This article provides a qualitative review of the trait perspective in leadership research, followed by a meta-analysis. The authors used the five-factor model as an organizing framework and meta-analyzed 222 correlations from 73 samples. Overall, the correlations with leadership were Neuroticism = -.24, Extraversion = .31, Openness to Experience = .24, Agreeableness = .08, and Conscientiousness = .28. Results indicated that the relations of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness with leadership generalized in that more than 90% of the individual correlations were greater than 0. Extraversion was the most consistent correlate of leadership across study settings and leadership criteria (leader emergence and leadership effectiveness). Overall, the five-factor model had a multiple correlation of .48 with leadership, indicating strong support for the leader trait perspective when traits are organized according to the five-factor model.

The purpose of the current study is to address the distinctive roles of cognitive style and risk preference on four types of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. More specifically, we examine how both cognitive style and risk preference separately and interactively contribute to an individual's assessment of his/her own skills and abilities as well as to his/her own entrepreneurial intentions. This study investigated these relationships using an international sample of 528 entrepreneurial students across three universities. Results indicated that individuals with a high risk preference had higher levels of entrepreneurial intentions and opportunity-identification efficacy, whereas individuals with a low risk preference had higher levels of relationship efficacy, and tolerance efficacy. Individuals with an intuitive cognitive style were also found to have lower perceived self-efficacy concerning the establishment of relationship with investors, the economic management of the new venture, and their capacity to tolerate ambiguity. However, intuitive individuals who had a high preference for risk exhibited higher levels of opportunity identification efficacy. Finally, contrary to our final hypothesis, analytic individuals with a low preference for risk had higher levels of relationship and tolerance self-efficacy than intuitive individuals with a high risk preference. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

This paper investigates the extent to which differences in the likelihood of emerging as leaders are explained by genetic differences between individuals. Results indicated that approximately 17% of the variance in the latent construct of leadership emergence is explained by genetic effects that are mediated by intelligence and the Big Five personality traits. Because intelligence and the Big Five do not mediate all genetic influences on leadership emergence (other genetically‐influenced personal characteristics, such as height and attractiveness, are likely to mediate genetic effects on leadership emergence), the heritability estimate obtained in this study represents a lower‐bound estimate of the genetic influences on leadership emergence.

Training evaluation research and practice has been dominated by a focus on outcomes of completed training programs, or on methods used to assess these outcomes. This focus has largely neglected formative evaluation, which involves evaluating training during design and development. The purpose of this paper is to review existing models of formative evaluation and suggest an integrative practice model that is specifically targeted at improving training delivered in work organizations.

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