Distinctive Personality Traits of Information Technology Professionals


  •  John Lounsbury    
  •  Eric Sundstrom    
  •  Jacob Levy    
  •  Lucy Gibson    

Abstract

Drawing on Holland’s (1985) vocational theory, Schneider’s (1987) ASA model, and the Big Five / narrow traits model of personality, the present study examined key Big Five and narrow traits that distinguish 12,695 IT professionals from 73,140 individuals in other occupations. IT professionals had significantly higher levels of agreeableness and tough-mindedness, and lower conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, assertiveness, customer service orientation, optimism, and work drive. These findings reinforce the functional value and person-occupation fit of this distinctive trait profile for the work of IT professionals in an era of technological and organizational change. Implications are described for future research as well as the recruitment, selection, management and promotion of IT professionals, as well as their training, development, coaching, and mentoring.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
  • ISSN(Print): 1913-8989
  • ISSN(Online): 1913-8997
  • Started: 2008
  • Frequency: quarterly

Journal Metrics

WJCI (2021): 0.557

Impact Factor 2021 (by WJCI):  0.304

h-index (December 2022): 40

i10-index (December 2022): 179

h5-index (December 2022): N/A

h5-median(December 2022): N/A

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