Person-organization fit and work-related attitudes and decisions: examining interactive effects with job fit and conscientiousness

This study examined boundary conditions that surround the importance of perceived person-organization (P-O) fit for work-related attitudes and decisions. The authors hypothesized that P-O fit is more strongly related to satisfaction and job choice decisions when needs-supplies (N-S) job fit or demands-abilities (D-A) job fit is low, and that P-O fit is more strongly related to job choice decisions for highly conscientious individuals. Hypotheses were tested among 299 participants in a 12-week internship program. Results indicated that P-O fit was more strongly related to satisfaction when individuals experienced low N-S job fit. P-O fit was more strongly related to job choice intentions when individuals experienced low D-A job fit or were highly conscientious. Finally, P-O fit was related to job offer acceptance for highly conscientious individuals.     

examining holland's person—environment fit,workplace aggression,interpersonal conflict,and job satisfaction

The researchers examined the impact of person–environment (P‐E) fit, as defined by Holland's (1997) theory, on interpersonal conflict at work (ICAW) and workplace aggression. In addition, previous relationships found in the job satisfaction literature were examined in the present sample of 244 United States employees. Internet‐based surveys were completed by 244 participants in the current research. Results of hierarchical multiple regression and correlational analyses demonstrated a negative relationship between P‐E fit and ICAW. Replication of previous relationships was found between job satisfaction, P‐E fit, and workplace aggression. Implications for P‐E fit and workplace aggression research are discussed.     

Stability and change in person-team and person-role fit over time: the effects of growth satisfaction, performance, and general self-efficacy

Although considerable research has focused on various forms of person-environment fit, little research has examined how person-team and person-role fit operate over time in team contexts. To address this gap, the authors examined the dynamic nature of values-based person-team fit and person-role fit. They identified several factors that influence these fit perceptions over time. Individuals were composed into teams that worked intensively over an extended time period. Results suggest that person-team fit, when conceptualized as values congruence, is generally stable over time, but perceptions of person-role fit in teams are dynamic. Individuals' growth satisfaction and performance were positively related to increases in person-role fit over time. Furthermore, the effect of performance on person-role fit was moderated by individuals' general self-efficacy. Implications for managerial practice and future research are discussed.     

Relevance of social categories,depersonalization and group processes: two field tests of self‐categorization theory

Two field studies investigated whether, as predicted by self‐categorization theory (Turner, 1987 ), the relationship between comparative fit of an ingroup‐outgroup categorization and group phenomena is mediated by depersonalization of self‐perception, and moderated by category accessibility. In the first study participants were football fans, and in the second they were employees in an organization. In each study, two experimental conditions were created, whereby the accessibility and salience of the ingroup‐outgroup categorization were varied. New measures of comparative fit and depersonalization were developed, based on meta‐contrast ratios. Outcome variables were ingroup bias (Studies 1 and 2), ingroup entitativity, organizational citizenship behaviours, job satisfaction and turnover intentions (Study 2). Consistent with self‐categorization theory, results showed (a) that comparative fit determined ingroup bias and other criterion variables through the mediating process of depersonalization, and (b) that this process was active only when the category was highly accessible. The moderational role of accessibility concerned the relationship between depersonalization and outcome variables, not the link between fit and depersonalization. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time counts: future time perspective, goals, and social relationships

On the basis of postulates derived from socioemotional selectivity theory, the authors explored the extent to which future time perspective (FTP) is related to social motivation, and to the composition and perceived quality of personal networks. Four hundred eighty German participants with ages ranging from 20 to 90 years took part in the study. In 2 card-sort tasks, participants indicated their partner preference and goal priority. Participants also completed questionnaires on personal networks and social satisfaction. Older people, as a group, perceived their future time as more limited than younger people. Individuals who perceived future time as being limited prioritized emotionally meaningful goals (e.g., generativity, emotion regulation), whereas individuals who perceived their futures as open-ended prioritized instrumental or knowledge-related goals. Priority of goal domains was found to be differently associated with the size, composition, and perceived quality of personal networks depending on FTP. Prioritizing emotion-regulatory goals was associated with greater social satisfaction and less perceived strain with others when participants perceived their future as limited. Findings underscore the importance of FTP in the self-regulation of social relationships and the subjective experience associated with them.     

Empowerment and continuous improvement in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India: predicting fit on the basis of the dimensions of power distance and individualism

Although variations in national cultures predominate as explanation for the belief that universal approaches to management do not exist, there have been few reports of systematic studies. Data from employees of a single firm with operations in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India were used to test the fit of empowerment and continuous improvement practices with national culture. Using the theoretical constructs of individualism-collectivism and power distance, the authors predicted that the practices would be more congruent in some cultures than in others and that value congruence would result in job satisfaction. Using structural equations modeling, the authors found that empowerment was negatively associated with satisfaction in India but positively associated in the other 3 samples. Continuous improvement was positively associated with satisfaction in all samples. Substantive, theoretical, and methodological implications are discussed.     

The dynamics of daily events and well-being across cultures: when less is more

The authors examined cultural and individual differences in the relation between daily events and daily satisfaction. In a preliminary study, they established cross-cultural equivalence of 50 daily events. In the main study, participants in the United States, Korea, and Japan completed daily surveys on the 50 events and daily satisfaction for 21 days. The multilevel random coefficient model analyses showed that (a) the within-person association between positive events and daily satisfaction was significantly stronger among Asian American, Korean, and Japanese participants than among European American participants and (b) the within-person association between positive events and daily satisfaction was significantly weaker among individuals high in global life satisfaction than among those low in global life satisfaction. The findings demonstrate a weaker effect of positive events on daily well-being among individuals and cultures high in global well-being.     

Person-environment fit,job satisfaction and intentions to leave: The moderating effect of leader empowering behaviour

This study sought to determine the possible indirect effect of person-environment (PE) fit on intentions to leave via job satisfaction and the moderating effect of leader empowering behaviour on job satisfaction and intentions to leave the work organisation. Participants were 398 employees working for a retail company in Gauteng Province, South Africa (females = 68.6 %, blacks = 58 %; managerial = 5.8 %; age range = under 20 to 60 years +). They completed the Perceived Fit Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, Turnover Intentions Scale, and the Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire. Statistical mediation analysis (of PE on JS and IL), and moderation analysis (of LEB on JS and IL) were conducted. Results indicated that PE fit has an indirect effect on intentions to leave via job satisfaction. Leader empowering behaviour moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and intentions to leave. Low PE fit leads to job dissatisfaction and intentions to leave, therefore leaders should instil a sense of empowerment in employees to alleviate the impact of poor fit.     

The mind and heart (literally) of the negotiator: personality and contextual determinants of experiential reactions and economic outcomes in negotiation

The authors developed and tested a model proposing that negotiator personality interacts with the negotiation situation to influence negotiation processes and outcomes. In 2 studies, the authors found that negotiators high in agreeableness were best suited to integrative negotiations and that negotiators low in agreeableness were best suited to distributive negotiations. Consistent with this person-situation fit argument, in Study 1 the authors found that negotiators whose dispositions were a good fit to their negotiation context had higher levels of physiological (cardiac) arousal at the end of the negotiation compared with negotiators who were "misplaced" in situations inconsistent with their level of agreeableness, and this arousal was in turn related to increased economic outcomes. Study 2 replicated and extended the findings of Study 1, finding that person-situation fit was related to physiological (heart rate), psychological (positive affect), and behavioral activation (persistence) demonstrated during the negotiation, and these measures in turn were related to the economic outcomes achieved by participants.     

The value of job crafting for work engagement,task performance,and career satisfaction: longitudinal and quasi-experimental evidence

We examine how job crafting (i.e. seeking resources, seeking challenges, decreasing demands) increases the person-job fit of employees. In Study 1, we studied job crafting’s effects over time. 111 employees filled out a questionnaire at two time points with 6 months in between. We found that seeking resources behavior at Time 1 positively affected work engagement, task performance, and career satisfaction at Time 2. Decreasing demands at Time 1 negatively affected work engagement, task performance, and career satisfaction at Time 2. In Study 2, we tested a job crafting intervention using a quasi-experimental design (i.e., intervention group, N = 60, and a control group, N = 59). The intervention was successful, as participants in the intervention group increased seeking resources and decreasing demands behaviors. Furthermore, seeking resources behavior was the main driver of increased participants’ work engagement, task performance, and career satisfaction.     

Patterns of emotion-specific appraisal,coping, and cardiovascular reactivity during an ongoing emotional episode

The authors examined emotion-specific patterns of appraisal, coping, and cardiovascular reactivity during real ongoing emotional episodes. In this study, 109 participants performed a neutral opinion-expression task, where a confederate elicited anger, shame, or pride using verbal and nonverbal behavior. The authors assessed cognitive appraisals, emotional reactions, coping, outcomes (state self-esteem and outcome satisfaction), and cardiovascular reactivity. Results indicated substantial and theoretically consistent differences between the 3 emotions (and differences from a nonemotion condition) for cognitive appraisals, self-reported coping, behavioral coping, self-esteem, and cardiovascular reactivity. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for emotion theory and for psychological and physical health. Overall, the results suggest that researchers can study emotion-related issues using authentic emotional reactions.     

Altruistic organizational citizenship behavior: context, disposition, and age

The authors proposed employee age as moderating the structural stability of altruistic organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with regard to the influence of context-relevant attitudes and dispositional variables. Analyses of peer ratings of altruistic OCB in a sample of 96 U.S. nurses showed that the contextual variables of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and trust in management were germane for the younger participants. The dispositional variable of moral judgment was a unique predictor of altruistic OCB among the older participants.     

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.     

Core self-evaluation and life satisfaction: The person-environment fit perspective

This study is the first to test the mediating roles of three person-environment (P-E) fit variables (i.e., person-major fit, person-university fit, and person-society fit), in the relationship between core self-evaluation and life satisfaction. Data from 794 Chinese university students were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results supported a partial mediating effect for all three P-E fit variables on the relationship between core self-evaluation and life satisfaction. Person-major fit and person-university fit partially mediated the relationship between core self-evaluation and person-society fit. Additionally, person-society fit partially mediated the relationships of life satisfaction with person-major fit and person-university fit. The findings reveal the complicated mechanisms underlying the influence that core self-evaluation has on life satisfaction and suggest important implications for future research.     

Presence of meaning,search for meaning,religiousness, satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms among a diverse Israeli sample

The present study explored the structure and correlates of meaning in life (MIL) among an Israeli sample. The sample consisted of 559 adults. The average age of participants was 48.24 and 61.3% of them were females. Participants provided demographic information and completed measures of MIL, satisfaction with life, and depressive symptoms. The MIL Questionnaire showed a very good fit for the proposed 2-factor model (i.e. presence of meaning, search for meaning) to the data collected from the current sample. Presence of meaning correlated positively with both search for meaning and satisfaction with life, and negatively with depressive symptoms. Search for meaning was positively and weakly tied to satisfaction with life, but was unrelated to depressive symptoms. Religiousness appeared as a significant moderator between the two meaning factors, and between them and life satisfaction. Specifically, as religiousness became stronger: (a) the link between presence of meaning and search for meaning became weaker; (b) the link between presence of meaning and life satisfaction became stronger and (c) the link between search for meaning and life satisfaction became weaker. The findings suggest that there are differential implications of presence search for meaning on the health and well-being, and the important role religiousness plays in this regard.     

Age differences in choice satisfaction: a positivity effect in decision making

The authors tested the possibility that older adults show a positivity effect in decision making, by giving younger and older adults the opportunity to choose 1 of 4 products and by examining the participants' satisfaction with their choice. The authors considered whether requiring participants to explicitly evaluate the options before making a choice has an effect on age differences in choice satisfaction. Older adults in the evaluation condition listed more positive and fewer negative attributes than did younger adults and were more satisfied with their decisions than were younger adults. There were no age differences among those who did not evaluate options. This evaluation-dependent elevation of satisfaction among older adults was still present when participants were contacted 2 weeks after the experiment. Age did not influence the accuracy with which participants predicted how their satisfaction would change over time.     

What makes experiences satisfying? The interaction of approach-avoidance motivations and emotions in well-being

Two studies examined how dispositional approach-related and avoidance-related motivations moderate the degree to which people base satisfaction judgments on past experiences of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Using both laboratory-based (Study 1) and experience sampling (Study 2) methodologies, the authors found that high approach participants, as compared with low approach participants, made satisfaction ratings that were more strongly tied to PA. In contrast, avoidance-related motivations did not moderate the degree to which satisfaction ratings were based on either PA or NA. Results indicate that approach motivations may influence well-being not only through emotion over time but also through the degree to which people weight particular emotional experiences in broader judgments of satisfaction.     

The big, the rich, and the powerful: physical, financial, and social dimensions of dominance in mating and attraction

Dominance is a key feature on which romantic partners are evaluated, yet there is no clear consensus on its definition. In Study 1 (N=305), the authors developed scales to measure three putatively distinct dimensions of dominance: social, financial, and physical. In Study 2 (N=308), the authors used their scales in a mate-selection paradigm and found that women perceived physical dominance to be related to both attractiveness and social dominance. For both sexes, attractiveness predicted desirability for a one-night stand, whereas attractiveness and agreeableness were predictors of desirability for a serious relationship. In Study 3 (N=124), the authors surveyed romantic partners in monogamous relationships and found that although aspects of a partner's dominance-financial for women and social for men-played a bivariate role in relationship satisfaction, agreeableness was the strongest predictor of current and future relationship satisfaction and the only significant predictor of relationship dissolution.     

Specifying the determinants of the initiation and maintenance of behavior change: an examination of self-efficacy, satisfaction, and smoking cessation.

Using data from smokers (N = 591) who enrolled in an 8-week smoking cessation program and were then followed for 15 months, the authors tested the thesis that self-efficacy guides the decision to initiate smoking cessation but that satisfaction with the outcomes afforded by quitting guides the decision to maintain cessation. Measures of self-efficacy and satisfaction assessed at the end of the program, 2 months, and 9 months were used to predict quit status at 2, 9, and 15 months, respectively. At each point, participants were categorized as either initiators or maintainers on the basis of their pattern of cessation behavior. Across time, self-efficacy predicted future quit status for initiators, whereas satisfaction generally predicted future quit status for maintainers. Implications for models of behavior change and behavioral interventions are discussed.     

Person-environment fit,job satisfaction and mental health

This study was concerned with the consequences of person-environment (P-E) congruence at work in terms of Holland's model of vocational preference. Whereas there has been some work on P-E fit and job satisfaction, and P-E fit and stress, few studies have looked at the relationship between P-E fit, job satisfaction and mental health. It was predicted that those people with a poor P-E fit would have higher levels of mental distress and lower levels of job satisfaction than those who experienced a good P-E fit. The results substantiated the major hypotheses of this study and are discussed in terms of the measurement and causes of job satisfaction. Criticisms and limitations of this type of approach are also considered.