Predicting Personality and Mapping its Impacts in Rapidly Evolving Business Environments: A Behavioral Process Perspective

This dissertation provides empirical insights into predicting personality and mapping its impacts in rapidly evolving business environments. Following the notion of the lens model, the common core marks a set of (personality-evoked) behavioral processes, which are subject to change in dynamic business environments characterized by digitalization. Regarding this dissertation’s first focal area – Predicting Personality Based on Traditional and Novel Applicant Information (Chapter 2) – I examine (i) resumés’ (Article 2.1) and (ii) LinkedIn profiles’ (Article 2.2) predictive potential to accurately infer personality (i.e., the big five, narcissism, intelligence). I found both information bases to offer valid cues signaling personality that can be used by mechanical perceivers (machine learning algorithms) to achieve accuracy. Regarding the second focal area – Mapping Personality Traits’ Leadership Impacts in Face-to-Face and Virtual Groups (Chapter 3) – I illuminate the behavioral-perceptual group processes that explain (i) the narcissism-leadership emergence link (Article 3.1) and (ii) links between big five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability) and leadership emergence versus effectiveness (Article 3.2). Multiple mediator models revealed distinct behavioral-perceptual pathways linking personality to leadership outcomes, enhancing the process understanding of why individuals emerge as leaders and what makes them effective. Finally, regarding the third focal area – Zooming-in on Effective Vocational Behaviors in Rapidly Changing Business Environments (Chapter 4) – I shed light on the effectiveness of (i) individual strategies reported by teleworkers to organize their work processes (Article 4.1) and (ii) perceived remote leadership behaviors (Article 4.2), including moderating boundary conditions. The findings provide insights for organizational human resource practices, foreshadowing merits of (a) automated personality inferences as a non-invasive pre-screening tool, (b) personality-evoked behaviors and impressions related to interpersonal warmth and calmness in leader selection and development, and (c) adopting a conducive work attitude and instrumental leadership behaviors in remote work scenarios. Overall, this dissertation underlines the benefits of adopting a flexible (personality-evoked) behavior-centered perspective to address critical questions on the interplay of predicting personality and mapping its impacts in dynamic business environments, contributing to the advancement of research and practical applications in this domain