Openness and job performance in US-based Japanese manufacturing companies

The current study examined one possible explanation for the lack of stabili ty found to date in the relationship between Openness to Experience, a seco nd-order Big Five personality factor, and job performance. An organizationa l setting and geographic locale were chosen, a priori, to reflect a conditi on that would increase the potential for openness to serve as an advantageo us personality disposition for job performance. Consequently, we studied jo b performance and openness among inhabitants of the southeast employed in U .S.-based Japanese manufacturing companies. A step-wise hierarchical regres sion analysis revealed that openness predicted unique variance in job perfo rmance for these employees above and beyond both cognitive aptitude, and th e other four personality dimensions of the Big Five. Explanations for the f inding and its implications on the study of personality-job performance lin kages are discussed.