Fit Perceptions Research Articles

Effect of Torso and Breast Characteristics on the Perceived Fit of Body Armour Systems Among Female Soldiers: Implications for Body Armour Sizing and Design.

This study aimed to provide normative data characterising the torsos and breasts of female soldiers and to determine which torso and breast anthropometric measurements contributed to reports of poor body armour fit. Ninety-seven female Australian Army soldiers completed a questionnaire about their experience with current-issue body armour, including perceptions of fit. Participants also attended a single testing session where we took a three-dimensional scan of their breasts and torso and collected several anthropometric measurements to characterise their torso size and shape. Sixteen of the 22 breast and torso measurements collected were significantly related to the perceived fit of current-issue body armour systems. To improve perceptions of fit for female soldiers and, in turn, reduce movement interference, discomfort, and barriers to occupational performance, future body armour systems should cater to the wide range of female breast and torso shapes and sizes.

Maps of meaning: journeys of first year engineering students

ABSTRACT Undergraduate STEM retention has been a longstanding concern. Specifically, majors such as engineering have experienced a high dropout rate consistently in the past several decades. This study is aimed at understanding factors contributing to making the engineering major challenging, and individual factors that help first-year engineering students persevere in the major. Eight first-year engineering students participated in the study by completing an illustrated road map sketch of their first-year experiences and a semi-structured interview. All participants considered the engineering major challenging due to the amount of time and effort required to be successful in the courses. Being academically underprepared for first-year courses was a drawback, but only some participants were discouraged by the academic challenges. Most importantly, students’ perception of academic and social fit within the major influenced their self-efficacy, help-seeking behaviour, and intent to persist.

The role of situational affect in students’ academic major satisfaction

AbstractWe used survey data to examine the association of situational affect with academic major satisfaction among 386 college students. Positive and negative affect experienced in classes related to students’ majors were both significantly related to their major satisfaction, with positive affect having the stronger association. A hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that positive and negative affect each had incremental validity over the other in the prediction of major satisfaction, and this held true even after controlling for students’ perceptions of fit with their majors. The association between positive affect and major satisfaction was moderated by year in school, with the association being strongest among first‐year students. Even when students perceive their majors to be a good fit, counselors and educators are advised to help them explore ways to maximize positive emotions and effectively manage negative emotions they experience in courses and activities related to their majors.

Are undergraduate students good proxies for HRM professionals? A comparison of responses in a hiring decision study

PurposeThere is a dearth of human resource management (HRM) literature examining the generalizability of research employing undergraduate student participants. The purpose of this study is to conduct an experiment to compare the job applicant evaluations and hiring decisions of undergraduate student participants with those of working adults with hiring experience.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a between-person 2 × 2 × 4 experimental design: participant group (undergraduate students or working adults with hiring experience) × job gender-type (male typed or female typed) × job applicant (heterosexual female, lesbian female, heterosexual male or gay male). Participants read descriptions of a job and a job applicant and then evaluated the applicant.FindingsThe results supported a moderated mediation model where participant group moderated the interaction of applicant gender and job gender-type in predicting perceptions of competence, which in turn predicted perceptions of person-job fit, likeability and respect-worthiness, which then predicted hiring decisions. Undergraduate student participants, but not working adults with hiring experience, evaluated female applicants applying for a male-typed job in a manner consistent with gender stereotypes and were less likely to hire the female applicant than the male applicant.Originality/valueTo inform HRM practice, research must reflect real-world decision-making. The literature on the roles of gender stereotypes and bias in hiring, and other important HRM decisions, relies heavily on undergraduate student participants. Findings of this study suggest a need to further examine whether those studies can be generalized to working adults actually making those decisions.

Applicants' perception of fit to residency programmes in the video-interview era: A large multidisciplinary survey.

'Fit' refers to an applicants' perceived compatibility to a residency programme. A variety of structural, identity-related and relational factors contribute to self-assessments of fit. The 2021 residency recruitment cycle in the USA was performed virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about how video-interviewing may affect residency applicants' ability to gauge fit. A multidisciplinary, anonymous survey was distributed to applicants at a large academic institution between rank order list (ROL) certification deadline and Match Day 2021. Using Likert-type scales, applicants rated factors for importance to 'fit' and their ease of assessment through video-interviewing. Applicants also self-assigned fit scores to the top-ranked programme in their ROL using Likert-type scales with pairs of anchoring statements. Four hundred seventy-three applicants responded to the survey (25.7% response rate). The three most important factors to applicants for assessment of fit (how much the programme seemed to care, how satisfied residents seem with their programme and how well the residents get along) were also the factors with the greatest discrepancy between importance and ease of assessment through video-interviewing. Diversity-related factors were more important to female applicants compared with males and to non-White applicants compared with White applicants. Furthermore, White male applicants self-assigned higher fit scores compared with other demographic groups. There is a marked discrepancy between the most important factors to applicants for fit and their ability to assess those factors virtually. Minoritised trainees self-assigned lower fit scores to their top-ranked programme, which should raise concern amongst medical educators and highlights the importance of expanding current diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in academic medicine.

The Effects of Task Service Fit on Brand Loyalty

Motivated by the role that branded apps play in enhancing customer perceptions of brands, this paper is developed to provide a better understanding of the extent to which task-service fit associated with branded apps influences brand attitudes. The primary research objective is to determine how perceptions of task-service fit associated with branded apps enhances branded app experience and to explore brand co-creation and ultimately brand loyalty. Using data from 573 branded app users we were able to identify the following relationships: Perceptions of task-service fit and o-creation were found to influence brand loyalty. Also, task-service fit and randed app experience influenced co-creation. Finally, results also confirm that branded app experience and brand co-creation are mediators of the relationship between task-service fit and brand loyalty.

A Motivation-Hygiene Model of Open Source Software Code Contribution and Growth

The success of open source software (OSS) projects depends on sustained contributions by developers who often display a wide variety of contribution patterns. Project leaders and stakeholders would strongly prefer that developers not only maintain but preferably increase their contributions over time as they gain experience. Corporations increasingly complement OSS developer motivations (such as fit in terms of shared values with the project community) by paying them to sustain contributions. However, practitioners argue whether payment helps or hurts projects because monetary compensation may dampen developer motivation in the long run, making it difficult for project leaders to understand what to expect from developers over time. Using Herzberg motivation-hygiene framework, we explore how developer perceptions of value fit with the project and being paid interact to determine the level of code contribution and its rate of change over time (i.e., growth). Using a survey of 564 developers across 431 projects on GitHub, we build a three-level growth model explaining the code contribution and its growth over a six-month period. We find that value fit with the project positively influences both the level and growth of code contribution. However, there are notable differences among paid and unpaid developers in the impact of value fit on their level and growth in code contributions over time. The implications of our work will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and organizations investing in open source projects.

Supplemental Material for A Substance User-Self Fit Perception Increases Identification as a User of the Substance

Supplemental Material for A Substance User-Self Fit Perception Increases Identification as a User of the Substance

Exploring the fit between mobile application service and application privacy

PurposeWith the popularity of mobile applications and increasing consumer awareness of application privacy, this paper aims to introduce a new construct of service-privacy fit (i.e. the perceived degree of match between the service of a mobile application and a privacy permission request) to predict consumers’ mobile application adoption.Design/methodology/approachFour experiments were carried out to test the hypothesized relationships. The first study investigated the direct impact of service-privacy fit on application adoption and the mediators of benefit expectancy and privacy concerns. The second, third and fourth studies further applied the moderated mediation model to analyze the moderating roles of benefit message type, regulatory focus type and privacy assurance.FindingsThe results show that service-privacy fit influences application adoption not only directly but also indirectly via the mediators of benefit expectancy and privacy concerns. Furthermore, the findings confirm the moderators of benefit message type, regulatory focus type and privacy assurance.Originality/valueDrawn from the perspectives of task-technology fit and information boundary theory, this paper introduces a new construct of service-privacy fit as a determinant of application adoption. Grounded in privacy calculus theory, it further explains this relationship through mediating effects of benefit expectancy and privacy concerns. Furthermore, this paper proposes that benefit messages and privacy assurance are effective coping strategies to increase the benefit expectancy and reduce the privacy concerns of applications. Based on the perspective of regulatory fit theory, this study further shows that the effects of coping strategies rely on personal traits. The findings enrich the existing knowledge of mobile application adoption and application privacy, suggesting that practitioners should consider mobile consumers’ perception of service-privacy fit when developing applications.

Risks of expressing your authentic self in sport: the influence of stigma covering on perceived job fit and hiring recommendations

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine how identity covering techniques can influence raters' perceptions of job candidates who have a socially stigmatized identity. Specifically, the authors explore how raters respond to two types of candidates: one who does not mention his gay identity during the interview process, and one who openly discusses their gay identity during the interview process. The authors also investigate whether job type (sport operations vs business operations) and the rater's views toward social equality influence perceptions of job fit and subsequent hiring recommendations.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an experiment to examine whether an applicant's level of stigma covering, type of job posting and rater's views toward social equality influenced perceptions of job fit. The authors then tested whether perceptions of job fit mediated hiring recommendations. Adults in the USA (n = 237) who were employed and had served on a hiring committees participated in the survey.FindingsWhen applying for sport operations jobs, as opposed to business operations jobs, gay male applicants are viewed more favorably if they engage in high levels of identity covering. Further, the applicant's level of stigma covering influenced raters who reported high or moderate social dominance orientation but did not impact raters with low social dominance orientation. Overall, the findings reveal that identity covering techniques do have relevance for studying the dynamics of hiring gay men who apply for jobs in the sport industry.Originality/valueThe study advances the understanding of identity management techniques by examining the nuances of how applicants can choose to disclose their stigmatized identity, and how those decision influence the hiring process.

Sexual orientation and gender influence perceptions of disciplinary fit: Implications for sexual and gender diversity in STEM

AbstractScience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) represent a highly valued academic discipline and career path in the 21st century; yet some individuals are excluded or discouraged from pursuing STEM because of their social group membership. Despite decades of research on social identity and fit within STEM (e.g., by gender and race), the psychological literature on issues within STEM based on sexual orientation is scant. We draw on notions of false dichotomies (i.e., social versus technical, personal versus professional, and subjectivity and interpretivism versus objectivity and positivism) to theorize how gender and sexual orientation influence perceived congruity with STEM as well as the Humanities. In the current study, we randomly assigned heterosexual participants (N = 318, Mage = 40, 52% women, 74% White) to rate one of five target groups (lesbian women, gay men, heterosexual women, heterosexual men, scientists) in terms of their perceived overlap with STEM and Humanities. We also assessed differences between target groups in terms of being rated as communal, agentic, and scientific. Results indicated that participants perceived lesbian women and gay men as less close to STEM than heterosexual men because they perceived lesbian and gay people as less agentic. In contrast, participants perceived lesbian women and gay men as closer to the Humanities than heterosexual men because they perceived lesbian and gay people as more communal. Drawing from these findings, we emphasize the profound implications of academic exclusion for lesbian and gay individuals.

The Effects of Task Service Fit on Brand Loyalty

Motivated by the role that branded apps play in enhancing customer perceptions of brands, this paper is developed to provide a better understanding of the extent to which task-service fit associated with branded apps influences brand attitudes. The primary research objective is to determine how perceptions of task-service fit associated with branded apps enhances branded app experience and to explore brand co-creation and ultimately brand loyalty. Using data from 573 branded app users we were able to identify the following relationships: Perceptions of task-service fit and o-creation were found to influence brand loyalty. Also, task-service fit and randed app experience influenced co-creation. Finally, results also confirm that branded app experience and brand co-creation are mediators of the relationship between task-service fit and brand loyalty.

Entrepreneurial career persistence of hybrid entrepreneurs: The opposing moderating roles of wage work-to-entrepreneurship enrichment and entrepreneurship-to-wage work enrichment

Hybrid entrepreneurs are individuals who are employees and entrepreneurs at the same time. In their quest to make their businesses successful, they commonly encounter challenges and adversities. This makes entrepreneurial persistence a key factor in the success of hybrid entrepreneurs. Drawing on social cognitive theory, the hybrid entrepreneurship context, and the perspective of person–environment fit, we developed a moderated mediation model in which person–venture fit, needs–venture supplies fit, and venture demands–abilities fit are associated with entrepreneurial persistence through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. We proposed that these indirect effects are conditional on wage work-to-entrepreneurship enrichment (WE enrichment) (the skills and experiences transferred to entrepreneurial work from wage work) and its converse, i.e., entrepreneurship-to-wage work enrichment (EW enrichment). Based on a sample of 279 hybrid entrepreneurs, we found support for the moderated mediation model, in which the positive effects of fit perceptions on entrepreneurial persistence via entrepreneurial self-efficacy were stronger for hybrid entrepreneurs reporting higher levels of WE enrichment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Towards Sustainable Corporate Attraction: The Mediating and Moderating Mechanism of Person–Organization Fit

With the burgeoning “war for talent”, attracting the right workforce has become a major key checkpoint for a firm’s sustainability. The main purpose of this study was to predict prospective employees’ organizational attraction by integrating person–organization (P–O) fit perceptions and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) into a single framework. Although many studies have reported inconsistent results for the impact of subjective norms and self-efficacy on intention in the TPB framework, adequate empirical research on applicant attraction for this theoretical phenomenon is still unavailable. This may be the first study that examined the mechanism of how and when the TPB model becomes more instrumental with subjective P–O fit perceptions. With a sample of 335 young job seekers in Bangladesh, the study examined the research hypotheses related to the TPB and P–O fit using path analysis with AMOS, a structural equation modeling (SEM) program. The results showed that P–O fit partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and job search intentions. Observably, P–O fit significantly moderated the relationship between subjective norms and job search intentions in such a way that the impact of subjective norms was stronger for individuals with a lower level of P–O fit but slightly weaker for those with a higher level of P–O fit. In line with the research findings, some notable theoretical contributions and practical implications for HR professionals have been discussed.

How Industries Use Direct-to-Public Persuasion in Policy Conflicts: Asymmetries in Public Voting Responses

Industries use persuasion strategies to gain public support when challenged by activist groups on consumer-relevant issues. This marketing practice, termed “direct-to-public persuasion,” has received limited attention in the field, and thus we have little understanding of when such campaigns fail or succeed. This research introduces a theoretically derived and empirically supported framework that draws from multiple areas, including marketing persuasion, political campaign strategy, sociopolitical legitimacy, and perceptual fit, to identify important differences in the effectiveness of these persuasion strategies on attitudes and voting behavior. The multimethod approach includes a field study of ballot measure voting during a national U.S. election and three experimental studies. The findings contribute new knowledge of asymmetries in public response to industry and activist arguments. Stronger arguments from both sides lead to more favorable outcomes, but activist groups benefit most. Suspicion of activist arguments weakens the impact on attitudes and voting; industry argument suspicion has limited impact, though it does increase the likelihood of voter switching. A financial argumentation strategy works best for the industry side, while societal argumentation is more effective for the activist side. The insights offer guidance for industries and activist groups as argument strategy success is contingent on the side that uses it.

Effect of Consumer Perception of Brand Equity Fit on Purchase Intention for Brands in Symbolic Alliances

This paper examined the effect of consumers’ perception of brand equity fit on purchase intention for focal brands in symbolic alliances through an empirical investigation of consumer-based brand equity elements. Using the signaling theory, this study empirically tests a model to examine the effect of brand equity fit between brands in a symbolic brand alliance on consumers’ purchase intentions for selected consumable products in Lagos, Nigeria. A sample of 384 supporters of the partnered brands in a symbolic brand alliance was considered for the study. The result of the ordered logistic regression indicated that brand equity has an effect on consumers’ purchase intention for the selected consumable products. The results show that brand equity fit employed has positive significant impact on purchase intention for the brands in the symbolic alliance. The study broadens the existing studies on fit components of brand alliances. The findings of this research provide the strategic benefit of jointly presenting a brand with another brand with a good brand equity fit.

An exploratory study of participants’ fit perceptions of customized garments

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ fit perceptions of customized garments and investigate the factors that affected the customized fit. Design/methodology/approach Because different patternmaking methods generate varied fit results, eight customized dresses were developed for four fit models aged 18–25 using two different made-to-measure (MTM) systems (Gerber AccuMark and Telestia Creator). The authors designed a questionnaire to assess the fit of the final garments on each of the four models. A total of 12 participants (four fit models and eight experts) attended a live evaluation meeting and completed the questionnaire. The quantitative and qualitative data of the participants’ fit perceptions were collected and analyzed. Findings The authors compared the fit outputs of the two MTM systems and determined the fit issues from the participants’ perceptions. The results showed that the participants evaluated the customized fit mainly according to the ease, seam placement and wrinkle occurrence. The majority of fit models and experts preferred Dress B created using Telestia Creator to Dress A developed using Gerber AccuMark. The participants’ fit perceptions also revealed that many factors, such as the MTM systems, participants’ fit preferences, models’ body characteristics, fabric and ease, impacted the fit results. In addition, the experts perceived more fit issues than the models. Originality/value The fit output comparison of the two MTM systems could be valuable for pattern makers to use the systems. The research results would also be useful for apparel companies to conduct a fit evaluation and improve their customization processes.

Consumer Engagement with Brands’ COVID-19 Messaging on Social Media: The Role of Perceived Brand–Social Issue Fit and Brand Opportunism

While the trade press has started to report on consumer responses to brand messaging about the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, empirical results have yet to emerge. In this study, we investigated how consumers in the United States responded to Instagram ads containing COVID-19 claims based on the perceived brand–social issue fit, which is determined by whether the brand’s product was considered essential or nonessential. Results showed perceived brand–social issue fit to be of dual nature, where stronger perceptions of fit (i.e., essential products advertised with COVID-19 claims) resulted in more positive ad evaluations, brand attitudes, and consumer engagement intentions. Lower perceptions of fit (i.e., nonessential products with COVID-19 claims) led to perceptions of brand opportunism, which we conceptualized as a negative evaluative outcome that negatively impacted ad/brand attitude and consumer engagement intentions. The findings provide insights for brands interested in placing ads addressing the changing environmental conditions resulting from COVID-19 and advances the literature on pandemic messaging.

When agency “fits” regardless of gender: Perceptions of applicant fit when job and organization signal male stereotypes

AbstractEvaluators’ fit assessments are not only influenced by applicants’ qualities, but also by stereotypes, especially in recruitment for high‐status jobs in male‐dominated fields. The unidimensional agentic stereotype of these work contexts signals agentic job and organizational requirements (stereotypically male qualities such as achievement orientation), although the actual requirements usually also include communality (stereotypically female qualities such as interpersonal skills). In five experiments, we investigate the relevance of perceived applicant agency for perceived applicant fit, the influence of recruitment material, contextual differences, and the role of applicant gender. Our findings indicate that perceived applicant agency drives perceived person‐job and person‐organization fit in strictly male stereotyped work contexts, regardless of gender, and agentic recruitment material enhances this effect. Contrasting different contexts (high‐ with low‐status jobs and a male‐dominated with a gender‐balanced and female‐dominated field) revealed that the relevance of perceived agency increases with perceived job status, and the relevance of perceived communality decreases with the expected share of men. Although women were perceived as highly agentic in strictly male stereotyped work contexts, their need to be perceived as agentic also was higher than for men, due to the perceived lack of fit between women and high‐status jobs.

Contexts and Mechanisms for Implementation Success: A Realist Evaluation of Behavior Checker in Integrated Primary Care

Despite the increased knowledge of the contextual determinants of implementation, the mechanisms leading to implementation success are not well understood. Explicating and testing program theories underlying implementation strategies designed through participatory processes involving intervention users with the expert knowledge of the practice context can lead to a better understanding of strategies that work in a real-world implementation. The purpose of this study was to identify facilitating and interfering contexts and mechanisms in implementing a pilot parenting intervention, Behavior Checker, as a part of routine service delivery in a rural primary care facility in the USA. This study was an organizational case study informed by the realist evaluation paradigm. Multiple methods of data collection were used, including key informant interviews with organizational representatives, a focus group and surveys with healthcare staff, and direct observation. The results indicated that the following mechanisms were central to facilitating and interfering with Behavior Checker implementation in the participating clinic: (1) staff knowledge and confidence; (2) complexity compression; (3) perceptions of sustainability; (4) workflow efficiency; (5) a systematic method of prompting intervention delivery and documentation; (6) capability for ongoing performance evaluation; (7) perception of fit; and (8) innovation-specific and general organizational resources. Understanding mechanisms can contribute to identifying strategies that support successful implementation and sustainable adoption of interventions that may benefit society.