Mechanisms from Person–Environment Fit to Professional Identity of Social Workers in China: The Roles of Person-Organization Value Congruence and Collective Psychological Ownership

Abstract

Person-environment fit is identified as a significant factor in facilitating individuals’ professional identity, however, the understanding of its underlying mechanisms is still limited, especially among social workers. This study aims to investigate the serial mediating effects of person-organizational value congruence and collective psychological ownership when associated with a person-environment fit and professional identity. A total sample of 5965 social workers is drawn from the China Social Work Longitudinal Study (CSWLS) 2019. Results reveal that a serial mediating path from person-organizational value congruence with collective psychological ownership is posited to operate between a person-environment fit and professional identity. This study not only provides theoretical contributions for how person-environment fit influences professional identity, but also discusses implications for policy and practice. Future research directions, such as the adoption of longitudinal designs, use of objective measurement methods, and examination of cross-cultural generalizability, are also provided in this study.

Keywords:

• Collective psychological ownership
• person-environment fit
• person-organizational value congruence
• professional identity
• social worker

Acknowledgments

Data used in this study were from the China Social Work Longitudinal Study (CSWLS) 2019 collected by East China University of Science and Technology. The authors appreciate the assistance in providing data of 2019 CSWLS.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Submission Declaration

The authors declare that this paper has not been published previously and it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chaoxin Jiang

Chaoxin Jiang is a PhD candidate at the Department of Social Welfare and Risk Management, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University. His research focuses on social work and risk management.

Shan Jiang

Shan Jiang is an associate professor at the Department of Sociology, Zhejiang University. His research interests focus on social welfare and social work.