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Recent personnel selection studies have focused on the 5-factor model of personality. However, the stability of this factor structure in job applicant populations has not been determined. Conceptual and empirical evidence has suggested that similar factor structures should not be assumed across testing situations that have different purposes or consequences. A study was conducted that used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the fit of the 5-factor model to NEO Five-Factor Inventory (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1989) test data from student and applicant samples. The 5-factor structure fit the student data but did not fit the applicant data. The existence of an ideal-employee factor in the applicant sample is suggested. The findings are discussed in terms of both construct validity issues and the use of the Big Five in personnel selection.

Recent evidence has suggested that attitudes‐organizational effectiveness relations may exist. Relations between employee attitudes, organizational unit performance, customer satisfaction, and turnover were examined at the branch level for a large automobile finance company. Using data from 142 branches in 2 consecutive years, several significant relations between attitude factors and performance were observed. In addition, causal analyses conducted at the branch level suggested that customer satisfaction led to employee attitudes, rather than the opposite. Additional analyses to explain this result suggested that economic conditions and related factors might be the causal mechanism at the aggregated level. Other potential interpretations of these findings and caveats about generalizing organizational‐level findings to the individual level are discussed.

Previous research has established links between employee attitudes and customer satisfaction. Little theory has been used to help explain and build on the results of these studies. A theoretical model of the employee attitude‐customer satisfaction process is proposed based on Bagozzi's (1992) model of attitudes, intentions and behavior. Employee attitudes and intentions, and customer satisfaction data from a service‐oriented organization with 160 offices is used to provide an initial test of the usefulness of the model. Cross‐validations of the model with and without common method variance were conducted. The results provide strong support for the model. Suggestions are offered on extensions of the model in future research.