Person or Job? Change in Person‐Job Fit and Its Impact on Employee Work Attitudes over Time

Fit is generally conceptualized as a dynamic construct, but most research on person‐environment fit has focused on fit in the current moment. We addressed this oversight by examining the dynamic relationships among person‐job (PJ) fit, demand‐ability (DA) fit, need‐supply (NS) fit, and employee work...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of management studies 2020-03, Vol.57 (2), p.287-313
Main Authors: Kim, Tae‐Yeol, Schuh, Sebastian C., Cai, Yahua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Change agents
change in fit
Employee attitude
Employees
Job characteristics
Job satisfaction
Labor force
Older people
Organizational commitment
person‐environment fit
person‐job fit
Supply & demand
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Summary:Fit is generally conceptualized as a dynamic construct, but most research on person‐environment fit has focused on fit in the current moment. We addressed this oversight by examining the dynamic relationships among person‐job (PJ) fit, demand‐ability (DA) fit, need‐supply (NS) fit, and employee work attitudes over time using a three‐wave survey design over a 12‐month period. Results from 168 employees revealed that change in PJ fit was significantly related to changes in job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. In addition, DA and NS fit changes were significantly and indirectly associated with job satisfaction and commitment changes through PJ fit change. We also found that increases in job demands and employee abilities significantly decreased DA fit, and increases in employee needs significantly decreased NS fit whereas increases in job supplies significantly increased NS fit. Finally, we examined age as an important moderator for employees’ reactions to PJ fit changes, and found that younger employees reacted more strongly to increases/decreases in PJ fit than did older employees.
ISSN:0022-2380
1467-6486
DOI:10.1111/joms.12433