The relationship between personality traits and subordinate resistance in knowledge workers

Abstract

Existing leadership literature has predominantly focused on followers who are receptive to the leader’s influence. Where non-conformist behaviour has been studied, limited research has focused on the distinct typologies of subordinate resistance. Furthermore, scholars have called for exploring employee individual differences to gain insight into the observed rise in workplace discontent. This study investigates the relationship between individual differences and subordinate resistance in organisational contexts. Through the lens of trait theory, the research aimed to explain how personality traits influence resistant behaviour and which personality traits are associated with distinct categories of subordinate resistance. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey method was adopted to gather data from knowledge workers employed in South Africa (N = 298). Non-probability, followed by snowball sampling, was leveraged to access suitable employees. The measurement instruments encompassed the Big Five Inventory scale, Tepper’s functional and dysfunctional resistance scale, and the newly conceptualised subordinate resistance scale. A univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) assessed the link between personality traits and subordinate resistance. Additionally, a Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) explored the associations between personality traits and distinct categories of subordinate resistance. The study found that negative emotionality has a significant positive impact on subordinate resistance. Additionally, negative emotionality positively influenced three specific categories of subordinate resistance: effort minimisation, undermining team cohesion, and ambiguous or emotional communication. The study contributes a nuanced understanding by providing evidence linking a well-established construct, negative emotionality, to the newly conceptualised categories of subordinate resistance.