The impact of organisational culture and person-organisation fit on job satisfaction and organisational commitment in China and the USA

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of organisational culture and person-organisation fit on job satisfaction and organisational commitment using data collected from 1,838 employees in 129 US and 111 Chinese firms. We hypothesised that: 1 there is a significant relationship between perceived organisational culture and work attitudes 2 there is a significant gap between practices (perceived culture) and values (preferred culture) 3 job satisfaction and commitment are inversely related to the size of the perceived/preferred gap (P-O fit) 4 P-O fit is a stronger predictor of job satisfaction and organisational commitment than country 5 perceived culture is a stronger predictor of job satisfaction and organisational commitment than either country or P-O fit. Three of these five hypotheses were fully supported, two were partially supported; however little evidence was found to support the value of P-O fit as a strong predictor of work attitudes. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Shelton, C., Gartland, M. and Stack, M. (2011) 'The impact of organisational culture and person-organisation fit on job satisfaction and organisational commitment in