Fit (PO and PJ)
A job-seeker’s attitudes toward a potential employer, and subsequently, their intentions to revisit the company’s website, apply, accept an offer or to say positive things about the organization to others, for example, are influenced by such factors as information about the company and the jobs, and by perceptions of recruiters’ behaviors and the selection process. Job-seekers value organizations that have a reputation for treating employees fairly and having a culture that values a positive social environment (Rynes, Heneman III & Schwab, 1980); and they value jobs that seem interesting and provide opportunities (Cable, Aiman-Smith, Mulvey & Edwards, 2000; Irving & Meyer, 1994; Turban & Cable, 2003; Uggerslev, Fassina & Kraichy, 2012). Criteria such as a positive social environment, an interesting job or a job that provides opportunities are obviously subjective, and therefore will vary by job-seeker. A job that appears interesting to one job-seeker may not appear interesting to another; a social environment that seems positive to one job-seeker may not seem positive to another. In short, “different types of individuals are attracted to different types of organizations” (Morley, 2007, p. 110). Therefore, it is helpful to assume that many job-seekers use “fit” with a job or with the organization to assess the attractiveness of any organization (Westerman & Cyr, 2004). The attraction–selection–attrition model, in particular, supports the conclusion that job-seekers will be more attracted to organizations if they perceive that the organization’s values match their own values (Aiman-Smith, Bauer, & Cable, 2001; Carless, 2005; Gregory, Meade & Thompson, 2013; Gully, Phillips, Castellano, Han & Kim, 2013), and that perceptions of fit predict job-choice intentions (Cable & Judge, 1996). Based on the aforementioned literature and conclusions, the following hypotheses were formulated as well as noted on the model shown in Figure 1.
Hypothesis 1 (H1): The job-seeker’s perceptions of their fit to the organization have significant, positive influences on their behavioral intentions to the organization.
Hypothesis 2 (H2): The job-seeker’s perceptions of their fit to the job have significant, positive influences on their behavioral intentions to the organization.
Figure 1. The theoretical model and hypotheses