A bibliometric analysis of person-organization fit research: significant features and contemporary trends

Abstract

Person-organization (PO) fit is broadly defined as the compatibility between an individual and their employing organization that occurs when the characteristics of the two entities are well matched. It is related to higher levels of organizational commitment, job satisfaction, job retention, organizational citizenship behaviours, and job performance. In recent years, there has been a significant and hastening increase in the number of journal articles published in which person-organization fit is a major feature of the study. This study documents the historical and contemporary nature of this field using bibliometric methods to provide an overview of PO fit research and to analyse contemporary trends. After screening, 887 refereed journal articles were surfaced in the Scopus database that featured PO fit. Descriptively, this study identifies leading journal articles, authors, countries, and collaborative networks. Analytically, the paper identifies and discusses major and emerging research themes. These include an increase in studies exploring PO fit and its impact on employee engagement during their employment. Other contemporary themes include an increasing interest in ethical issues related to PO fit and the interaction of PO and person-job fit. These three topics are critically discussed. Conversely, the analysis shows a lessening of the occurrence of PO fit studies focusing on the early employment phases of recruitment, selection, and socialization. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ways in which PO fit research is changing, the positive skew in PO fit research, and the limitations of this study.