Environment Fit Theory Research Articles

Career variety and turnover intention: mediating role of job crafting and moderating role of HR innovators and integrators

Purpose Previous studies have indicated that career variety offers numerous benefits in the work environment; however, knowledge regarding the mechanisms that retain employees with diverse career experiences is scant. Drawing on person–environment (P–E) fit theory and the job crafting perspective, this study aims to explore the relationship between career variety and turnover intention, and the roles of job crafting and HR innovators and integrators in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the nonlinear effect of career variety on turnover intention using survey data collected from 509 employees (Study 1) and 346 employees and their supervisors (Study 2) in China. Findings Career variety and turnover intention exhibited an inverted U-shaped relationship – mediated by job crafting. Additionally, the HR innovator and integrator moderated the relationship between career variety and job crafting. When the HR innovator and integrator were strong, employees engaged in more job crafting at intermediate levels of career variety. Originality/value The findings not only deepen our understanding of the inherent capabilities and preference traits of employees with diverse career backgrounds but also enrich the body of research on career variety, reconcile inconsistencies across previous studies and offer new insights into strategic organisational interventions for retaining a workforce with varied career experiences.

THE INNOVATION SPILLOVER EFFECT: HOW HOUSEHOLD INGENUITY SPILLS INTO BUSINESS INNOVATION

This study investigates a previously overlooked source of employees’ innovative behaviour in the business sector, namely household innovation. Specifically, we seek to explore the spillover of behavioural innovation prototyping experiences between the household and the business sector. Drawing on spillover theory, we explore the bidirectional flow of behavioural innovation prototyping experiences between the household and the business sector. Through a tripartite online survey with 330 working participants over four months, we show how household innovation prototyping experiences affect innovative behaviour in the business sector. Relying on person–environment fit theory, we also examine how this effect may be strengthened by certain contingency factors. Results show that the relationship between spillover effects and employees’ innovative behaviour in the business sector is strengthened by employees’ technology readiness.

Public Spaces for Older People: A Review of the Relationship between Public Space to Quality of Life

This paper investigates the relationship between public spaces and quality of life (QoL) for older adults, aiming to identify knowledge gaps within the context of population ageing and urbanisation. Recognising the growing importance of sustainable urban development, the research explores how cities can foster active ageing and improve QoL through accessible and inclusive public spaces. A scoping literature review identifies five key QoL domains for older adults: autonomy, meaningful activities, positive social relationships, leisure opportunities, and health. To identify knowledge gaps, a review of the literature was conducted for each of the highlighted themes. The review highlights areas requiring further investigation, including the interplay between environmental design and social connections, intergenerational perspectives on public space liveliness, the influence of context on QoL and the built environment, and the value of qualitative research in this field. By contributing to the understanding of QoL in relation to public spaces through the lens of person–environment fit theory, this study aims to inform urban design, landscape architecture, and policymaking in the creation of age-friendly communities with inclusive public spaces.

Improving the quality of hires via the use of machine learning and an expansion of the person–environment fit theory

PurposeOur proposed machine learning model contributes to improving the quality of Hire by providing a more nuanced and comprehensive analysis of candidate attributes. Instead of focusing solely on obvious factors, such as qualifications and experience, our model also considers various dimensions of fit, including person-job fit and person-organization fit. By integrating these dimensions of fit into the model, we can better predict a candidate’s potential contribution to the organization, hence enhancing the Quality of Hire.Design/methodology/approachWithin the scope of the investigation, the competencies of the personnel working in the IT department of one in the largest state banks of the country were used. The entire data collection includes information on 1,850 individual employees as well as 13 different characteristics. For analysis, Python’s “keras” and “seaborn” modules were used. The Gower coefficient was used to determine the distance between different records.FindingsThe K-NN method resulted in the formation of five clusters, represented as a scatter plot. The axis illustrates the cohesion that exists between things (employees) that are similar to one another and the separateness that exists between things that have their own individual identities. This shows that the clustering process is effective in improving both the degree of similarity within each cluster and the degree of dissimilarity between clusters.Research limitations/implicationsEmployee competencies were evaluated within the scope of the investigation. Additionally, other criteria requested from the employee were not included in the application.Originality/valueThis study will be beneficial for academics, professionals, and researchers in their attempts to overcome the ongoing obstacles and challenges related to the securing the proper talent for an organization. In addition to creating a mechanism to use big data in the form of structured and unstructured data from multiple sources and deriving insights using ML algorithms, it contributes to the debates on the quality of hire in an entire organization. This is done in addition to developing a mechanism for using big data in the form of structured and unstructured data from multiple sources.

Utilitarian vs hedonic roles of service robots and customer stereotypes: a person–environment fit theory perspective

PurposeDrawing on person–environment fit theory, this study aims to investigate how the relationships between service task types (i.e. utilitarian and hedonic service tasks) and perceived authenticity (i.e. service and brand authenticity) differ under different conditions of service providers (human employee vs service robot). This study further examines whether customers’ stereotypes toward service robots (competence vs warmth) moderate the relationship between service types and perceived authenticity.Design/methodology/approachUsing a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design, Study 1 examines a casual restaurant, whereas Study 2 assesses a theme park restaurant. Analysis of covariance and PROCESS are used to analyze the data.FindingsBoth studies reveal that human service providers in hedonic services positively affect service and brand authenticity more than robotic employees. Additionally, the robot competence stereotype moderates the relationship between hedonic services, service and brand authenticity, whereas the robot warmth stereotype moderates the relationship between hedonic services and brand authenticity in Study 2.Practical implicationsRestaurant managers need to understand which functions and types of service outlets are best suited for service robots in different service contexts. Robot–environment fit should be considered when developers design and managers select robots for their restaurants.Originality/valueThis study blazes a new theoretical trail of service robot research to systematically propose customer experiences with different service types by drawing upon person–environment fit theory and examining the moderating role of customers’ stereotypes toward service robots.

Motivational signals in public sector job advertisements and how they relate to attracting and hiring candidates

ABSTRACT This study examines how motivational signals in job advertisements relate to public employers’ recruitment success, testing hypotheses derived from signalling theory and person – environment fit theory. We combine job advertisements collected via web crawling with matched survey data on the recruitment process (1,863 recruiters), capturing Germany’s public sector job market. Using quantitative text analysis, we identify motivational signals in the job advertisements and analyse to what extent they relate to indicators of recruitment success. Results show that prosocial signals positively relate to a higher quality of applications and a more qualified selected candidate. By contrast, extrinsic and intrinsic motivational signals did not exhibit statistically significant effects.

The work effectiveness and its influencing factors of child directors in China

AbstractImplementing the child director policy is an innovation in China's child protection practice, and the work of child directors aims to provide care and protection services for vulnerable children in communities and villages. According to the person–environment fit theory (i.e., needs–supplies fit), this study evaluated the work effectiveness of child directors and its influencing factors from environmental and personal perspectives. The results revealed that the supportive work environment (i.e., management, training, and supervision) and personal factors (i.e., professional competency and career identity) positively influenced the work effectiveness of child directors, and professional competency and career identity mediated the relationship between the supportive work environment and the work effectiveness. The findings provided evidence for improving the implementation of child director policy in the future.

Are humorous frontline employees hotels’ secret weapons? Investigating when and why employee sense of humor promotes service performance

Despite the growing efforts devoted to exploring humor, the extant humor literature neglects the impact of employee sense of humor in the workplace, especially in the hospitality industry, an important yet understudied context. Based on person–environment fit theory, our research examines why and when employee sense of humor can influence frontline hospitality employees’ service performance. Our multi-wave research of 232 frontline hospitality employees in two Chinese hotels unveils that employee sense of humor promotes service performance by enhancing person–service job fit. Moreover, customer contact frequency strengthens the direct impact of employee sense of humor on person–service job fit and the indirect effect of employee sense of humor on service performance through person–service job fit. Our research underlines the pivotal role of humorous frontline employees in hospitality organizations.

Understanding employees' responses to information security management practices: a person-environment fit perspective

ABSTRACT This study tests the person–environment fit theory in information security (ISec), which describes situations in which the extent of ISec management is linked to positive or negative employee outcomes. We hypothesise that employees appraise their organisational ISec depending on the mismatch or match perception between their needs and organisational supplies. We define a mismatch as ISec misfit and a match as ISec fit and develop hypotheses framing the relationship between ISec fit (vs. misfit), employees’ emotional reactions (anxiety and attentiveness), and, subsequently, ISec behaviours (ISec in-role, extra-role, and violation behaviours). We conduct quadratic polynomial regressions and apply response surface methodology to test our hypotheses and obtain two findings. First, ISec management are proactively needed by employees instead of prior enforcement perspective. The results show that ISec management practices are appraised negatively when they either exceed or fail to meet employees’ preferences. Second, in expounding on a theoretical construction and empirical test of ISec fit and misfit and their relationships with employee outcomes, we find that attentiveness is greater with ISec fit, whereas anxiety is higher and attentiveness is lesser with ISec misfit. We also find that emotion mediates employees’ ISec behaviours, while only anxiety does not mediate extra-role behaviour.

Cooperative organizational cultures: a factor promoting equal gender representation in leadership

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between feminine gender identity and leadership intention. Based on the theory of planned behavior and social role theory, the indirect relationship between feminine gender identity and leadership intention was analyzed through affective motivation to lead and perceived leadership self-efficacy. In addition, drawing on the person–environment fit theory, feminine gender identity was examined as a moderator of the relationship between cooperative organizational culture and leadership intention.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey was administered among a sample of 183 full-time employees.FindingsResults demonstrated that controlling for sex, perceived leadership self-efficacy mediated the relationship between feminine gender role identity and leadership intention. In addition, feminine gender role identity acted as a moderator in strengthening the relationship between cooperative organizational culture and leadership intention such that highly feminine individuals in high cooperative organizational cultures showed higher intentions to become leaders than did individuals with less feminine identities.Research limitations/implicationsIn research on leadership intentions, it will be important to measure both sex and gender, as gender identity explains variance in important outcomes over and above sex. In addition, beginning to include organizational characteristics (such as perception of culture) in this stream of research is important.Practical implicationsOrganizations wishing to promote more feminine individuals to leadership roles should examine their organizational culture to determine if it is cooperative, as this type of culture allows these individuals to be more intent on seeking leadership roles.Originality/valueThis research adds up to the literature by looking at an organizational factor, culture, and analyzing its role in increasing leadership intention in highly feminine individuals. In addition, by studying gender while controlling for sex, this paper suggests that regardless of sex (being a female or a male), feminine individuals will benefit from a cooperative environment. This includes any individuals (females and males) that identify more with communal behaviors.

The impact of trust in AI on career sustainability: The role of employee–AI collaboration and protean career orientation

Drawing upon person–environment fit theory and the importance of employees' career sustainability in Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration within organizations, we propose a moderated mediation model to test how and when AI trust is linked to employees' career sustainability. This mechanism posits employee–AI collaboration as a mediator and employees' protean career orientation as a moderator. Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesized model. In Study 1, a 5-item measure was developed to evaluate employee–AI collaboration and tested with a sample of employees working with AI technology. In Study 2, multisource and two-wave data were collected to analyze 447 employee–supervisor dyads. The results indicated that AI trust was positively related to employee-rated well-being and supervisor-rated employee productivity via employee–AI collaboration. In addition, the relationship between AI trust and employee–AI collaboration was stronger for employees with high protean career orientation. We concluded with a discussion of the theoretical contributions and practical implications.

Does public service motivation truly predict dishonesty? Behavioural evidence from the private and public sectors

The number of studies on the relationship between public service motivation and ethics is increasing. Although research consistently finds evidence for a positive public service motivation–ethical intentions relationship, research on public service motivation and unethical behaviour remains scarce and showcases mixed findings. Based on insights from person–environment fit theory, we argue that the sector in which an individual is employed may help explain these mixed findings. We test this assumption by employing an incentivized dice game among private and public sector workers ( n = 576). Using a well-powered research design we find neither support for the public service motivation–ethical behaviour relationship, nor for the sector as an intervening variable. We discuss the implications of these interesting null findings, which challenge the common assumption that public servants are morally superior to private sector workers. Points for practitioners (Human resource) managers of both private and public sector organizations need to be aware of the fact that employees engage in behavioural dishonesty (i.e. cheating). Contrary to the often-heard assumption, we find no evidence that public service motivation serves as a buffer for this specific type of unethical behaviour. This means that stimulating public service motivation or recruiting public-service motivated individuals does not help to reduce the risk of behavioural dishonesty. Rather, (human resource) managers can invest in other measures to limit this type of unethical behaviour such as ethical leadership and an ethical climate.

How overqualified teams motivate members to explore the external environment – the mediating role of change self-efficacy

PurposeMuch of the research on overqualification has focused on the negative effects at the individual level. However, in the face of the increasing tendency to recruit overqualified employees, managing the perception of team overqualification can be effective in motivating team members in the current complex and changing business environment.Design/methodology/approachBased on the person–environment fit theory, this study examines how team overqualification affects employees' change self-efficacy and how it further motivates employees to engage in strategic scanning behavior toward proactive external information gathering and analysis. The data collection for this study was divided into two stages, spaced three months apart. The analysis of questionnaire data from 290 employees and 72 supervisors confirmed the theoretical hypothesis of this study.FindingsWhen employees perceive a higher level of team overqualification, they will generate more strategic scanning behavior. And the change self-efficacy plays a mediating role between team overqualification and strategic scanning behavior and thus team members actively seek information from the external environment to develop future plans and work strategies. Meanwhile, transformational leadership positively moderates this process.Originality/valueFirstly, this study extends the positive manifestations of overqualification at the team level. Secondly, this study verifies that change self-efficacy mediates the relationship between team overqualification and strategic scanning, enriching the research on the antecedent and outcome variables of change self-efficacy. Finally, this study verified that the interaction effect of transformational leadership and team overqualification had an impact on employee strategic scanning behavior through change self-efficacy.

Examining technostress and its impact on worker well-being in the digital gig economy

PurposeOnline labour markets (OLMs) have recently become a widespread phenomenon of digital work. While the implications of OLMs on worker well-being are hotly debated, little empirical research examines the impact of such work on individuals. The highly competitive and fast-paced nature of OLMs compels workers to multitask and to perform intense technology-enabled work, which can potentially enhance technostress. This paper examines the antecedents and well-being consequences of technostress arising from work in OLMs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw from person–environment fit theory and job characteristics theory and test a research model of the antecedents and consequences of worker technostress in OLMs. Data were gathered from 366 workers in a popular OLM through a large-scale online survey. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the research model.FindingsThe findings extend existing research by validating the relationships between specific OLM characteristics and strain. Contrary to previous literature, the results indicate a link between technology complexity and work overload in OLMs. Furthermore, in OLMs, feedback is positively associated with work overload and job insecurity, while strain directly influences workers' negative affective well-being and discontinuous intention.Originality/valueThis study contributes to technostress literature by developing and testing a research model relevant to a new form of work conducted through OLMs. The authors expand the current research on technostress by integrating job characteristics as new antecedents to technostress and demonstrating its impact on different types of subjective well-being and discontinuous intention. In addition, while examining the impact of technostressors on outcomes, the authors consider their impact at the individual level (disaggregated approach) to capture the subtlety involved in understanding technostressors' unique relationships with outcomes.

Employees' in-role and extra-role information security behaviors from the P-E fit perspective

Organizations are increasingly seeking ways to encourage employee in-role and extra-role information security (InfoSec) behaviors for enhancing organizational InfoSec. One important consideration is the InfoSec congruence between the person and the organizational environment. Accordingly, drawing on person–environment (P–E) fit theory, we conducted an empirical investigation that examined (1) the effect of key components in organizational InfoSec management practice on InfoSec value P–E fit, and (2) the role of InfoSec value P–E fit on employees’ InfoSec in-role and extra-role behaviors in the organization. The results suggest that three practices—InfoSec policies; security education, training, and awareness programs; and computer monitoring—cultivate InfoSec value P–E fit, leading to an increase in employees’ InfoSec in-role and extra-role behaviors.

Empowering and directive leadership and taking charge: a moderating role of employee intrinsic motivation

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the associations among different leadership styles and employees' taking charge. Applying Person–Environment (P-E) fit theory, the current study further explores employees' intrinsic motivation as an important individual factor that possibly moderates the hypothesized relationships.Design/methodology/approachIn this field study, 212 supervisor–employee matched multi-source data were collected from multiple organizations located in South Korea. Data were analyzed with multiple hierarchical regression.FindingsEmpowering leadership is positively related to employees' taking charge, whereas directive leadership is negatively associated with it. Results of the current study further support that intrinsically motivated employees exhibit more taking charge when their leader shows empowering leadership but reduce their taking charge when their leader demonstrates directive leadership.Research limitations/implicationsThe current empirical results could not infer causality due to a cross-sectional research design.Practical implicationsOrganizations should develop and embrace empowering leadership if the employees' self-started and change-oriented behavior, taking charge, is particularly critical to fostering organizational effectiveness.Originality/valueThis study extends the literature on leadership and employee proactivity by examining different leadership styles as predictors of employees' taking charge. Based on the current study results, empowering leadership could work as a facilitator and directive leadership as a barrier to employees' taking charge.

Too smart to work hard? Investigating why overqualified employees engage in time theft behaviors

AbstractIntegrating the theory of workplace deviance with person–environment fit theory, we propose a two‐pathway model to explain why and how employees who feel overqualified engage in time theft behavior. Specifically, we anticipate that feeling overqualified will negatively influence focal employees' experienced authority fairness and erode their work meaningfulness, which in turn will lead to increased time theft behavior. Further, we argue that voice endorsement serves as a key boundary condition mitigating the negative effects of perceived overqualification. We conducted two multi‐waved and multi‐sourced field studies to test our proposed hypotheses. Study 1 (247 employees and 47 supervisors) revealed that perceived overqualification is associated with time theft behavior through the mediators of experienced authority fairness and meaningfulness. Study 2 (405 employees and 73 supervisors) replicated the findings of Study 1 and tested our full model. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

The role of switching frequency, task variety and motivation in activity-based working: When does the switch fit?

Activity-Based Working (ABW) is an emergent trend in organizations. It concerns a nonterritorial type of workspace, where employees are supposed to switch between a variety of workstations tailored to fit their needs during their various work activities. Despite the potential benefits of ABW (e.g., space efficiency), outcomes for ABW office users (e.g., satisfaction with the workspace) are rather mixed. We argue that this may be due to the fact that research on ABW fails to take the psychological perspective into account when studying the situational and personal conditions which can help employees to make good use of the ABW offices. Based on person−environment fit theory and self-determination theory, we argue that employees who frequently switch workstations may experience a better fit between their needs and the workplaces ABW offers, thus reporting not only higher satisfaction with the workspace, but also higher performance, and higher work engagement. However, we expect these relations to be conditional upon the variety in employees’ work situation and their personal motivation to switch. The results of our study, based on a sample of 206 employees, supported a significant three-way interaction among switching frequency, task variety, and autonomous motivation to switch on perceived need−space fit and related outcomes. Based on our findings, we provide suggestions how organizations can efficiently modernize their buildings according to the ABW concept, for the benefit of employees and organizations alike.

How life context affects entrepreneurs' passion and performance

This article examines the influence of the life context on entrepreneurial passion (EP) and performance. Drawing on the person–environment fit theory, we developed a model showing how the life context fit affects EP in the domains of founding, inventing, and developing and how this translates into performance. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, we tested our hypotheses using a sample of 406 entrepreneurs from the cultural and creative industries. Due to the presence of unobserved heterogeneity in the overall sample, we conducted prediction-oriented segmentation, which revealed four segments in which life contexts exhibit not only positive but also adverse effects on EP. Our results showed that, in contrast to the extant literature, EP generates its overall effect on performance at the intersection of positively and negatively acting domains of founding, inventing, and developing. To explain the structural relations between the four segments, we conducted qualitative post hoc analyses to evaluate idiosyncratic data on passion and the life context and aligned our insights with the extant literature delineating four categories of entrepreneurs from the cultural and creative industries: artepreneurs, culturepreneurs, creative entrepreneurs, and lifestyle entrepreneurs. Our findings contribute to overcoming the dichotomy between passion as a personality trait and a dynamic construct and to understanding passion as an individual phenomenon with multiple sources that interacts with the proximal environment and that can impact entrepreneurial performance both positively and negatively. We extend the entrepreneurship and psychology literature, facilitating people's abilities to lead more entrepreneurial and passionate lives.

How cultural intelligence affects expatriate effectiveness in international construction projects

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the influence mechanism of expatriates' cultural intelligence (CQ) on expatriate effectiveness (task performance and premature return intention), identifying work engagement as a mediator and cultural distance as a boundary condition.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the conservation of resource theory and the person–environment fit (P–E fit) theory, a moderated mediation model is built. Working with a sample of 303 international construction expatriates collected by snowball sampling, the hypotheses are tested by using the structural equation model analysis.FindingsWork engagement partially mediates the relationship between expatriates' CQ and task performance, as well as fully mediates the relationship between expatriates' CQ and premature return intention. Cultural distance moderates the positive relationship between CQ and work engagement, as well as moderates the mediating effects of work engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThe impacts of potential moderators (e.g. work–family conflict and organizational culture) on the relationship between CQ and expatriate effectiveness have not been considered in this study.Practical implicationsThis study is useful for international construction firms to optimize the allocation of human resources.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the expatriate literature by adding empirical evidence to explain the influence mechanism of expatriates' CQ on expatriate effectiveness.