An exploration of how organizational members construct the concept of person organization fit through the lens of organizational discourse

This study is concerned with how organizational members construct the concept of PO fit through discourse. The way in which the fit between the person and the organization has been researched to date has mainly focused on establishing the “facts” concerning the fit between the person and the organization. There is a need to offer alternative ways to the study of PO fit in order to surface additional insights into a concept which has been described as being elusive. An interpretive organizational discourse perspective, using hermeneutic analysis was adopted in order to gain an understanding at the level of the individual what the concept of PO fit means to the organizational members who co-construct it. Three instrumental case studies were used to build a context. Interviews were used to collect PO fit discourse, which was transcribed into texts using a broad layer of discourse transcription. The texts were explored at an individual, inter-textual and cross-textual level using thematic analysis. A diary study was also used as a means of data triangulation. In keeping with the hermeneutic nature of the study the findings were then interpreted within the context of the PO fit literature and the broader organizational context. The findings illustrated that the concept of PO fit held complex meanings for organizational members. It was evident from their talk that a fit with the organization was sought after and people described the strategies that they engaged in to achieve a fit with the organization. Individuals voiced how they were active agents in the construction and maintenance of a fit with the organization. The multi-faceted composition of fit was revealed by how organizational members interacted with the organizational environment to either enable or construct barriers to strengthen or damage the person‟s fit with the organization. Their discourse also captured the unique nature of PO fit, which formed part of a continuum with PO misfit.