Person–Organisation Fit Across Cultures: An Empirical Investigation of Individualism and Collectivism

The present study extended person–organisation fit research by concentrating exclusively on one national culture dimension affecting organisational values: individualism–collectivism (I–C). Volunteers ( N =581) from two matched organisations (hospitals and management consultancies) in Australia and in South‐East Asia completed questionnaires measuring individuals' orientations on I–C and other organisational variables. Two types of fit were analysed: interactions between (1) individual I–C and national culture, and (2) individual I–C and organisational culture. These interactions were tested in relation to three outcome variables: organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and tenure. Both national and organisational differences were found with respect to I–C. Asian organisations were more collectivistic than Australian organisations, and hospitals were more collectivistic than management consultancies. In support of person–nation fit hypotheses, collectivists were more committed to their organisations and had longer tenure than individualists in Asian, as compared to Australian organisations. Interaction terms were significant even in the presence of direct effects of collectivism on organisational commitment and tenure. The same results were not found for job satisfaction. Predicted effects of person–organisation fit were not found at the organisational level within cultures.     

Inter‐Relationships among Different Types of Person–Environment Fit and Job Satisfaction

This paper investigates how different types of person–environment (P–E) fit work together to influence job satisfaction. One field study and a re‐analysis of Cable and DeRue's (2002) data were conducted to investigate the inter‐relationships linking different types of fit perceptions and job satisfaction. An employment relationship model describing how person–organisation values congruence (OVC), demands–abilities (D–A), and needs–supplies (N–S) fit perceptions relate to each other and job satisfaction is proposed and tested. Results support a model where N–S fit mediated the impact of both OVC and D–A fit on job satisfaction. Furthermore, OVC was related also to satisfaction both directly and indirectly, whereas D–A fit was only related to satisfaction via N?S fit.     

个人与组织价值观匹配对员工工作投入、组织支持感的影响

采用问卷调查法,考察个人与组织价值观匹配和员工的工作满意度、工作投入、组织支持感以及离职意向之间的关系。对33家生产型企业798名员工进行了问卷调查,通过对数据的统计分析,结果表明：个人与组织价值观匹配对员工的工作满意度、工作投入和组织支持感具有显著的正向预测作用,对员工的离职意向具有显著的负向预测作用。     

Perceived Emotional Demands–Abilities Fit

The purposes of this paper are to introduce the concept of perceived emotional demands–abilities (ED–A) fit and develop theory about how it relates to other fit perceptions as well as employee well‐being and performance outcomes. ED–A fit is defined as the perceived congruence or match between the emotional demands of the job and one's abilities to meet those demands. In two studies using occupationally diverse samples from Western and Eastern cultures, we empirically distinguished perceived ED–A fit from other fit perceptions (i.e. person–organisation, demands–abilities, needs–supplies, person–group, person–supervisor). In addition, across the two studies, we found that perceived ED–A fit accounted for incremental variance in job satisfaction, work tension, felt inauthenticity, burnout, self and supervisor ratings of job performance, and psychological need satisfaction, controlling for the effects of other fit perceptions.     

Longitudinal Examination of the Relationship Between Supplies–Values Fit and Work Outcomes

This study focuses on the robustness of the relationship between supplies–values (S–V) fit and work outcomes. Specifically, the functional form that best describes the relationships of three different dimensions of S–V fit (i.e. intrinsic work aspects, extrinsic work aspects, and social relations at work) with job satisfaction, intention to leave the organisation and psychological well‐being was investigated using the moderated regression technique proposed by Edwards (1991, 1994). This study extends previous research by examining the stability of these relationships across two occasions, separated by a period of four years. Results showed that the functional form of the relationship of S–V fit with work outcomes differed by the S–V fit dimension and the work outcome under investigation. However, the functional form of each of these relationships on the first occasion was almost identical to the form of the relationships on the second occasion. Additionally, results showed that all three S–V fit dimensions affected job satisfaction and intention to leave, but had only a weak effect on psychological well‐being. The organisational supplies component, as well as its quadratic term in particular, had a large influence on job satisfaction and intention to leave. Implications for future research in the P–O fit area are discussed.     

Person–Organization Fit, Job Choice Decisions, and Organizational Entry

To investigate job seekers’ and new employees’ subjective person–organization (P-O) fit perceptions, we studied 96 active job seekers across three time periods, from their initial job search activity to their intended turnover from the jobs they accepted. Hypotheses were motivated by P-O fit, job choice, and organizational entry research and centered around two questions: What are the determinants of job seekers’ and new employees’ P-O fit perceptions, and how important are P-O fit perceptions in job choice decisions and work attitudes relative to job attributes? Results indicated that job seekers’ P-O fit perceptions are predicted by the congruence between their values and their perceptions of recruiting organizations’ values but not by their demographic similarity with organizational representatives. Results also suggested that P-O fit perceptions predict both job choice intentions and work attitudes, even after controlling for the attractiveness of job attributes. Finally, results suggested that job seekers can manage their future work attitudes by weighing P-O fit in their job choice decisions.     

A Tailored Policy‐capturing Study on PO Fit Perceptions: The ascendancy of attractive over aversive fit

Job‐seekers are attracted to organizations if they perceive fit between their personal values and those of an organization. It is often assumed that people's person–organization (PO) fit perceptions reflect an overall comparison between the person and the organization: fits on values that are personally attractive, aversive, or relatively neutral are weighed equally. In this study, we questioned this assumption. Based on regulatory focus theory and construal level theory, we proposed that fit on values that are personally attractive would especially contribute to the perception of PO fit. Four policy‐capturing studies indeed showed that job‐seekers do not weigh all value fits equally. Rather, they weigh fit on personally attractive values more heavily than fit on personally aversive and neutral values. Thus, job‐seekers perceive high PO fit particularly when information about a prospective organization supports values that are personally attractive to them. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

PAY PREFERENCES AND JOB SEARCH DECISIONS: A PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT PERSPECTIVE

The present study investigated the degree to which pay preferences influenced job search decisions in both hypothetical and actual organizations, and the degree to which preferences for particular compensation attributes depended on job seekers' dispositional characteristics. Based on prior theory and research, we hypothesized that certain pay systems generally would be preferred by job seekers, that these pay systems would affect applicant attraction to organizations, and that different types of job seekers would be attracted to different types of pay systems. The sample comprised 171 college students who were seeking jobs during the study, and who represented six majors, three degree types, and two degree levels. Experimental policy-capturing results and results obtained about actual companies with which the job seekers would potentially interview supported hypotheses that organizations perceived to offer high pay levels, flexible benefits, individual-based pay, and fixed pay policies were more attractive to job seekers. Results further suggested that the attractiveness of these pay policies may be heightened by greater levels of fit between individual personality traits and compensation system characteristics.     

Measuring Person–Environment Fit: A further validation of the perceived fit scale

Perceived job fit typically encompasses an employee's suitability for the requirements of the job or the culture and values of the organization. This view of job fit overlooks another suitability judgment made by employees in which contribution to the organization is compared with the rewards received in return. Cable and DeRue referred to this type of fit as needs–supplies fit in their 2002 study. To distinguish needs–supply fit from the two more commonly examined types of fit, person–organization fit and person–job fit, the researchers developed the Perceived Fit Scale (PFS). The purpose of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the PFS by evaluating its reliability, concurrent validity, and factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis. Three hundred and seventeen certified public accountants participated in the study. The factor analysis results showed that the final model in this study was similar to the factor structure of the PFS reported by the developers, thus providing further support for need–supply fit as a viable dimension of perceived job fit.     

An Integrative Analysis of Person–Organization Fit Theories

This study provides an integrative analysis of three approaches to person–organization (P–O) fit theory and measurement: values congruence and personality congruence (supplementary fit measures), and work environment congruence (a needs–supplies fit measure). Commensurate measures of each aspect of fit were collected from 105 employees in six organizations in the western United States. Values congruence and work environment congruence were both related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but personality congruence was not. All three fit measures were related to employees' intent to remain with their employer, although this effect was generally mediated by satisfaction and commitment. When multiple fit measures were used in a single analysis, values congruence and work environment congruence had the strongest and most consistent effects on the outcome measures. These results suggest a revised, multidimensional model of P–O fit.     

How Interviewees Consider Content and Context Cues to Person–Organization Fit

The interview is an ideal opportunity for job candidates to assess their fit with potential employers. While research shows that candidates' perceptions of person–organization (PO) fit lead to important outcomes, fewer studies explore how such perceptions are formed. A policy‐capturing study modeled how job candidates detect and interpret cues from the interview to inform their determinations of PO fit. A total of 213 participants read a series of vignettes representing interview scenarios, and rated each in terms of his/her perceived PO fit. Evidence showed that participants considered context factors (interview procedure practices and interviewer behaviors) more than the values‐relevant content of interview questions when assessing their level of PO fit.     

“工作价值观-职务特征”匹配对工作倦怠的影响研究

工作倦怠是近年来工业和组织心理学及职业健康领域的一个研究热点,本研究的目的是着重检验"工作价值观-职务特征"匹配对工作倦怠的影响.根据2家企业118份调查问卷的结果对工作倦怠量表和"工作价值观-职务特征"问卷做了修订.然后在8家非服务性企业进行了调查,316份有效问卷的调查进一步验证了工作倦怠量表具有良好的构想效度和信度;人口统计学变量性别、年龄在工作倦怠上有显著差异;通过相关分析结果表明,"工作价值观-职务特征"匹配各维度与工作倦怠各维度显著相关;进一步的逐步回归分析表明,任务特征在任务依存性和任务自主性的两个维度的匹配对情绪衰竭有负向预测作用,任务自主性匹配还对工作怠慢维度有负向预测作用.     

Work values and the transition to work life: A longitudinal study

Research on career development has shown that work values play a key motivational role in job selection and career development. In the context of the current economic crisis, it is of particular relevance to examine the role of work values for employment in the transition from school to work. This longitudinal study examined the role of intrinsic (perceived importance of having a job that is interesting and matches one's own competences), rewards (having a good salary and high chance for promotion), and security (having a stable job) work values on subsequent employment status and person–job fit (how an individual's job matches one's own characteristics such as education and job preferences). Finnish participants reported their work values and background variables via questionnaire at ages 20 and 23 (Ns = 348 and 415 respectively). Intrinsic work values predicted a higher degree of person–job fit two years later. Rewards work values predicted lower chances of being unemployed; and security work values predicted higher chances of being unemployed later on. Family socio-economic status (SES) was not related to employment outcomes in this Finnish sample.     

Being Tough Versus Tender: The Impact of Country-Level and Individual Masculinity Orientations as Moderators of the Relationship Between Job Insecurity and Job Attitudes

Having a job constitutes one of the most potent means of attaining ‘masculine’ goals such as status, success, and material rewards. In the present research, we examine whether masculinity, both as a country-level value and an individual orientation, moderates the relationship between job insecurity and job attitudes. In Study 1, we draw on cross-cultural data of 20,988 employees from 17 countries. We find that job insecure individuals from countries with higher masculinity values show stronger decrements in job satisfaction (but not commitment). Shedding light on the underlying mechanism, we show that the moderating effect of masculinity is transmitted through two social job characteristics, perceived supervisor interpersonal justice and coworker support. We then constructively replicate the moderating effect of masculinity in Study 2. In a one-country sample of 319 employees, individual masculinity orientations likewise strengthen the negative relationship between job insecurity and job satisfaction. Our research highlights that country-level and individual masculinity orientations yield comparable effects in the job insecurity appraisal process, and provides insight into how cultural values can be enacted at the individual level.     

A Person-Centered Approach to P-E Fit Questions Using a Multiple-Trait Model

The current study first longitudinally examines the validity of person-environment (P-E) RIASEC congruence, adopting a job analytic method to assess the environment and using P-E difference scores to compute congruence, to predict a range of intrinsic career outcomes—including job satisfaction, skill development, work involvement, and perceived stress—in a sample of 401 college seniors involved in the labor market. Second, the incremental validity of an alternative conceptualization of the P component (i.e., the Five-Factor Model of personality [FFM]) is examined over and beyond RIASEC congruence scores. Congruence across RIASEC types significantly predicted job satisfaction and skill development, but FFM traits significantly and substantially contributed to the prediction of all intrinsic career outcomes. Finally, a person-centered perspective to P-E questions is introduced, demonstrating that cluster analysis of individuals' FFM scores resulted in two clusters (i.e., internalizers/externalizers and resilients) showing very different positions on the labor market and reporting differing initial career outcomes. It is concluded that RIASEC P-E fit congruence studies should be complemented with FFM assessment to increase predictive validity. Applications of an FFM-based, person-centered approach in I/O and P-E fit research and practice are discussed.     

A Comparison of Work Motivation in Bulgaria, Hungary, and the Netherlands: Test of a Model

This article describes a study into the antecedents and consequences of job involvement and organisational commitment of workers in Bulgaria, Hungary, and the Netherlands. On the basis of the literature a general model of work motivation is developed which depicts job characteristics, opportunities to satisfy needs, and extrinsic work factors as determinants of job involvement and organisational commitment, and considers effort expenditure, performance, job satisfaction, turnover, and work stress as outcomes. Data from worker samples in the three countries obtained with equivalent instruments are used to test the validity of the model. Path analysis shows that the model has a modest fit when applied to the three samples simultaneously. A better fit and more meaningful results are obtained by developing optimal models for each country. The peculiarities of these models can be largely explained from cultural and economic factors. Since the differences between Bulgaria and Hungary are as great as the differences with the Netherlands, there seems to be little evidence for a motivational after-effect of communism.     

Effects of gender similarity on relationships between person–group value fit and work attitudes

The present study assessed the effect of gender similarity as a potential moderator of the relationships between person–group (P–G) value fit and work attitudes. Specifically, we predicted that the effect of P–G value fit (in terms of social integration values) on individual attitudes would be stronger for individuals who had a similar gender than those of a different gender. Based on data obtained from 197 employees in South Korea, we found that when the focal individual had high gender similarity with his or her group, the relationships between P–G value fit and job satisfaction and between P–G value fit and turnover intentions were more prominent. Furthermore, these moderating effects were significant for men, but not for women.     

The Effects of Applicant Résumé Contents on Recruiters' Hiring Recommendations: The Mediating Roles of Recruiter Fit Perceptions

The résumé is the most commonly used selection tool for organisations. Past studies have demonstrated that recruiter hiring recommendations can be predicted based on the content of applicant résumés. However, the mechanisms underlying the links between résumé contents and hiring recommendations remain unclear. The present study extends previous research by examining the mediating roles of recruiters' multi‐faceted fit perceptions in a field setting. Data were collected from 216 organisational recruiters who participated in campus recruitment at seven universities in Taiwan. The results showed that applicant work experience and educational background increased recruiter hiring recommendations through recruiter perceived person–job (P–J) fit. In addition, applicant work experience predicted recruiter perceived person–organisation (P–O) fit, which in turn enhanced recruiter hiring recommendations.     

Fit Happens Globally: A Meta‐Analytic Comparison of the Relationships of Person–Environment Fit Dimensions with Work Attitudes and Performance Across East Asia,Europe, and North America

In this cross‐cultural meta‐analysis, we examine the relationships between person–environment [P–E] fit and work attitudes (organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and intent to quit) as well as job performance based on 96 studies (110 independent samples) conducted in East Asia, Europe, and North America. We compare the results across cultures while focusing on 4 dimensions of P–E fit (person‐job fit, person–organization fit, person–group fit, and person–supervisor fit) separately and jointly. Findings suggest that the effects of rational fit (person–organization and person–job fit) are (relatively) stronger in North America and, to a lesser extent, Europe than in East Asia. However, the effects of relational fit (person–group and person–supervisor fit) are (relatively) stronger in East Asia than in North America. This highlights that in collectivistic and high power distance (vs. individualistic and low power distance) cultures, relational (vs. rational) fit is more salient in influencing employees’ perceptions about their work environments. Results are less clear concerning job performance. What is common across cultures is that, regardless of which dimension of P–E fit is being considered, fit happens and high levels of fit lead to positive outcomes, confirming the universal relevance of fit phenomenon.