Within the context of a larger investigation of innovation training effectiveness in a multinational Fortune 500 company, this study considered how Five Factor Model (FFM; Digman, 1990) personality traits influence group climate through participation in a novel, process-oriented, group-based approach to management training. Data were collected from 301 middle-management employees who participated in week-long, residential training programs within the company's research and development division. Personality traits were defined as obtained scores on the Five Factor Mini-Marker (Saucier, 1994). Group climate was measured at two time points with the Group Climate Questionnaire - Short Form (MacKenzie, 1983).
The study was multilevel in nature. At both individual and group levels of analysis, Openness to Experience (Openness) was expected to be positively related to participant group climate ratings of engagement. It was expected that Agreeableness would predict increased engagement at both individual and group levels. At the group level, Conscientiousness was expected to be associated with increased conflict.
Multilevel models were developed to test the study's hypotheses. None of the hypotheses were supported. A significant, positive influence of initial group-level engagement was observed, indicating that an individual participant's group cohesion rating increased as the other members of the group rated the initial session's group climate as more cohesive. Likewise, higher group-level engagement ratings predicted higher individual-level cohesion ratings following the final group meetings. A significant interaction was observed between individual participants' Openness scores and initial group-level engagement ratings. When other members of the group rated the climate as less cohesive, individuals scoring higher on Openness rated the group as more cohesive than members scoring lower on Openness. Post-hoc analyses revealed a significant interaction between individuals' Emotional Stability and group-level engagement ratings on individual ratings of engagement at the end of the small group experiences. When other members of the group rated the climate as more cohesive, individuals scoring higher on Emotional Stability rated the group as significantly more cohesive than individuals scoring lower on Emotional Stability. Post-hoc analyses also indicated an inverse main effect of group-level Emotional Stability and group-level Conflict.