The Joint Effects of Personality and Behavioural Intentions on Academic Knowledge Productivity Behaviours

Abstract

This current study investigates individual differences factors impacting the Knowledge Productivity Behaviour of academic. In this study academic knowledge productivity are defined as the capability with which individuals achieve creation and production of knowledge knowledge-based improvements, exploitation, and innovations through their knowledge activities.
In this study the Big Five (B5) personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism are proposed to influence productivity. In addition, these personality traits are expected, at least in part, to have their effect mediated and moderate through variables associated with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB).
The methodology used in this study was quantitative in nature. A survey methodology was used with a Malaysian working academic sample. This study describes results to date from a pilot study, and the very beginning of analysis from main study, main study data (Time 1) and follow up data approximately a year after (Time 2) and a supplementary qualitative data.
This study adopts a quantitative method and online questionnaires were used as the instruments for data collection. The on-line survey was administered by emailing potential respondents a link. Volunteer respondents were academics from Malaysia Public University (N=985).
The descriptive analysis of the pilot, main data and one-year follow-up data was done using SPSS version 20. In particular, in main study and one-year follow-up data, estimating the path coefficients associated with specific hypotheses, indirect effects were estimated for the hypotheses which propose that TPB mediates personality effects on KPB, in order to determine whether the mediated effects are statistically significant. These were determined using path analysis conducted with an accepted SEM package such as MPlus.
Overall in this study, all possible relationships among the set of five personalities (Big Five), the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Knowledge Productivity Behaviour (KPB), as well as KPB construct; Knowledge Acqusition (KA), Knowledge Sharing (KS) and Knowledge Transfer (KT) were estimated. These results support the preliminary hypotheses, however for the main study (Time 1 social science data) only openness, agreeableness and extraversion
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were reported significant with KPB. Meanwhile only Openness were reported significant with KPB in Time 2 social science data.
As was reported in this study, all four of the TPB variables, i.e., Attitude, Norm Perceived Behavioural Control and Intention, have strong, positive, and statistically significant relationships with each other. However, Subjective Norms did not predict behavioural intentions for KPB. Moreover sub-models specified to test the Big Five relationship with TPB for their direct effects, predicting Emotional Stability and Openness traits on Attitude, both Time 1 and Time 2 models reported that only Openness variable had significant effects on Attitude.
Furthermore, this study also estimated the interaction effects of Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness with Subjective Norms and Perceived Behavioural Control on Intention. Nonetheless, these results indicate all of these hypotheses are not supported both in Time 1 and Time 2 models. Finally, a set of multi-group analyses performed to compare estimates from the two Time 1 samples (Social Science and Science Technology). The results show Openness to Social Norms path was significantly different in the two samples.
In sum, based on the discussion of the outcomes, it is expected that this study will bring better understanding to the current knowledge and theoretically and empirically contribute to a bigger literature on Big Five personality traits and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. In addition, through this study, academics in Malaysia public university can take the opportunities to be more productive in Knowledge Productivity Behaviour. Apart from that, other theories such as understanding the concept of motivation can be added to this research. user satisfaction or university-industry-government relationships and measuring the effective of organisation as well for results of the academics KPB can be expanded to a further research and increased more details.