E-CONSCIENTIOUSNESS AND E-PERFORMANCE IN ONLINE UNDERGRADUATE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION

In empirical studies of the five major factors of personality, Conscientiousness is one of the few traits consistently correlated with organizational performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991). A question for management educators, then, is whether Conscientiousness is also highly correlated with educational performance. In this study, we test this correlation in the online management education classroom where we have access to straightforward behavioral (rather than self-reported) measures of both conscientiousness and classroom performance. The tracking technology of the online classroom allows us to collect real-time data about student conscientious behavior to compare with actual student performance over the time-period of one semester. By testing the model of conscientiousness as a predictor of course performance in the e-classroom we contribute to the literatures linking personality traits with performance, suggest ways to move beyond self-report for personality studies, as well as suggest ways in which the online classroom may be mined for behavioral data in organizational studies.

References:
Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The big five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 1-26.