Person-environment fit, organizational commitment and retirement intentions: a serial mediation model
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-11-2021-0234 |
| Published date | 29 August 2022 |
| Date | 29 August 2022 |
| Pages | 196-214 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
| Author | Khaled Lahlouh,Aïcha Oumessaoud,Moustafa Abdelmotaleb |
Person-environment fit,
organizational commitment and
retirement intentions: a serial
mediation model
Khaled Lahlouh
Rabat Business School, Universit
e Internationale de Rabat, Sale, Morocco and
IAE aix en Provence, Aix-Marseille Universit
e, Aix en provence, France
Aı€cha Oumessaoud
ICN Business School, Nancy, France, and
Moustafa Abdelmotaleb
Rabat Business School, Universit
e Internationale de Rabat, Sale, Morocco
Abstract
Purpose –The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of person–environment (P–E) fit, specifically
person–organization (P–O) fit, on retirement intentions through a serial mediation mechanism mobilizing
person–job (P–J) fit and affective organizational commitment as mediators.
Design/methodology/approach–The relationships were examined using the Hayes (2013) serial mediation
model. A time-lag approach was adopted, with data collected from managers aged 50 and over working in the
French banking sector (N5204).
Findings –The empirical results show that the P–O fit is both directly and indirectly related to retirement
intentions through P–J fit and affective organizational commitment. Nevertheless, the study’s findings show
the explanatory power of the authors’antecedents to predict the two types of retirement considered in
this study.
Originality/value –By considering retirement in its plurality this study extends prior research models by
examining the mechanisms through which P–O fit influences different retirement intentions.
Keywords Person-environment fit, Full retirement, Bridge employment, Organizational commitment
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
As the “baby boom”generation ages and moves toward retirement, serious problems are
developing for society and organizations. At the societal level, governments must reform
their retirement systems to ensure their proper functioning. For example, in France,
numerous amendments have been adopted to delay the legal retirement age. At the
organizational level, the retirement of older workers creates human capital shortfalls which
can be difficult and costly to address (Beehr et al., 2000).
In parallel with those challenges, the meaning of retirement has also changed (Vough et al.,
2016) to being conceptualized as a process including multiple forms of professional activities,
rather than just as a single event signaling complete withdrawal from the workplace through
full retirement (Beehr, 1986;Beehr and Bowling, 2013). Various kinds of paid work may be
exercised by older workers once they have retired from their main career job. Such work is
known as “bridge employment,”which may be either part-time or full-time, in the same
domain as the career job, or in an entirely different field (Feldman, 1994;Beehr, 1986).
Furthermore, with its benefits for organizations (e.g. retaining skilled employees: Shacklock
and Brunetto, 2011) and individuals (e.g. maintaining social contacts: Lancee and Radl, 2012;
fulfilling generativity needs: Kerr and Armstrong-Stassen, 2011), bridge employment is
EBHRM
11,2
196
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2049-3983.htm
Received 7 November 2021
Revised 1 June 2022
Accepted 24 July 2022
Evidence-based HRM: a Global
Forum for Empirical Scholarship
Vol. 11 No. 2, 2023
pp. 196-214
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2049-3983
DOI10.1108/EBHRM-11-2021-0234
becoming increasingly common among older workers. For example, half of retirees in the
USA continue working during their retirement by holding bridge employment positions
(Bennett et al., 2016). In France, according to recent forecasts (CNAV, 2020)[1], the number of
retirees holding professional positions increased by more than 50%, from 250,000 to 400,000,
between 2009 and 2019. Nevertheless, despite the benef its and popularity of such
employment among older workers, there is still a need to understand what drives older
workers to opt for bridge employment over full retirement, or vice versa (Bennett et al., 2016).
To date, empirical research has demonstrated that both personal variables
(e.g. health: Mariappanadar, 2013; marital status: Eismann et al., 2019; financial
situation: Wang et al.,2008) and organizational factors (e.g. organizational/occupational
commitment: Jones and McIntosh, 2010; psychosocial work characteristics: Khan et al.,
2018; job satisfaction: Davies et al.,2017) a re related to the different retirement
intentions. Nevertheless, as recommended by some scholars (Lahlouh et al., 2019;Wang
and Shultz, 2010), variations in retirement intentions may be predicted by considering
the relationship between the individual and their work environment instead of
considering them as two different spheres. In response, some studies (Lahlouh et al.,
2019;Oakman and Wells, 2016;Karhula et al.,2020)have explored that relationship, but
there are still some knowledge gaps to be addressed. Indeed, in those previous studies,
the authors frequently isolate the levels of person–environment (P–E) fit while exploring
their impacts on retirement intentions (e.g. Oakman and Wells, 2016;W€
ohrmann et al.,
2020). Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, only the direct relationships between the
multiple levels of P–E fit and retirement intentions have been analyzed so far (Lahlouh
et al.,2019), thus leaving unexplored the mechanisms through which P–E fit influences
retirement intentions.
Hence, with this study, we aim to make four major contributions. First, responding to the
call by manyscholars (Vogel and Feldman, 2009;Yu, 2016) to test conceptualmodels, including
various levels of fit, we contribute to the P–E fit literature by providing more empirical
evidence of how differentlevels of fit would be integrated to explain retirement intentions.We
adopt a sequential mediationalapproach, rather than an additive one, to the differentlevels of
P–E fit by assuming their interdependence (Astakhova, 2016). Indeed, even though the two
levels of P–E fit included in this study (i.e. P–E fit and person-jobfit) have been considered as
two separate constructs leading separately to organizational outcomes (Cable and DeRue,
2002;Saks and Ashforth, 1997), evidencefrom recent studies shows that P–E fit can serve as
an antecedent to person-job (P–J) fit (Vogel and Feldman, 2009;Abdalla et al.,2018). The
rationalethere is that individuals who perceive that their employingorganizations do not offer
adequate resourcesto allow them to satisfy their needs (P–O fit- needs–supplies)are much less
likely to align with the day-to-day demands of their specific jobs (i.e. P–J fit- demands–
abilities). Hence, such workersmay be more likely to express an intention to pursue a bridge
employment position in the same organizationthan to take a full retirement.
Second, P–E fit is used extensively as a framework for understanding the early career
stages (e.g. G€
urlek, 2020;Kristof-Brown, 2000). Hence, by testing the influence of different
P–E fit levels on retirement intentions, we contribute to the P–E fit literature by broadening
its application to late-career decisions (i.e. retirement intentions).
Third, research shows that the interaction between a person and their work environment
increases organizational commitment (Kim et al., 2018;Cao and Hamori, 2020). Furthermore,
as noted by Jones and McIntosh (2010), organizational commitment theory (Meyer and Allen,
1991) and retirement theories (e.g. role theory: Ashforth, 2001) are conceptually close and can
be adapted for theoretical integration. Consequently, in this study, by using serial mediation
(Hayes, 2018) and in response to the call by Lahlouh et al. (2019), we explore the psychological
mechanisms (e.g. affective organizational commitment) through which the different P–E fit
levels relate to retirement intentions.
P-E fit,
commitment
and retirement
intentions
197
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