides & Furnham, 2006). Significance of harbouring organizational commitment directs our attention towards need for recognizing its precursors which would ensure person-environment fit (Weiner, 1982).Among the antecedents recognized, apart from personality which is dispositional in nature, majority are situational and experiential (Choi, Oh, & Colbert, 2015). Personality is regarded as an important factor in determining desirable individual level outcomes within an organization (Penney, David, & Witt, 2011, p.297). The last decade has witnessed a surge in researches attempting to draw linkages between personality traits and organizational commitment (Abdullah, Omar, & Rashid, 2013; Abedi, Mahali, Mirzaian, & Ghara, 2014; Choi, Oh, & Colbert, 2015; Darbanyan, Samavatyan, Oreyzi, & Mousavirad, 2014; Ganu& Kogutu, 2014; Hawass, 2012; Khiavi, Dashti, & Mokhtari, 2016; Khoeini & Attar, 2015; Kumar & Bakhshi, 2010; Panaccio & Vandenberghe, 2012). Results from the studies examining dispositional antecedents have inconclusive findings (Choi, Oh, & Colbert, 2015; Klein, Becker, & Meyer, 2009). This generates doubt in the efficacy of traits or dispositional factors in shaping organizational commitment. However, this does not assuage the role of personality and it demands further investigation. Additionally, the studies differed on their conceptual underpinnings with respect to measurement of personality. Review reveals that the studies are either based on positive affectivitynegative affectivity typology (Cropanzano, James, & Konovsky, 1993; Thorensen, Kaplan, Barsky, Warren, & de Chermont, 2003) or Big Five Model (Chandel, Sharma, & Bansal, 2011; Erdheim, Wang, & Zickar, 2006; Kumar & Bakhshi, 2010; Naquin & Holton, 2002; Spagnoli & Caetano, 2012). On comparison ofmeta analytic studies conducted on three taxonomies, core self evaluations, Big Five Model (Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002), and positive affectivitynegative affectivity typology (Connolly & Viswesvaran, 2000), it was concluded that taxonomy of core self evaluations is the most useful predictor of organizationally relevant outcomes (Judge & Heller, 2001). At the face of scholars and researchers in the field advocating for the superiority and utility of a given taxonomy over the other, before accepting, while remaining skeptical further studies are needed to be carried out for confirmation.Big Five Factor Model ofpersonality (McCrae & Costa, 1987) is widely researched in the field of organizational behaviour. The role of Big Five Factors has been reckoned in researches onjob attitudes (e.g., Chandel, Sharma, & Bansal, 2011; Erdheim, Wang, & Zickar, 2006; Kumar & Bakhshi, 2010; Naquin & Holton, 2002; Spagnoli & Caetano, 2012). As per Erdheim, Wang, and Zickar (2006), big five factor model gives a more comprehensive picture and deeper understanding of personality. …