Hiring During Change: A Dynamic Consideration of Person-Environment Fit

Abstract

A good fit between person and environment (PE fit) is a fundamental criterion for successful recruitment and employment. However, what if an organization in change is looking for employees who fit the planned new organizational model, rather than the existing organizational characteristics, to deliberately drive the change? It remains unclear how personnel can be attracted during an organizational change process. Our study extends the knowledge on attraction mechanisms during change by treating PE fit as a dynamic construct. We use a metric conjoint experiment with 149 potential job seekers to explore the impact of individual advancement opportunities, leadership style, organizational climate and proactiveness of change on employer attractiveness as well as the moderating influence of personal initiative on the relation between proactiveness of change and employer attractiveness. The anticipated fit of individual advancement opportunities and leadership style affect employer attractiveness the most, followed by the fit of the organization's climate and proactiveness of change. Thereby, personal initiative moderates the relationship between proactiveness of change and employer attractiveness.