Person-Organization Fit

Person-organization (P-O) fit is the organizational-behavior construct describing the compatibility between an individual and the organization they work for, most often operationalized as the congruence between personal and organizational values. Amy Kristof's 1996 integrative review consolidated a scattered literature into a coherent framework, distinguishing supplementary fit (sharing the same characteristics) from complementary fit (each party supplying what the other needs) and separating perceived from actual congruence. Cable and Judge's 1996 work showed that value congruence shapes job-choice decisions and organizational entry, and that subjective fit perceptions predict attitudes above objective profile similarity. Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, and Johnson's 2005 meta-analysis quantified the consequences across fit types, finding P-O fit a strong correlate of satisfaction, commitment, and intent to stay. Together these works made fit a measurable, predictive construct rather than a loose metaphor. P-O fit now anchors research on recruitment, socialization, and turnover.