Evaluating How Openness and Agreeableness Influence Rewards and Affective Commitment Levels

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined how openness to experience and agreeableness moderate the relationship between non-financial and financial rewards and affective commitment in financial institutions. Methodology: A quantitative approach with probability sampling was used. Data were collected from 215 employees in 16 Bank of Ghana-licensed institutions in the Municipality in Ghana’s Upper West Region. Model estimation was performed using multiple linear regression. Results: The results showed that agreeableness significantly moderated the relationship between financial rewards and affective commitment. Additionally, openness moderates the relationship between affective commitment and nonfinancial rewards. Conclusions: This study concludes that rewards positively influence commitment. Therefore, organizations should use appropriate reward systems to strengthen employees' affective commitment. Since the study revealed that the personality traits of agreeableness and openness to experience positively influence affective commitment, managers should recognize and reward employees who demonstrate these traits. Limitations: The study was limited to the Wa Municipality, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings to other regions of Ghana, as not all regions were represented in the sample. Additionally, the use of a cross-sectional survey design limited the ability to establish causal relationships among the study variables because the data were collected at a single point in time. Contributions: This study highlights the importance of incorporating individual psychological characteristics into theoretical models of Human Resource Management (HRM) and employee motivation. The findings indicate that employees with different personality profiles respond differently to rewards, underscoring the need for more individualized approaches to reward management in the workplace.