The impact of employees‟ personality traits in perceiving leadership styles and organizational ...

356 Pages·2015·4.57 MB·English

The impact of employees‟ personality traits in perceiving
leadership styles and organizational attitude in Saudi Banking
context

Seita Mandeel Almandeel

The thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth
Business School

Department of Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management
(OSHRM)
University of Portsmouth
September
2014
Abstract

This thesis explores the influence of employees‟ personality types (Neuroticism (N),
Openness to Experience (O), Conscientiousness (C), Agreeableness (A) and Extraversion
(E)) on leadership styles (Transformational, Transactional and Avoidant) and on employees‟
attitudes to their organisation (Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention) in banks in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The objectives of this thesis are to identify the impact of
personality traits on: perceptions of Leadership behaviour, Job Satisfaction and Turnover
Intention among employees of Saudi banks.
The data for this thesis were collected using online questionnaires from 343 branch
employees from two Saudi commercial banks operating in Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia. The
data obtained was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and
structural equation modelling (AMOS) by means of correlation, multiple-regression analysis
and a Sobel mediational test.
The findings indicated that high Conscientiousness (C) has an influence on increasing Job
Satisfaction while the personality traits of high Neuroticism (N) and high Conscientiousness
(C) have positive and negative impact on Turnover Intention respectively. Secondly, the
results of the study reinforce the hypothesis that Saudi Arabian employees who score high in
Neuroticism (N) are less likely to perceive their banks‟ leader as either Transformational or
Transactional. Third, it was found that high Conscientiousness (C) bank employees are more
likely to perceive their leader to be Transformational or Transactional whereas Openness to
Experience (O) Saudi bank employees are less likely to perceive their leader as having an
Avoidant Leadership style. Finally, the results indicated that the relationship between
Neuroticism (N) and Turnover Intention is negatively mediated by perceived
Transformational and Transactional Leadership styles, wheares the relationship between
Conscientiousness (C) and Turnover Intention is negatively mediated by perceived
Transactional Leadership styles. The relationship between Conscientiousness (C) and Job
Satisfaction is positively mediated by perceived Transactional Leadership style.
This research thesis contributes to organisational behaviour and Leadership theory; it is one
of the first empirical studies within the Saudi context to investigate the mediating role of
perception of Leadership styles between personality traits and employees‟ attitudes to their
II
organisation. It is also one of the first studies to establish a relationship between personality
traits, Leadership styles and attitude to the organisation (Job Satisfaction and Turnover
Intention) in a banking context

III
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the director of this study, Professor Charlotte
Rayner, and my associate supervisor, Doctor Emma Brown, for their inspiration, valuable
detailed guidance, support and encouragement during this research. I am also grateful to the
wonderful individuals in the University of Portsmouth for their kind help and continued
support. I must also thank the University for the opportunities, privileges and long-term
support it has provided. I would also like to extend my thanks to all the staff in the Business
School and to the staff of the Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management
specifically. Further, I acknowledge the hundreds of participants and their banks in Saudi
Arabia for their help with the research survey.

I would like to extend my deep thanks and gratitude to all of my family members who
contributed to supporting, and encouraging me during my studies. Words cannot express the
feelings I have for my parents for their constant unconditional support and for their daily
prayers. Even when they suffered due to my absence, they continued supporting me in
finishing my research. The completion of this research is but a very small reward for their
efforts and great expectations.

I owe my loving thanks to my husband and daughters (Noura, Moudhy and Shoug) who have
missed out on many things during my study. Without their encouragement and understanding
it would have been impossible for me to finish this work. I am espicialy greatful for the
encouragement from my brothers, sisters and lovely friends in Portsmouth for their amaizing
support.

Last, but not least, the sponsorship of my country, Saudi Arabia, for their financial support
and care from my advisors in the Saudi Cultural Bureau, must also be gratefully
acknowledged.
IV
Declaration
The impact of employees‟ personality traits in perceiving leadership styles and organizational
attitude in Saudi Banking context
Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Portsmouth
Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any other
research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the work of the
named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award.

V
List of abbreviations

KSA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
SAMA: Saudi Monitory Association.
GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council.
PA: Positive affectivity.
NA: Negative affectivity.
JS: Job satisfaction.
TI: Turnover intention.
N: Neuroticism.
C: Conscientiousness.
O: Openness to Experience.
A: Agreeableness.
E: Extraversion.
TSFL: Transformational Leadership style.
TSCL: Transactional Leadership style.
AVOL: Avoidant Leadership style.
CFA: Confirmatory Factor Analysis..
SEM: Structural Equation Modelling.

VI
Definition of terms

The following definitions were applied to form the basis of this research.
Leadership: "A relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of
other people" Mullins (2002, p. 904).
Personality: “generalisation about human nature, and exploration of individual differences”
(Hogan, 2005, p. 334).
Positive (PA) affectivity:
The extent to which a person has feelings of energetic and pleasurable engagement.
Individuals who have high PA are more likely to display pleasurable engagement in their
work and and have a sense of overall wellebeing. (Adapted from Watson et al., 1988; Keith
and Frese, 2005).

Negative (NA) affectivity: reflects feeling of anxiety and distress, so that individuals with
high (NA) are more likely to experience negative feeling across situations that may create
barriers in social interaction (adapted from Watson et al., 1988; Keith and Frese, 2005)
Job satisfaction: involves the feeling of employees towards their jobs and controls and drives
employees; behaviours and work attitude, When job satisfaction is positive employees are
satisfied with their job, and the negative feeling is a sign of dissatisfaction (Adapted
from‟Armstrong , 2004).
Turnover intention: “The intention to voluntarily change companies or to leave the
labour market altogether” (Falkenburg & Schyns, p. 711).

VII
Table of contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... II
Acknowledgements……………………….…………………………………………………IV
Declaration............................................................................................................................... V
List of abbreviations .............................................................................................................. VI
Definition of terms ............................................................................................................... VII
Table of contents ................................................................................................................. VIII
List of figures ....................................................................................................................... XIII
List of tables......................................................................................................................... XVI
Chapter1: Introduction ........................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Empirical research context ................................................................................................... 4
1.2.1 Location and population of Saudi Arabia ..................................................................... 4
1.2.2 Saudi economy .............................................................................................................. 5
1.2.3 The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) ........................................................... 6
1.2.4 Historical background to the banking sector in Saudi Arabia ....................................... 7
1.2.5 Saudi commercial banks................................................................................................ 8
1.3 National culture of Saudi Arabia ....................................................................................... 12
1.4 Aims of the Study .............................................................................................................. 15
1.5 Significance of the study .................................................................................................... 16
1.6 Structure of the Thesis ...................................................................................................... 20
Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................... 23
2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 23
2.2 Personality models ............................................................................................................. 23
2.2.1 Traits theories of personality ....................................................................................... 23
2.2.2 The Big Five personality model .................................................................................. 24
2.2.3 Cattell‟s personality model......................................................................................... 29
2.2.4 Eysenck‟s personality model ....................................................................................... 30
2.3 Leadership theories ............................................................................................................ 33
2.3.1 Leadership development ............................................................................................. 33
2.3.2 The traits approach to leadership ................................................................................ 34
2.3.3 The social construction of leadership .......................................................................... 34
2.3.4 The behavioural approach to leadership...................................................................... 35
VIII
2.3.5 The contingency dimension of leadership ................................................................... 36
2.3.6 Full range of leadership ............................................................................................... 37
2.3.7 Charismatic-inspirational leadership ........................................................................... 38
2.3.8 Transactional leadership style ..................................................................................... 39
2.3.9 Avoidant or passive leadership ................................................................................... 39
2.3.10 Distinguishing charismatic from Transformational approaches ............................... 41
2.3.11 Summary of conceptual approaches to leadership .................................................... 44
2.4 Empirical study of leadership style .................................................................................... 45
2.4.1 Leadership and organisational outcome ...................................................................... 46
2.4.2 Leadership and job satisfaction ................................................................................... 47
2.4.3 Leadership and personality.......................................................................................... 48
2.5 Job satisfaction ................................................................................................................... 54
2.5.1 Definition of job satisfaction ....................................................................................... 55
2.5.2 Dispositional model of job satisfaction ....................................................................... 57
2.5.3 The two-factor theory of satisfaction .......................................................................... 60
2.5.4 Social information processing model of job satisfaction ............................................ 61
2.5.5 Factors influencing job satisfaction............................................................................. 61
2.6 Turnover intention definition ............................................................................................. 66
2.6.1 Mobley‟s (1977) model of the turnover process ......................................................... 67
2.6.2 The unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover (Mitchell & Lee, 2001) ......... 69
2.6.3 Empirical studies based on exogenous variables of turnover intention ...................... 71
2.6.4 Empirical studies based on endogenous variables of turnover intention .................... 73
2.6.5 Personality and turnover intention .............................................................................. 76
2.7 Theoretical framework ....................................................................................................... 79
2.7.1 The relationship between employees‟ personality and job satisfaction ...................... 80
2.7.2 The relationship between employees‟ personality and turnover intention .................. 82
2.7.3 The relationship between employees’ personality traits and leadership style ... 84
2.7.4 Mediation hypothesis .................................................................................................. 88
2.8 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 92
Chapter 3: Research Methodology ....................................................................................... 94
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 94
3.2 Statement of Aims.............................................................................................................. 94
3.3 Research philosophy .......................................................................................................... 95
IX
3.4 Justification for using quantitative data ............................................................................. 97
3.5 Research approach ........................................................................................................... 101
3.5.1 The categories of theoretical and methodological approaches .................................. 103
3.6 Methodological fit ............................................................................................................ 105
3.7 Research methods ............................................................................................................ 105
3.7.1 Online survey ............................................................................................................ 106
3.7.2 Questionnaire design ................................................................................................. 108
3.7.3 Measures.................................................................................................................... 109
3.7.4 Testing the measures ................................................................................................. 121
3.7.5 Sampling strategy ...................................................................................................... 122
3.7.6 Data access process ................................................................................................... 128
3.8 Main Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 128
3.8.1 Reliability and validity of the questionnaire ............................................................. 129
3.9 Data analysis .................................................................................................................... 131
3.9.1 Correlation analysis ................................................................................................... 131
3.9.2 Regression analysis ................................................................................................... 132
3.9.3 Statistical significance ............................................................................................... 132
3.9.4 Overview of structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis ..................................... 132
3.9.5 Ethical considerations ............................................................................................... 135
3.10 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 136
Chapter 4: The preliminary data analysis ......................................................................... 138
4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 138
4.2 Data screening and cleaning ............................................................................................ 139
4.3 Descriptive statistics ........................................................................................................ 140
4.3.1 Respondents‟ personal profiles ................................................................................. 140
4.3.2 Assessing statistical normality .................................................................................. 146
4.3.3 Inter-correlation among variables ............................................................................. 147
4.3.4 Ranking analysis of Likert-Type Scale of measurements ......................................... 149
4.4 Structural equation model analysis (SEM) ...................................................................... 154
4.4.1 Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) ......................................................................... 155
4.4.2 Maximum likelihood (ML) ....................................................................................... 155
4.4.3 Evaluation of goodness-of-fit of the model............................................................... 156
4.4.4 Chi-squared test ......................................................................................................... 156
X