Organisational routines versus individual agency and personality

Abstract

Although rules and routines are recognised as important factors in decision-making, many people frequently deviate from rules. In a previous exploratory case study, research focused on how a combination of human agency and personality traits affects rule-following behaviour. In this survey (n = 128), results were further investigated and indicated a partial relation between agency and rule-following behaviour. With regard to personality traits, both conscientiousness and altruism correlate negatively with the propensity to deviate.