The impact of person-job fit and person-organization fit on OCB. The mediating and moderating effects of organizational commitment and psychological empowerment
| Date | 29 July 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-07-2013-0118 |
| Pages | 672-691 |
| Published date | 29 July 2014 |
| Author | Jaleh Farzaneh,Ali Dehghanpour Farashah,Mehdi Kazemi |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
The impact of person-job fit and
person-organization fit on OCB
The mediating and moderating effects
of organizational commitment and
psychological empowerment
Jaleh Farzaneh
Faculty of Management and Economics, S & B University, Zahedan, Iran
Ali Dehghanpour Farashah
Umea School of Business and Economics, Umea University, Umea, Sweden, and
Mehdi Kazemi
Faculty of Management and Economics, S & B University, Zahedan, Iran
Abstract
Purpose – Drawing upon the social exchange theory and empowerment theory, the purpose of this
paper is to investigate the effect of perceived person-environment fit on organisational citizenship
behaviour (OCB). Furthermore, this study assesses the roles of organisational commitment and
psychological empowerment (PE) in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach – Respondents of this study were employees of the Iran Northeast
Gas Transfer Company. Data were collected through conducting a survey on 500 employees, of which
412 questionnaires were used for further analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation
modelling, Baron and Kenny’s (1986) procedure for examining mediator effect, and finally Zhao and
Cavusgil’s (2006) technique of evaluating moderator effect were utilised for the analyses.
Findings – Results indicated that organisational commitment acts as a mediator between person-job
(P-J) fit and person-organisation (P-O) fit and OCB. PE acts as a moderator between organisational
commitment and OCB.
Practical implications – This research has implications for approaches to human resource
management in organisations.
Originality/value – This study empirically synthesises the joint effect of P-O fit and P-J fit on a
behavioural variable (OCB) in the social context of organisation and explains the mechanism of the
effect. The pattern of relationships tested is relatively novel.
Keywords Quantitative, Person-job fit, Psychological empowerment, Organizational commitment,
Organizational citizenship behaviour, Person-organization fit
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Research on employee selection has traditionally focused on the assessment of the
match between job requirements and qualifications of candidates in terms of their
knowledge, skills, and abilities (Sekiguchi and Huber, 2011). Subsequently, however,
researchers have become interested in the potential benefits of selecting employees
based on their fit with the culture and goals of an organisation (Bowen et al., 1991;
Elfenbein and O’Reilly III, 2007). Job candidate fit includes person-job (P-J) fit and
person-organisation (P-O) fit. P-O fit refers to an employee’s subjective beliefs about
how well their personal values match the organisational culture (Cable and De Rue,
2002; Cable and Parsons, 2001; Kristof, 1996). Researchers and practitioners contend
that P-O fit is the key to maintaining a flexible and committed workforce that is
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
Received 2 July 2013
Revised 11 December 2013
Accepted 11 February 2014
Personnel Review
Vol. 43 No. 5, 2014
pp. 672-691
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-07-2013-0118
672
PR
43,5
necessary in a competitive business environment and a tight labour market (Bowen
et al., 1991; Kristof, 1996). Similarly, there is a considerable amount of evidence
that a high level of P-J fit has a number of positive outcomes including higher
levels of job satisfaction (Sekiguchi, 2003; Edwards, 1991), higher motivation,
performance, and attendance (Edwards, 1991) and higher organisational commitment
(OC) (Sekiguchi, 2003).
While the main body of research on person-environment (P-E) fit has focused on P-O
fit (Greguras and Diefendorff, 2009), this study empirically synthesises the joint effect
of P-O fit and P-J fit. This approach provides a stronger support of the effects of fit
(Barber, 1998) and would enable usto ev aluate the relativeimp ortance of perceived P-O
fit and P-J fit (Carless, 2005). From a theoretical perspective, the gap which this study is
attempting to fill is examination of the effects of fit on behaviour itself, rather than
attitude towards behaviour (Werbel and Gilliland, 1999). Although meta-analytical
research supports a robust relationship between subjective P-E fit and attitudes
(Verquer et al., 2003; Kristof-Brown et al., 2005), different patterns of relationships
between P-E fit and non-attitudinal variables are expected (Hoffman and Woehr, 2006).
Attitude-behaviour relations in general, and especially in a social setting, are
inconsistent and unspecified (Friedkin, 2010). Therefore, it is essential to extend the
research beyond work attitudes to work behaviours in order to develop a richer
understanding of the relationship between P-O fit and P-J fit. The study also considers
the general work setting and is not limited to the recruitment and selection context
which traditionally prevails in P-O studies (Hoffman and Woehr, 2006).
Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) is observed as an important indivi dual
outcome and a behavioural var iable that promotes effectiveness in organisations
(LePine et al., 2002; Organ, 1988). Organisational literature argues that it is likely that
P-O fit has an impact on OCB through job satisfaction (Van Dyne et al., 1994). It has
been noted that other mediating factors be sides job satisfaction could exist (Netemeyer
et al., 1997; Podsakoff et al., 1990). One variable that researchers have underlined as a
potential mediator of this relationship is OC (Mackenzie et al., 1998; Menguc, 2000).
Kim et al. (2013) posit that psychological empowerment (PE) has a p ositive impact on
OCB. In addition, Harris et al. (2009) suggest that employees need to have the
workplace freedom to display OCB through empowerment. Wat and Shaffer (2005)
suggest that empowered workers who perceive a high-q uality social exchange
relationship with their managers are more likely to engage in OCB. Kim et al. (2013)
also state that empowered employees consider their management trustwo rthy.
To summarise, this paper considers OCB as a form of employee behaviour that is
affected by P-J fit and P-O fit (Posner, 1992; Tziner, 1987; Vilela et al., 2008). Despite
initial research on effects of fit on OCB, we know rather little about the mechanisms
through which OCB can be encouraged. Scholars sugg est that OCB arises as a
consequence of P-E fit (Wat and Shaffer, 2005; Chiang and Hsieh, 2012), OC (Bateman
and Organ, 1983; O’Reilly and Chatman, 1996; Smith et al., 1983), and PE (Kim et al.,
2013; Wat and Shaffer, 2005). But, no research has yet revealed the pattern of the
relationship between these variables. On the basis of theories and empirical research,
our aim is to broaden researchers’ understanding of the complex, multifaceted
mechanisms through which P-O and P-J promote OCB. Although the model rests on
some relations that have been previously asserted, the integ ration of these relationship
provides an important extension of prior works.
In the sections that follow, first, theoretical rationales and empirical evidence of the
direct and mediatory and moderatory relationship between the variables (Figure 1), are
673
Impact of P-J fit
and P-O fit
on OCB
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