Development of Person-Organization Fit Perceptions Within Asynchronous Recruitment Process Contexts

Abstract

Although the development of applicant Person-Organization (PO) fit perception has generated interest in the recruiting literature in recent times, most studies have conceptualized it in simple contexts involving only one organization, a single stage in the process, or two synchronized stages. Consequently, very little is known about fit perceptions of many applicants (e.g. job switchers), who go through complex processes across multiple organizations on an asynchronous timeline. This paper explores the development of applicant Person-Organization (PO) Fit Perception within a complex context of multiple organizations running parallel asynchronous recruitment processes. It hypothesizes on a set of useful constructs pertaining to recruitment stages, career stages, direction of fit perception, financial capacity, and business cycles, grounded in Differentiation and Consolidation Theory (DCT) from the decision-making literature. The association between PO Fit perception updates and job choices, as well as that between the frequency of fit perception updates and likelihood of job switches are also hypothesized by extending the Behavioral Consistency Theory (BCT) from Organizational Behavior. This paper contributes to the emerging PO Fit literature and the more established recruitment literature by introducing necessary complexity to accommodate the realities of many job seekers who experience staggered process timelines. It also extends and integrates two established theories of decision-making, DCT and BCT, with those literatures.