Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-2008

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Major Professor

Michael C. Rush

Committee Members

Lowell Gaertner, Michael McIntyre, David J. Woehr

Abstract

Although there has been a growing interest in studying the effects that Person- Organization fit perceptions have on the job choice process, at least two gaps exist in this literature. First, despite evidence suggesting that both the supplementary and complementary fit traditions should be used together, previous research efforts have focused almost exclusively on supplementary fit. Second, research in the job choice domain has focused mainly on global assessments of Person-Organization fit and has not examined if the different characteristics individuals consider when evaluating their fit with an organization impacts the job choice process. The current study helps to fill these voids by examining how both the conceptualization of fit (supplementary vs. complementary) and the characteristics on which fit perceptions are based (content dimensions) impact the relationship between perceived Person-Organization fit and organizational attraction, intentions to join the organization, and engagement in job search behaviors. Results show that both perceptions of supplementary fit (value congruence) and complementary fit (psychological need fulfillment) significantly contributed to the prediction of job choice outcomes. Results also provided weak support for the notion that the fit-outcome relationship was dependent upon the content of the dimension on which fit was assessed. Together, these results suggest that the current view of how perceptions of Person-Organization fit impact the job choice process is incomplete.

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