How should we measure fit in organisational psychology-or should we?

Abstract

Applied issues in organisational psychology concerned with selection, training, career development, and job redesign rely on person-environment fit theories and frameworks as a base. Although they are conceptually simple, considerable care is required in measuring, testing, and applying person-environment fit models. Traditionally, fit theories have failed to acknowledge direct contributions of either the person or the environment to outcomes such as occupational health, satisfaction, and performance, giving disproportionate significance to fit. These measures also fail to detect the complex configural relations among dimensions typically used by practitioners in making fit predictions. Examples are used to illustrate alternative ways of dealing with these difficulties, including response surface, pattern analysis, and fuzzy configural approaches.