The role and importance of person-organization fit in the selection interview with senior level candidates

Abstract

Person-organization fit originates from interactional psychology, which assumes that behavior is caused by the continuous interaction between the person and the environment (Pervin, 1968; Terborg, 1981). Pervin (1968) assumed that for each individual there are environments which more or less match the characteristics of his/her personality and this agreement in turn results in higher performance, higher satisfaction, and less stress. However, research in the field primarily looked at this construct from a quantitative perspective on college campuses or in some cases, restaurants and hospitals. What appears missing in the literature are qualitative studies that look at this construct from a human resources perspective when selecting senior executives for the C-suite (Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Information Officer, etc). As a result, this study examines the role and importance that senior-level human resources professionals place on person-organization fit during the selection interview of senior-level candidates. The study also determines how human resources professionals conceptualize person-organization fit when making selection decisions of senior-level candidates. Lastly, it attempts to understand if human resources professionals place more importance on person-organization fit characteristics (value congruence) than on person job fit (knowledge, skills, and abilities [KSAs], work experience, and generally defined traits) characteristics during the selection interview with senior-level candidates. Six primary themes emerged from the research analysis. They include the following findings: that the defined company culture influences the type of person hired; that person-organization fit is depicted as the organizational culture match with a candidate's style and leadership skills, and that a good match is illustrated through the use of broad leadership attributes/skills (supplementary fit); that organizations and the people who make up the organization reject those that do not fit in or that do not assimilate or adopt their ways of doing things (this new concept is termed tissue rejection); that human resources vice presidents do not place more weight or importance on person-organization fit criteria, despite the research finding that senior-level candidates fail more often for person-organization fit reasons; and lastly, that diversity is often culturally challenged by the traditional organizational norms and values. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)