Person–environment fit.

Abstract

Person–environment fit is defined as the compatibility that occurs when individual and work environment characteristics are well matched. Models of person– environment (PE) fit have always been a prominent theme in the field of industrial and organizational psychology. The notion that people are differentially compatible in particular work environments is so well accepted that Saks and Ashforth (1997) called the topic "a cornerstone of industrial/organizational psychology and human resources management". B. Schneider (2001) concluded that "the concept of person–environment fit is so pervasive as to be one of, if not the, dominant conceptual forces in the field". Yet in the same article, B. Schneider also notes, "There is considerable ambiguity over what is appropriate research from a person–environment fit perspective". Thus, the purpose of this chapter is as much to review where research on PE fit has been as it is to illuminate what the research contains and where it is going.