The Relationship between Personality, Numeracy Abilities and Managerial Decision-Making

Abstract

The study investigates how personality and numeracy abilities predict performance across three facets of decision-making competence (DMC) among managers. It addresses a timely and important topic at the intersection of individual differences and managerial decision-making. The analysis is based on data collected from 80 managers enrolled in Executive EMBA programs at the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business. Participants completed validated research tools, including the Polish Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI-PL), the Berlin Numeracy Test (BNT), and three subscales of the Adult Decision-Making Competence (ADMC) framework: Applying Decision Rules (DR), Consistency in Risk Perception (RP), and Resistance to Sunk Costs (SC). The research utilized correlation analyses to assess the relationships between personality traits, numeracy abilities, and decision-making competence. Moderation analyses examined whether numeracy abilities moderated the effect of personality on decision-making competence. I found significant positive correlations between numeracy abilities and all three facets of decision-making competence, with the strongest effect observed for resistance to sunk costs. In contrast, personality showed little predictive power, with only openness to experience demonstrating a modest correlation with decision-making competence. Moderation analyses revealed that numeracy abilities significantly moderated the relationship between extraversion and applying decision rules and also moderated the relationship between agreeableness and consistency in risk perception. Other interactions were marginal or non-significant. Although a relatively small sample size limits the findings’ generalizability, the analysis offers meaningful insights into the relationship between numeracy, personality, and managerial decision-making competence. The results highlight the relevance of numeracy in managerial decision-making and its potential role in managerial development.