Person-Organization Fit and Employee Performance: A Social Network Perspective.

Abstract

Job seekers and employers frequently make application and selection decisions based on how well they believe there is a ‘fit’ with the organization. The person- organization fit literature has strongly supported this practice demonstrating that fit is an antecedent to attraction, selection, and attrition. Within this stream of literature, much less evidence exists to suggest that once an individual enters an organization their fit relates to workplace performance. This paper explores the role of informal workplace relationships (friendships) to act both as a type of fit and as catalysts through which value fit either enhances or detracts from individual performance. Results suggest that person-organization fit is indeed related to individual performance (both in- and extra-role), contingent on how we conceptualize this fit and that the general fit-performance relationship differs depending on how well embedded the employee is in the informal social networks of the organization.