Relationship Between Different Combinations of Personality Traits and Motivation Mechanism: Change Leadership as Mediator

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify combinations of different personality traits among teaching faculty and explore for which combinations college managers should use change leadership to mediate their cognition in a motivation mechanism and for which combinations doing so is not necessary. In this study, two-stage cluster analysis and partial least squares are the methods for identifying different combinations of personality traits and test mediation. This study uses 350 samples for analysis. From the test results, this study first identifies three combinations of personality traits, including “high central force but outgoing”, “middle–high central force but outgoing and a little nervousness”, and “synthesizing type”. The “highly central force but outgoing” and “middle–high central force but outgoing and a little nervousness” do not need to be mediated by change leadership, and teaching faculty who have these two combinations of personality traits will have positive attitudes or thoughts towards the motivation mechanism. Regarding the “synthesizing type”, those with this combination of personality traits will demonstrate complex attitudes, reactions, or thinking, and therefore, college managers should think about how to change their attitudes or behaviour through change leadership to communicate and guide them to accept the motivation mechanism.