The relationship between Kolb's experiential learning styles and Big Five personality traits in international managers

• Relationship between Kolb's experiential learning style and personality was examined.
• 269 international managers completed NEO-FFI and KLSI 3.1.
• Extraverted managers tend to have an accommodative learning style.
• Kolb's experiential learning style construct is associated with personality, but is also distinct from personality.

This study investigates the relationship between learning style and personality in international managers. Two-hundred-and-sixty-nine managers completed the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (KLSI 3.1). Regression analyses revealed that extraverted managers: have a preference for grasping new experience by engaging in concrete experience rather than abstract conceptualization; prefer to transform experience via active experimentation rather than reflective observation; and tend to have an accommodative learning style. It was concluded that while Kolb's experiential learning style construct is associated with personality, it is also distinct from personality.