Environment Fit Theory Research Articles

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.

Fostering a salesperson’s team identification: An investigation into the effects of leader-follower emotional intelligence congruence from a person–environment fit perspective

Integrating the person–environment (PE) fit theory with the literature on social identification, we investigate how leader–follower congruence in emotional intelligence (EI) fosters the focal follower’s team identification. We propose that EI (in)congruence between followers and their team leader significantly affects the followers’ relational separation of leader-member exchange (LMXRS), an individual-within-team level construct that indicates one’s relative standing in the team and is operationalized as the Euclidean distance between followers and their team members in terms of perceived LMX quality. Moreover, leader–follower EI (in)congruence indirectly affects the followers’ team identification via the mediating role of LMXRS. The proposed theoretical model was supported by field data collected from 1,416 leader–follower dyads in 143 sales teams across two-time points using polynomial regression and response surface methodology. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

The influence of boundary management preference on work–nonwork policy effectiveness: Is “turning off” the solution?

ABSTRACT How does boundary management (BM) preference influence the effectiveness of work–nonwork policies? Drawing on BM and person–environment fit theory, we examine the effects of off-hours work-related communication restriction on policy satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement. We suggest a moderated mediation model, assuming that the interaction between communication restriction and BM preference predicts perceived BM fit, positively affecting the outcomes. We investigated this assumption using an experimental vignette study (Study 1, N = 257) and a correlational study (Study 2, N = 239). The findings of both studies show moderated indirect effects of the work–nonwork policy on policy satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement (only investigated in Study 2) via perceived BM fit and conditional on BM preference. Specifically, restricting work-related communication only benefits employees preferring low levels of integration. Contrarily, employees who prefer high levels of integration do not benefit from the policy. Due to using two studies with different methodological approaches, these findings rest on data with high internal and external validity. In particular, the experimental method in Study 1 allows for causal inferences on the effects of communication restriction, supporting the literature on BM fit and offering practical implications.

THE INFLUENCE OF JOB MISMATCH, LABOR INCOME, JOB SATISFACTION ON JOB PERFORMANCE AT TIONGHOA PALM OIL FACTORY IN INDRAGIRI HULU, RIAU, INDONESIA

Referring to the job environment fit theory, the goal of this study is to examine the influence of job mismatch, labor income, job satisfaction on job performance of well-trained experienced labor. Based on the Survey which has done in 2020 from the Tionghoa Palm Oil Factory in Indragiri Hulu, the study analyzed 2000 samples. They are the well-trained experienced workers in Tionghoa Palm Oil Factory in Indragiri Hulu. The research finding shows the level of well-trained experience labor influence on overall labor income, job satisfaction, and Job performance significantly. Particularly, job mismatch of well-trained experience labor and workforce both positively affected labor income and job satisfaction. Moreover, in terms of the relationship between job mismatch, labor income, job satisfaction, and job performance, the effect of labor income and job satisfaction was verified. The study revealed that it is pivotal to approach the attainment of an exemplary workforce from the viewpoint of job mismatch, so that excellent and highly well- trained experience labor as human resources can be placed in the best possible position to greatly increase their personal attributes and productivity. Job mismatch has a positively influence on job performance through labor income and job satisfaction, it is vital to boost advanced talent utilization strategies, which include job mismatch, compensation, such as salaries and bonuses, and psychological aspects, such as job satisfaction.

Redesigning workspace at Adobe: an Indian perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to describe the success story of a software company, Adobe, in redesigning the workplace environment from cubicles to a connected collaborative workplace, which helped the organization optimize workplace usage. The goals were to design an innovative work environment to optimize the usage of the office portfolio, improve workplace service quality and infrastructure facilities of the portfolio, increase employee productivity, reduce technology costs, engage employees in a better way to enhance employee satisfaction, align workplace design with the brand, mobilize technology and enable a globalized workforce to facilitate higher productivity.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory research design method was adopted using the purposive sampling technique to collect data through semi-structured interviews with a team of nine property professionals from the operations team responsible for workspace redesign at Adobe in India.FindingsThe main observations of the corporate real estate (CRE) manager were on what value parameters drive workplace redesign and how different software companies were creating strategies to manage workplace design or redesign change for optimal use of the organization portfolio. To discuss the CRE strategies of global software leaders, IBM and SAP were pointed out in this case.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of interviews were limited. The related parameters for workplace transformation are not necessarily complete. However, the parameters are regarded to include the most important aspects of workplace redesign.Practical implicationsThis study provides useful insights into how benchmarking in the workplace transformation function of the CRE industry can be applied to address portfolio-related challenges, divergent employee needs and improve workspace usability following energy-efficient policies. Practitioners can use this study as a guide to develop more effective workspace designs.Social implicationsThis study may guide other firms on successful workspace design initiatives that may overcome many obstacles in the workplace transformation process to have their intended impact on workplace efficiency and employee satisfaction. The case can be used as an inspiration for developing specific user-focused innovative workspace design in practice.Originality/valueAdopting the theoretical background of the person–environment fit theory, this study adds to the understanding of the operational model of a digitally connected workspace designed as per real estate needs and strategies to manage the CRE portfolio of the company.

Women entrepreneurs’ success factors of Northern Indian community: a person–environment fit theory perspective

PurposeWomen entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Asian economies. However, women in this region face an alarming array of barriers to entrepreneurship. This research study aims to examine the factors, i.e. government support, family social support, financial literacy and managerial skills, in building the entrepreneurial capacity of women entrepreneurs under the lens of the person–environment (P-E) fit theory. Furthermore, the study also examines the moderating effect of socio-cultural barriers in the said relationships.Design/methodology/approachFor the study, the data was collected from the owners of 311 women-owned manufacturing and services sector enterprises from the northern Indian community.FindingsFindings suggest that all the factors significantly affect the entrepreneurial capacity of women entrepreneurs, and the barriers work as a moderator between the relationships.Originality/valueBased on P-E fit theory, this unique research study proposes a model to test the role of factors such as government support, family social support, financial literacy and managerial skills in developing women entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial capacity along with examining the moderating role of socio-cultural factors contributing to the entrepreneurial capacity of women.

The perils of hospitality internship: a growth curve approach to job motivation change

PurposeWhy would a hospitality or tourism enterprise’s talent program backfire to demotivate interns from engaging in their jobs? This study aim to synthesize theoretical strands from the self-determination theory, person–environment fit theory and conservation of resources theory to investigate the predictors of perceived person–job fit and how such a fit causes changes in interns’ job motivation over time.Design/methodology/approachA four-wave longitudinal study was conducted. The four waves of data obtained from over 251 interns in China were analyzed using latent growth curve modeling.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that abusive co-worker treatment moderated the impact of perceived negative social status and perceived overqualification on perceived person–job fit. Moreover, perceived person–job fit is a significant predictor of the initial level of job motivation and flattens the decrease in job motivation over time. These findings demonstrate that interns’ job motivation generally decreased over time, and perceived person–job fit may help dampen the change trajectory of job motivation.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to the practice of education and organizations in hospitality and tourism management by advocating for better interventions to improve interns’ work experience and motivations. Also, organizations can create team-building opportunities and promote teamwork that contributes to the formation of cohesive relationships and improve personal bonding.Originality/valueThis longitudinal inquiry conducted in China underscores the perils of hospitality/tourism internship by synthesizing a framework based on the theoretical strands germane to person–environment fit, resource conservation and self-determination. It uncovers the dark side of internship – not only due to mismanaged internship experience, but also because it could backfire to create a demotivational spiral that may ultimately drive potential talents away from hospitality/tourism organizations and industry.

Work-related use of information and communication technologies and error admission: The roles of emotional exhaustion and person–organization fit

We examined the effects of work-related use of information and communication technologies after hours (W_ICTs) by applying the job demands–resources model and person–environment fit theory. Our focus was on the mechanism of the impact of W_ICTs on employees' nonwork time error admission, the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion, and the moderating effect of person–organization fit. We used experience sampling to make repeated measurements at different time points to obtain the dynamic variation of the variables. There were 55 participants who completed online questionnaires for 10 consecutive workdays, resulting in 1,035 valid questionnaires for analysis. We found that employees' daily W_ICTs had significant negative effects on their error admission, and significant positive effects on their emotional exhaustion. Further, emotional exhaustion mediated the relationship between W_ICTs and error admission, and person–organization fit negatively moderated the relationship between emotional exhaustion and error admission.

Do vocational interests matter for the selection of romantic partners? Evidence from variable‐ and couple‐centered approaches

AbstractThe present study links the person–environment fit theory of vocational interests (VI) with the research on the selection of romantic partners. Empirically, we explore the assortment for VI in 215 heterosexual romantic partners. Using both the variable‐centered (VCA) and couple‐centered (CCA) approaches, we test the hypotheses on positive versus negative assortment, initial assortment versus convergence, and active assortment versus social homogamy. A modest to moderate positive assortment was found for Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, and Social interests but not Conventional interests, whereas evidence of couple similarity in Enterprising interests was less consistent. A moderate level of positive assortment was identified in couples when full interest profiles were evaluated. The results indicate an initial and active assortment rather than convergence or social homogamy effects. The analysis also shows that the assortment for interests represents an independent preference that cannot be easily seen as a by‐product of the assortment in the five‐factor personality traits. These findings highlight the importance of VI in the active selection of romantic partners. We discuss implications for future research and practice.

The Conjoint Effect of Workplace Spirituality and Emotional Labour on Service Providers’ Wellbeing: A Moderated Mediation Model

Is emotional labour a burden or a boon to service providers who have greater workplace spirituality (WS)? We test a moderated mediation model in which emotional exhaustion mediates the conjoint effect of WS and emotional labour on job satisfaction. Linking conservation of resources (COR) theory with the mechanism of ‘value congruence’ in person–environment fit theory, we theorize that spiritual values are a key factor in generating necessary resource gains for deep acting (DA) due to the value fit of these two motivational vectors. As a boundary condition for use of the benefits of DA, WS can bridge the gap between theoretical assumptions concerning the benefits of DA and the lack of empirical evidence that DA mitigates emotional exhaustion. Concurrently, we challenge the perception of WS as universally beneficial to employees’ wellbeing by proposing that WS amplifies the detrimental effects of surface acting because the externalized and inauthentic nature of this type of emotional regulation transgresses basic spiritual values. Our hypotheses find support in a study of 196 Israeli service providers at inbound call centres.

When and how does ambidextrous leadership influences voice? The roles of leader-subordinate gender similarity and employee emotional expression

In recent years, employee voice has become a popular topic in organizational behavior research. However, existing research has failed to explore when and how ambidextrous leadership influences voice. Adopting leader–member exchange theory and person–environment fit theory, we constructed a moderated mediation model and analyzed the influential path and boundary of ambidextrous leadership on employee voice on the basis of gender similarity between leaders and subordinates. To test our conceptual model, we collected sample in three phases at a monthly interval from multiple employees and their direct leaders from China. Drawing on a paired questionnaire survey of 43 leaders and 182 subordinates, we tested our conceptual model by using polynomial regression analysis, hierarchical regression, and bootstrapping methods. Results reveal that (1) ambidextrous leadership has a positive effect on employee voice; (2) employee emotional expression plays a mediating role in the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and voice; (3) when the gender between leaders and subordinates is different, the mediating effect of emotional expression is strong. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2021.1991433 .

Influence of Selected Work Related Variables on Occupational Stress Among Teachers in Kenya

Occupational stress is a universal phenomenon that manifests itself among workers as a result of pressures originating from within or outside the work place. Work stress has had negative effects on performance and service delivery among workers and can therefore be expensive for organizations as it adversely affects organizational performance and productivity. Globally, teaching has been ranked the second most stressful job after ambulance driving and incidences of teachers experiencing occupational stress have been reported in Borabu Sub County. Given the important role education plays in shaping society, the pivotal roles played by teachers globally and in Borabu SubCounty cannot be over stated. Majority of teachers confess that they would opt for an alternative profession given an opportunity, a situation witnessed by a substantive number of teachers who get newly employed or are always ready to transfer to other professions. Some studies on teachers’ occupational stress have concentrated on factors causing or contributing to stress or effects of occupational stress on performance among teachers but have not investigated the influence of selected work related variables on occupational stress among secondary school teachers. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the Influence of Selected Work RelatedVariables on Occupational Stress among Teachers in Public Secondary Schools in Borabu-Sub County of Nyamira County. The main objective of the study was to determine the influence of role overload on occupational stress among public secondary school teachers. The study was anchored on Person Environment Fit Theory of Caplan. The study employed convergent parallel research design within mixed method approach. The population of the study comprised 212 public high school teachers, 21 Principals, and 3 Education Officers. Saturated sampling was used to obtain a sample size of 212 teachers, 21 Principals and 3 Education Officers of Borabu Sub County, Nyamira County, Kenya. Occupational stress questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from teachers while qualitative data was collected using interviews to Principals and Education Officers. Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis were used to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data was analyzed using thematic framework. Validity of the instruments was ensured by seeking expert judgement from university psychology lecturers. Reliability of the instruments was determined using internal consistency with an index of 0.70 reported. The study results revealed that high school teachers of Borabu Sub County have a significant amount of role overload at r=0.647. The study established that co and extracurricular activities plummeted the teachers work. The study recommended that teachers, school Principals, Teacher Counselors, other Education stake holders and policy makers need to apply adjustment interventions for occupational stress reduction among educators. Keywords: Influence, Occupational, Stress, work DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-30-07 Publication date: October 31 st 2021

An Examination of Sport Management Doctoral Programs and the Organizational Environment Through Person–Environment Fit Theory

Scholarly literature focusing on organizational environments and organizational fit highlights the importance of a Multi-Fit perspective, which includes person–environment fit, person–culture fit, and person–vocation fit. However, relatively few scholars in sport management have focused on the organizational environment that includes sport management faculty and doctoral students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine sport management doctoral programs to evaluate how sport management faculty and sport management doctoral students assessed the academic environment. Findings from 15 sport management faculty and 13 doctoral students resulted in three distinct overarching themes: (a) initial evaluations from person–environment fit, (b) fitting in with person–culture fit, and (c) the gap in person–culture fit. Moreover, subthemes emerging from faculty were (a) coachable, (b) well-roundedness, (c) experience, (d) research interests, and (e) statistical knowledge. Subthemes emerging from sport management doctoral students were (a) funding, (b) initial contact, (c) geography, (d) foundation, and (e) cohort mentality. The findings of this study have significant importance to the sport management academy as scholars have suggested approximately 50% of doctoral students fail to receive their degree, and cohort entrance and exit attrition may be as high as 85%. Therefore, the goal of this study was to increase the extant knowledge pertaining to person–environment fit and the sport management doctoral matriculation and enrollment process between sport management faculty and sport management doctoral students.

Investigating the relationship between person–environment fit and safety behavior: A social cognition perspective

Introduction: This study explored the relationship between person–job fit and safety behavior, as well as the mediating role played by psychological safety, from the perspective of social cognitive theory and person–environment fit theory. Method: A total of 800 employees from petroleum enterprises were recruited, with cluster random sampling used to collect data in two stages. Results: The results showed that employees’ safety behavior is higher under the condition of “high person–job fit—high person–organization fit” than under that of “low person–job fit—low person–organization fit.” In other words, the more congruent the level of person–job fit and person–organization fit for a given employee, the higher their level of safety behavior. Practical Applications: Psychological safety plays a mediating role between the congruence of both person–job fit and person–organization fit and employees’ safety behavior.

Impact of thriving at work on eustress and distress: career growth as mediator

PurposeThriving at work can affect eustress and distress differently, so the main purpose of this study is to determine the impact of thriving at work on stress and to extend the existing literature on stress by examining the mediating mechanism of career growth, which is one of the functions of human resource development, in the relationship between thriving at work and stress. Person environment fit theory is used to explain the framework.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 179 employees of the hospitality sector of Pakistan to assess the impact of thriving at work on eustress and distress through the mediation of career growth. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults revealed thriving at work is positively related to eustress whereas it is negatively related to distress, and there is a positive association between thriving and career growth. Furthermore, career growth appeared as an effective explanatory mechanism for relationships between thriving at work and stress. Implications for managers are also discussed.Originality/valueThis study encompasses both positive and negative stressors. There are lots of studies available that examine thriving at work and stress, but the present study aims to examine the impact of thriving on both aspects of stress in the presence of career growth as the mediator in the hospitality sector of Pakistan. It also opens new avenues for research on P-E fit theory to gain benefit from the eustress of employees.

RETHINKING WELL-BEING INPUT FOR CREATIVE PERSON

The strength of an organisation lies predominantly in her personnel as the creative person. However, limited studies on well-being input exist in developing countries. Also, the scope and methodological gap in a previous study conducted on flexible well-being and smart-head necessitated this study. Thus, the paper determined the effect and sensitivity relationship of redefined well-being dimensions on creative person. A cross-sectional survey research design was used while a validated questionnaire was distributed and 532 retrieved from academic staff ranked as Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor. The multi-stage random sampling technique was applied to eight selected private universities in South-West Nigeria. Findings from multiple regression analysis conducted revealed that redefined well-being had a combined positive significant effect on creative person [(Adj. R2 = 0.331 (F (6, 525) = 44.877, p<0.05)] and the artificial neural network analysis showed technological work environment as the best individual predictor. The paper strengthens the Person Environment (P-E) Fit Theory assumptions and the position to consistently redefine well-being input as a maxim to stimulate academics’ creativity for a novel knowledge-based economy, patent, and ranking.

Motivated to Share? Using the Person–Environment Fit Theory to Explain the Link between Public Service Motivation and Knowledge Sharing

Despite the growing evidence that public service motivation (PSM) is an important source of employee outcomes, there is still a dearth of empirical evidence on whether it stirs one’s willingness to share learned knowledge with other members of an organization. The authors explore the mediating role of workers’ perceived fit in a given setting as a causal mechanism through which PSM promotes knowledge-sharing indirectly. Findings based on the primary data of 1048 occupationally diverse employees working in 33 local governments in South Korea show that PSM has a positive impact on knowledge sharing, person–group (P–G) fit, and person–job (P–J) fit, and P–G fit and P–J fit plays a mediating role in improving knowledge sharing, respectively, while person–supervisor (P–S) fit does not. This study interprets these results as suggesting that P–S it should be considered independently from environmental factors in the public organization, as it is derived from the interrelationship between employees and supervisors that began in the hierarchy of the organization, and thus is difficult to be related to other factors. Based on literature review and empirical analysis, this study presents theoretical and policy implications.

What leads to value co-creation in reward-based crowdfunding? A person-environment fit perspective

With the dramatic growth of internet and platform economics, reward-based crowdfunding (RBC) has become prevalent, providing unprecedented opportunities to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Nevertheless, crowdfunding projects can find it difficult to succeed. Fundraisers can hardly simultaneously obtain both financial and non-financial benefits. This paper aims to investigate value co-creation including investment and feedback in RBC. After using a focus group to explore the underlying mechanisms of value co-creation in RBC, this research draws from the person–environment fit (P–E fit) theory to develop the research model. We used an online scenario-based survey, 364 valid samples of which were collected. The empirical results show that attractiveness and the P–E fit, including need fulfillment (NF) and value congruence (VC), lead to backers’ intentions to co-create value. Moreover, attractiveness fully mediates the relationship between NF and feedback intention (FI). NF and VC exhibited significantly different effects on FI, in terms of the different product types, that is, entertainment and technology in this research.

Determinants of Psychology Students’ Study Satisfaction

Understanding characteristics that contribute to psychology students’ academic success is important to better support them during their studies. Referring to person–environment fit theory, we examined effects of study-relevant characteristics (self-efficacy beliefs, self-assessed level of information about the study program) on subjective criteria of success (persistence with the choice of study subject, later study satisfaction) and controlled for effects of grade point average (GPA) and mathematical skills. We present a longitudinal survey study including five cohorts of first-year students (total N = 854). Mediation models ( N = 254) revealed that self-efficacy and level of information at study entry predicted students’ persistence at the end of the first semester, which predicted satisfaction at the end of the second semester. In the presumed overall model we found total effects of self-efficacy and level of information, with direct and indirect effects (via persistence) on satisfaction, and no total or direct effects of GPA and mathematical skills, but an indirect effect of GPA on satisfaction. Thus, psychology students’ satisfaction substantially depends on study-relevant characteristics and less on skills. An enhancement of students’ self-efficacy beliefs and comprehensive information for those who are interested in the subject might help to increase satisfaction and thus success.

Pathways to job engagement: evidences from the software industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to broaden the link between workplace flexibility (WF) and job engagement (JE) while considering quality of work life (QWL) as mediator and the use of knowledge sharing (KS) as moderator. While numerous studies have focused solely on the importance of WF, QWL, KS and JE only exclusively, this study integrates them to delineate their association and to empirically assess the relationships. To advance an in-depth knowledge of these aspects, the study goes beyond the conventional findings.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 378 employees from software firms in India participated in the questionnaire-based survey. It is a cross-sectional study. The proposed conceptual model and hypothesis were analyzed and tested by structural equation modeling and process macro. Drawing on the person environment (P-E) fit theory and social exchange theory, the authors discuss how QWL mediates and KS moderates the association between WF and JE.FindingsResults indicate a positive association between WF and JE. Furthermore, it was found that QWL mediated and KS moderated this association.Practical implicationsFindings of the study will help the management to comprehend the significance QWL interventions in increasing their JE. This paper may encourage HR managers in the Information Technology (IT) industry to perceive the importance of KS. Moreover, the study accentuates flexible work options as essential phenomenon to positively impinge on the JE of employees in the IT sector.Originality/valueThe present study tries to enrich the extant research on WF and JE while it demonstrates the use of QWL interventions and KS as vital constructs that may significantly and positively influence JE.