Person-organization fit: The match between newcomers' and recruiters' ...

Annelies E M Van Vianen

Personnel Psychology; Spring 2000; 53, 1; ABI/INFORM Complete
pg. 113

PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY
2000,53

PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT: THE MATCH BETWEEN

NEWCOMERS' AND RECRUITERS' PREFERENCES
FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES

ANNEUES E.M. VAN VIANEN

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This study examined the effects of two measures of fit on newcomers'

commitment and turnover intentions, P-0 fit and P-P fit. Newcom-
ers preferences for organizational cultures were compared with super-
visors' and peers' perceptions of organizational culture (P-0 fit) and
with their preferences for organizational culture (P-P fit). The super-
visors and peers that were involved had been the newcomer's recruiters
during the selection procedure and they had hired the newcomer. Sub-
jects' culture preferences and perceptions yielded two dimensions of
organizational culture: concern for people and concern for goal ac-
complishment. Results revealed that newcomers' concern for people
P-P fit with their supervisor was related to organizational commitment
and turnover intentions. P-0 fit measures for both dimensions of or-
ganizational culture were not related to newcomer affective outcomes.

Research on person-organization (P-0) fit has shown important im-

plications for individual well-being and organizational outcomes. For
instance, fit between a person's values and organizational values is as-
sociated with behavioral and affective outcomes, such as longer tenure,
greater organizational commitment and better job performance
(O'Reilly, Chatman, & Caldwell, 1991). A review of P-0 fit studies
showed that these studies used different conceptualizations and opera-
tionalizations of P-O fit, resulting in different effect sizes (Kristof, 1996).
Most of the operationalizations of fit, however, can be incorporated into
the definition of P-0 fit, as proposed by Kristof (1996): "The compat-
ibility between people and organizations that occurs when: (a) at least
one entity provides what the other needs, or (b) they share similar fun-
damental characteristics, or (c) both."

This research was financially supported by a grant from the University of Amsterdam.
I thank Danielle Galdeij, Suzanne de Haan, Margot Roozen, Larissa Wladimiroff, and
Mirjarn van der Zande for collecting the data, and Benjamin Schneider, Carsten De Dreu,
Agneta Fischer, Daan van Knippenberg, the editor, and the reviewers for their suggestions.
Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Annelies E. M. Van
Vianen, University of Amsterdam, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology,
Roetersstraat 15, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (+31) 205256856; Fax (+31)
206390531; [email protected].

COPYRIGHT © 2000 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, INC.

113

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 114 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

This study specifically focused on those operationalizations of fit that

are applicable in personnel selection situations. There are three do-
mains of human characteristics which are important for personnel se-
lection (Smith, 1994). The first domain concerns characteristics that are
relevant to all work, such as cognitive ability and work motivation. The
second domain concerns characteristics that are relevant to particular
jobs or occupations, such as job specific cognitive abilities, knowledge,
and personality traits. The third domain involves characteristics that are
relevant to the way a person relates to a particular work setting, that is,
whether individual characteristics match the characteristics of the orga-
nization. Instruments used in selection procedures mostly concern the
first and the second domain. We, therefore, focused on the third do-
main. Individual characteristics may include aspects such as personality,
attitudes, and values. Organizational characteristics may involve aspects
such as structures, tasks, technology, and organizational culture. Many
P-0 fit studies emphasized the match between people's values and the
values of the organization, because values are conceived of as funda-
mental and relatively enduring (Chatman, 1991 ). Value congruence and
person-culture fit are often treated as equivalent terms (Kristof, 1996;
O'Reilly, et al., 1991 ). In this study, we operationalized individual char-
acteristics as individual preferences for organizational cultures. 1 Char-
acteristics of the organization were operationalized in two ways. First,
as (perceptions of) existing organizational culture, referring to part (a)
of the P-0 fit definition presented above. Second, as the preferences for
organizational cultures of people in the work setting, referring to part (b)
of the P-0 fit definition. With this approach we wanted to come close to
the notion that persons and situations need to be compared in commen-
surate terms. Asking people in what organizational culture they prefer
to work and comparing this with the existing culture is a direct way for
establishing P-0 fit. Of course, people choose work environments also
based on other factors, such as their abilities and the characteristics of
the job. These components of fit are, however, already emphasized in
selection procedures, while less attention is paid to establishing cultural
fit. We wanted to fill in this gap by examining what possibilities there
are for assessing the match between people's cultural preferences and
organizational culture during selection procedures.

1 Culture and climate are complimentary topics (Schneider, 1987). The operationaliza-
tions used in this study refer both to organizational practices and basic values underlying
these practices. However, because our operationalizations were comparable with the op-
erationalizations used in previous studies on person-culture fit (O'Reilly, et al., 1991), we
decided to use the concept of organizational culture. We do, however, realize that the
conceptualization of organizational culture (see Schein, 1990) is far more comprehensive
than the one used in this study.

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 115

One of the P-0 fit models that has initiated much empirical research
in the past decade is Schneider's attraction-selection-attrition (ASA)
framework (Schneider, 1987). This framework describes the mechanism
of mutual adaptation between the person and the organization. People
are not randomly assigned to organizations, but they select themselves
into and out of organizations. This selection process includes several
steps. First, people find organizations differentially attractive as a func-
tion of their judgment of the congruence between the characteristics of
the organization and their own characteristics (Cable & Judge, 1997;
Schneider, Goldstein, & Smith, 1995). A second step in the matching
process is the selection procedure through which those people are hired
who have the attributes the organization desires. Finally, once people
have become citizens of the organization and find that they do not fit
their work environment, they will tend to leave.
A basic issue in measuring P-0 fit is how to conceptualize and opera-
tionalize the components of the fit measure, especially the 0-component
of this measure. Organizational culture is usually operationalized by
measuring the shared perceptions of organizational citizens, for instance,
by asking people what they experience as the basic values of their orga-
nization. Schneider et al. (1995) emphasized that "persons make envi-
ronments" (p. 751) and that situations should not be conceptualized as
separate and distinct from the individuals behaving in them. The person-
ality attributes and attitudes of people in a setting are considered to be
the fundamental defining characteristics of that setting. Hence, should
organizational culture be measured based on people's perceptions about
the existing culture, as was done in most P-0 fit studies, or should orga-
nizational culture be assessed in terms of characteristics of people in the
setting? In short, do people's characteristics (the P-component) need
to match the shared perceptions of others about organizational charac-
teristics or do they need to match other people's characteristics in the
organization?
The central assumption of the ASA model that people make the place
was tested recently (Schneider, Smith, Thylor, & Fleenor, 1998). Schnei-
der et al. revealed that organizations are relatively homogeneous with
respect to the personality attributes of their managers. This test of ASA
theory offers an empirical argument to incorporate individual charac-
teristics for assessing P-0 fit. However, the culture of a work setting
is not only constituted by means of the characteristics of people. Many
aspects of organizational life may be influenced by the personality and
attitudes of people in the organization, but this does not mean that the
culture of a work setting origins in the characteristics of people. The
organization's strategic position and environment are, for instance, im-
portant determinants of shared culture perceptions because they impose

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 116 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

constraints on structure and control systems within organizations (Joyce

& Slocum, 1990). Both explanations for developing organizational cul-
ture, that is, individual characteristics or environment, are tenable and
do not exclude each other. Because of environmental determinism, it
is likely that organizations with similar external environments share at
least some aspects of organizational culture. Van Vianen and Kmieciak
(1998) showed, for instance, that the branch of industry was related
to organizational culture perceptions of recruiters selecting candidates
for management positions. This relationship, however, concerned only
some and not all dimensions of organizational culture. Recruiters from
comparable branches assessed their organizational culture similar with
respect to culture dimensions which were directly related to their goal
orientation, such as productivity and efficiency. They differed, however,
with respect to aspects concerning human relations, internal processing,
and innovation. These culture dimensions were not determined by the
environmental context. From these findings we could hypothesize that
cultural dimensions that are related to the human side of organizational
life are more adaptable to characteristics of people while cultural dimen-
sions that concern the production side of organizational life are more
determined by organizational goals and the external environment. It
still can be argued, however, that the attraction-selection-attrition cycle
operates in organizations. Given the existing organizational culture, in-
dividuals with specific characteristics are attracted and selected by the
organization. As a consequence, organizational culture operationalized
as the aggregation of characteristics of people may, to a certain extent,
reflect organizational culture.
For measuring organizational culture, researchers traditionally re-
lied on methods such as the shared perceptions of organizational cit-
izens. Measures of organizational culture that are based on agree-
ment among organizational members are specifically used when objec-
tive measures are not available, which is often the case (Starbuck &
Mezias, 1996). High interrater agreement, however, is not always fea-
sible. The level of agreement will, for instance, depend on factors such
as organizational structure (i.e., high task specialization will decrease
the level of agreement), selection, and socialization practices and the
amount of social interactions (Koene, Boone, & Soeters, 1997). Fur-
thermore, the literature on organizational culture recognizes the exis-
tence of subcultures rather than a single, unitary organizational culture
(Saffold, 1988). Both the strength of organizational culture and the ex-
istence of subcultures are neglected issues in P-0 fit research. Many
researchers solved this problem by focusing almost exclusively on the
consequences of subjective, rather than objective measures of P-0 fit
for individual outcomes (Kristof, 1996). This approach makes sense be-

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 117

cause outcomes such as commitment and turnover intentions are based

on cognitions of the person, and these cognitions are primarily deter-
mined by the subjective experiences of the person. There are, however,
many situations in which subjective P-0 fit measures are not available.
For instance, recruiters want to predict applicant's future fit with the or-
ganization, while most applicants do not have a good perception of the
existing organizational culture. In that case, they need to establish actual
fit by comparing applicants' culture preferences with the culture of the
organization. Studies that examined actual P-0 fit used the aggregating
of individual perceptions as described above and these fit measures were
found to be related to work outcomes (0' Reilly et al., 1991 ). However,
only a relatively small number of organizations and only those with high
interrater agreement scores were involved in these studies. Moreover,
the results of these studies are ambiguous because of the methods that
were used for establishing P-0 fit.
The struggle with finding valid measures for the 0-component of the
fit measure could be partly relieved by taking the characteristics of peo-
ple into account. Matching the characteristics of the person with char-
acteristics of salient others in the work setting could complement assess-
ment of shared perceptions of organizational culture for establishing P-
O fit.
Thus far, we have suggested two rationales for why researchers should
not focus exclusively on the match between the person and the organiza-
tion (P-0 fit), but also on the match between characteristics of people (a
measure of P-P fit). The first rationale concerned the relationship be-
tween characteristics of people (i.e., preferences, attitudes, personality)
and organizational culture. The second rationale referred to methodo-
logical problems with traditional measures of P-0 fit and specifically
the measurement of the 0-component of the fit measure. We add an-
other rationale which is grounded in theories and empirical studies on
interpersonal similarity and attraction. As argued above, P-P fit actu-
ally refers to homogeneity of characteristics of people, that is, inter-
personal similarity. P-P fit corresponds to the similarity-attraction hy-
pothesis, which states that people are drawn to similar others. Both
Festinger's theory of social comparison and Heider's "balanced state"
theory (Byrne, 1971; Lott & Lott, 1965) suggest that people are look-
ing for consensual validation of their opinions and abilities and seek
to maximize the consistency among the elements of their belief system.
They therefore will be more attracted to people who are closer regarding
their opinions, which in turn will enhance their social identification with
other group members (Van Knippenberg & Van Schie, in press). Previ-
ous studies on the relationship between similarity and interpersonal at-
traction included similarity of attitudes (Shaikh & Kanekar, 1994; Singh

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 118 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

& Tan, 1992; Tan & Singh, 1995), similarity of values (Johnson, 1989)
and similarity of personality (Byrne, Griffit, & Stefaniak 1967; Dyce
& O'Conner, 1992; Moskowitz & Cote, 1995). Studies on attitude and
value similarity, however, showed the most unequivocal results: People
like those who hold similar attitudes and opinions more than those with
dissimilar attitudes (Byrne, Clare & Smeaton, 1986; Condon & Crano,
1988; Shaikh & Kanekar, 1994). Moreover, interpersonal attraction
among members of a work group was found to be related to group cohe-
sion and job satisfaction of those work groups (Colarelli & Boos, 1992).
Support was also found for the positive relationship between value simi-
larity and individual job satisfaction and commitment (Meglino, Ravlin,
& Adkins, 1989; Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). In this study, we therefore
hypothesized that P-P fit, conceptualized as the similarity between an
individual's culture preferences and those preferences of others, would
affect individual outcomes.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of two
different measures of fit on individual outcomes. First, we compared or-
ganizational culture preferences of newcomers in the organization with
organizational culture as perceived by others in the work setting (P-0
fit). Second, we compared organizational culture preferences of new-
comers in the organization with culture preferences of others in the work
setting (P-P fit). Both fit measures were related to newcomer's organi-
zational commitment and turnover intentions. Because there are several
possible functional forms of the relationship between fit and outcomes,
we also tested each of these forms for both fit measures.

Conceptualizations of P-0 Fit

P-0 fit has been conceptualized in several ways (Kristof, 1996). Dis-
tinctions are made between supplementary and complementary fit and
between supplies-values and demands-abilities fit. Supplementary fit
occurs when an individual possesses characteristics that are similar to
those of others in the environment. For instance, when a person has
similar preferences and attitudes as the other members of his or her
work team. Complementary fit occurs when an individual's characteris-
tics add to the environment what is missing. This is the case when a per-
son has special skills that are beneficial for functioning of the work team.
Other researchers distinguished between supplies-values and demands-
abilities fit (French, Caplan, & Harrison, 1982; Schuler, 1980). From the
supplies-values perspective, P-0 fit occurs when an organization satis-
fies individuals' values. Values represent conscious desires held by the
person and encompass preferences, interests, motives, and goals (Ed-
wards, 1996). For instance, when an employee has high preferences

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 119

for "growth" and these preferences are fulfilled by "opportunities for

growth" offered by the organization. The demands-abilities perspective
suggests that P-0 fit occurs when an individual has the skills and abilities
to meet organizational demands.
This study integrates the supplies-values and the supplementary per-
spectives of P-0 fit. Newcomers' values were operationalized as their
culture preferences ("I like to work in an organization in which com-
petition is encouraged"). Organizational supplies were operationalized
as cultural characteristics ("Competition is encouraged in this organiza-
tion"). Supplies-values fit was examined by comparing organizational
supplies with the preferences of newcomers (Osupplies - Ppreferences
newcomer fit). Supplementary fit was examined by comparing the pref-
erences of other individuals in the work setting with the preferences of
newcomers (Ppreferences others - P 11 references newcomer).

Supplies-Value Fit

Extensive theory and research indicate that people are attracted to

situations that fulfill their values (Locke, 1976). Several researchers
operationalized P-0 fit as congruence between individual work values
and organizational work values or as congruence between individuals'
culture preferences and existing organizational culture (Bretz & Judge,
1994; Chatman, 1991; O'Reilly et al., 1991; Vancouver & Schmitt, 1991 ).
These studies indicated that the match between individuals' culture pref-
erences and organizational culture supplies is important for individual
outcomes. Those who fit display greater work motivation and job in-
volvement, and show less turnover intentions. Furthermore, it was found
that the P-0 fit measure is a better predictor of organizational commit-
ment and tenure than either the person and the organization compo-
nents of the fit measure alone (Chatman, 1991 ).
As was argued above, most studies used the aggregation of individ-
ual perceptions for establishing the 0-component of the P-0 fit mea-
sure. However, a high level of interrater agreement (to justify aggrega-
tion of individual ratings) does not guarantee a measurement of actual
organizational culture. The level of interrater agreement depends, for
instance, on the specific sample of subjects that are asked about their
organizational culture. Asking members of different hierarchical po-
sitions about their organizational culture will result in different views.
Vancouver and Schmitt (1991), for instance, found low agreement be-
tween principals and teachers on organizational goals. Thus, it is often
difficult to determine who to ask about organizational culture and how
to consider the views of the different parties. An aggregated measure
of the perceptions of different parties could be a more valid measure

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 120 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

of organizational culture than the shared perceptions of only one party.

Researchers and practitioners often use the culture perceptions of in-
dividuals that are most relevant for the focal person. For newcomers,
perceptions of immediate peers and supervisors are most relevant for
their own perceptions of organizational culture. We therefore decided
to use peers' and supervisors' perceptions as an indicator of organiza-
tional culture supplies. A further restriction was made by including only
the supervisor and peer who had been involved in the selection proce-
dure of the newcomer, that is, the recruiters. They had made the deci-
sion to hire the newcomer and they are the ones from which the new-
comer is most likely to assess the values of the organization. Moreover,
the socialization of newcomers, that is, their understanding of the cul-
ture of the organization, is accomplished after several months after en-
try (Van Vianen & Prins, 1997). Hence, the perspective of their most
salient organizational members (e.g., recruiters and supervisors) may
be most important in evaluating initial fit. Person-culture fit was de-
fined here as the similarity between a newcomer's culture preferences
and organizational culture supplies as perceived by his or her recruiters.
In accordance with the results of previous P-0 fit studies, we expected
relationships between the person-culture fit measure and newcomers'
organizational commitment and turnover intentions.

Supplementary P-P Fit

We argued that organizational culture is partly reflected in the ho-

mogeneity of characteristics (i.e., personality, attitudes, preferences) of
organizational members. Only those people who's preferences fit the
organizational environment, such as the preferences of others in the
work setting, are likely to stay because they feel attracted towards oth-
ers. Moreover, these people have also proven to fit aspects of organi-
zational culture that are less influenced by the characteristics of people.
It is likely then that newcomers whose preferences are similar to those
of organizational citizens will also fit this environment. Subsequently,
newcomers whose preferences match the preferences of others will show
higher organizational commitment and lower turnover intentions than
newcomers who's preferences do not match the preferences of others.
This assumption was supported by a study of Meglino, Ravlin, and Ad-
kins (1989, 1992). They examined work value congruence between su-
pervisors, subordinates and coworkers. Congruence was associated with
positive outcomes, such as job satisfaction and organizational commit-
ment. Similar results were found by Jackson et al. (1991 ). They exam-
ined team members' demographics and revealed that the more different

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 121

an individual is from the other members of the team the more likely is
his or her turnover.
In the present study, we operationalized individual characteristics
as individual's organizational culture preferences (see Judge & Cable,
1997). We investigated the congruence between newcomers' and re-
cruiters' organizational culture preferences (P-P fit). Based on similar-
ity-attraction theories and previous empirical studies we hypothesized
that P-P fit between newcomers' preferences and recruiters' prefer-
ences would be related to newcomers' organizational commitment and
turnover intentions.

Functional Forms of the Relationship Between Fit and Outcomes

There are several hypothetical relationships between fit and affec-

tive outcomes (Edwards & Van Harrison, 1993). The first consists of
the algebraic difference between P and 0 (0-P), assuming a monotonic
relationship with outcomes. This relationship is expected, for instance,
when commitment increases as supplies increases towards preferences
and decreases as supplies decreases towards preferences. Discrepancy
scores have been criticized in the P-0 fit literature (Edwards, 1994) be-
cause they conceal the unique contribution of each of the components to
the overall score and information regarding the magnitude of the com-
ponents is lost. The second relationship represents an asymptotic rela-
tionship between fit measure and affective outcomes. This relationship
can be labeled in two ways: deficiency and excess. Deficiency represents
a positive relationship with commitment only when organizational sup-
plies are less than the person's preferences. Increasing supplies enhance
commitment up to the point of satiation (P = 0), but have little effect
thereafter (when organizational supplies are greater than individual's
preferences). Excess represents a negative relationship with commit-
ment only when organizational supplies are greater than person's pref-
erences. Decreasing supplies enhance commitment up to the point of
satiation (P = 0), but have little effect thereafter (when organizational
supplies are less than individual's preferences). The third and fourth re-
lationships concern the absolute difference (I 0- PI) and the quadratic
difference ([0- Pj2), representing curvilinear relationships with com-
mitment. Information regarding the direction of the difference score
is neglected, because both these relationships are expected when either
deficiency or excess are harmful.
Which functional form adequately represents the relationship be-
tween the person, the organization and individual outcomes depend on
a variety of factors, such as the content of the dimension upon which fit
is assessed and the content of the components of the fit measure.

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 122 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

Hypotheses Concerning Multiple Dimensions of Culture Fit

In most culture fit research a profile comparison approach was

adopted for establishing P-0 culture fit, using O'Reilly et al.'s (1991)
Organizational Culture Profile. The Q-sort technique applied in these
studies implies a holistic comparison of persons and situations across
multiple dimensions rather than the comparison of persons and situa-
tions on specific dimensions. Edwards (1993), however, noted that pro-
file similarity indices discard information on direction of misfit and rely
on the assumption that each dimension of fit contributes equally to out-
come measures. In our study, we therefore focused on assessing multiple
dimensions of organizational culture preferences and perceptions.
Although there is considerable agreement about the basic dimen-
sions of organizational culture, there is also little conceptual clearness
in this area (Furnham & Gunter, 1993). Quinn (1988) made an at-
tempt to link organizational culture to organization theory (Van Via-
nen & Kmieciak, 1998). His competing values framework distinguishes
between different facets of organizational culture and covers most of
the dimensions of organizational culture found in the literature. Quinn
related organizational culture to four models in organization theory:
the human relations model, the open systems model, the rational goal
model, and the internal process model. Cohesion (internal focus) and
human resource development are stressed in the human relations model.
The open systems model emphasizes flexibility as well as growth, inno-
vation, and external support. In the rational goal model organizations
are especially concerned with planning, goal setting, productivity, and
efficiency. Information management and communication in addition to
stability and control are the main elements of the internal process model
in organization theory. This framework doesn't suggest that elements of
the four models cannot mutually exist in real organizations. Rather, it il-
lustrates four basic orientations and it offers a framework for diagnosing
organizations. We adapted the competing values framework of Quinn
(1988) as a tool for developing hypotheses about the specific relation-
ships of P-0 and P-P fit with commitment and turnover intentions.
The preceding discussion of supplies-values fit suggests that insuf-
ficient supplies will be associated with decreased commitment and in-
creased turnover intentions. Empirical evidence for deficiency effects,
however, is sparse. Most studies that tested different functional forms
of the relationship between fit and outcomes concerned stress as the de-
pendent variable and were focused on specific dimensions of fit (Ed-
wards, 1996). Van Vianen and Prins (1997) were one of the few that
examined fit between culture preferences and perceptions of newcom-

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 123

ers (i.e., subjective P-0 fit) for different culture dimensions. They re-
vealed that actual turnover was related to fit indices for only some di-
mensions of organizational culture. These dimensions mainly concerned
elements of the open systems model and the rational goal model of
Quinn's (1988) framework, that is, risk orientation and work pressure.
Moreover, quadratic difference indices yielded significant results for the
(curvilinear) relationships between cultural dimensions (i.e., risk orien-
tation, reward, and work pressure) and affective outcomes (i.e., job sat-
isfaction, commitment, and turnover intentions).
In the present study we therefore hypothesized that commitment
would decrease (Hypothesis 1) and turnover intentions would increase
(Hypothesis 2) as culture supplies exceed or fall short of culture pref-
erences for culture dimensions concerning the open systems model and
the rational goal model. These hypotheses assume the highest outcomes
along the line of perfect fit. The longitudinal study of Van Vianen and
Prins (1997), however, showed that the magnitude of newcomers' prefer-
ences also contributed to actual turnover. Newcomers with high prefer-
ences for risk orientation more often changed their job than newcomers
with low preferences for risk orientation, but these preferences were not
associated with turnover intentions as these were assessed in the first
months of employment. Because very few empirical evidence is avail-
able about the combined effects of optimal fit and the magnitude of its
components, we decided to develop hypotheses about the main func-
tional forms as discussed above (i.e., monotonic, asymptotic, or curvi-
linear relationships). Our data will be analyzed with using polynomial
regression, which implies a further exploration of specific aspects of fit,
such as the relationships between the components of the fit measure and
outcomes.
The human relations model of organizational culture includes cul-
ture facets such as the amount of peer support, feedback, and participa-
tion. These aspects of organizational life are highly valued by employ-
ees. Peer cohesion, for instance, received the highest preferences ratings
in the study of Van Vianen and Prins (1997). Their results revealed a
main effect for organizational supplies (as perceived by the newcomer).
Newcomers perceiving fewer peer support were less satisfied and less
committed to the organization and showed higher turnover intentions
than those experiencing more peer support. Weak evidence was found
for the relationship between an algebraic fit index for peer support and
commitment, which actually can be labeled as deficiency.
Further support for a deficiency relationship between fit measure
and affective outcomes concerning the human relations dimension of or-
ganizational culture can be found in a study of Downey, Hellriegel, and
Slocum (1975). They revealed that individuals requiring social contact

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 124 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

and interdependence with others were more satisfied in organizations

with open and empathic cultures than those with closed and impersonal
cultures. Based on these previous studies we assumed that newcomers'
preferences for the human relations dimension of organizational culture
would be high and that organizational supplies would seldom exceed
their preferences. Moreover, in the few cases in which organizational
supplies would be greater than newcomers' preferences, we expected
this to have little effect on newcomers' affective outcomes. Hence, in
this study we hypothesized that commitment would decrease (Hypothe-
sis 3) and turnover intentions would increase (Hypothesis 4) as culture
supplies fall short of culture preferences for culture dimensions concern-
ing the human relations model.
The internal process model represents the stability and control part
of organizational culture. It emphasizes that information management
and communication are organized along the line of strict regulation.
People differ in the amount of regulation they prefer. Newcomers with
low regulation preferences showed higher turnover intentions and more
actual turnover than those with high regulation preferences (Van Vianen
& Prins, 1997). No specific P, 0 and P-0 fit relationships were found
with commitment and job satisfaction. Because we used a comparable
operationalization of the internal process model as in the Van Vianen
and Prins study, we hypothesized that newcomers' preferences concern-
ing the internal process model of organizational culture would be nega-
tively related to turnover intentions (Hypothesis 5).
The theoretical base underlying supplementary fit (P-P fit) empha-
sizes effects of similarity (i.e., the optimal fit between preferences of
people) or dissimilarity and considers the direction of dissimilarity to
be irrelevant. Supplementary fit, therefore, assumes a curvilinear re-
lationship with outcomes (i.e., an absolute or quadratic fit measure).
Hence, for all cultural dimensions we expected that newcomers' com-
mitment would decrease (Hypothesis 6) and newcomers' turnover inten-
tions would increase (Hypothesis 7) as their culture preferences exceed
or fall short of the culture preferences of others in the work setting.
Two recruiters who both had selected the newcomer were involved
in the present study: newcomer's supervisor and a peer. Several studies
point to the supervisor as one of the most salient persons in the work
setting (Russell, Altmaeir, & Van Velzen, 1987; Yukl, 1994). We there-
fore expected that P-P fit with the supervisor would be more important
for newcomer's commitment and turnover intentions than P-P fit with a
peer.

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 125

Method

Participants

Subjects were 154 newcomers, 104 peers, and 101 supervisors from 68
different organizations in The Netherlands. Among these organizations
there were four large companies with 10 to 22 newcomers. These new-
comers, however, were employed in different departments, located in
different areas of the country. The organizations and participants were
asked for their participation by a Dutch personnel selection consultancy
which had been involved in selecting the newcomers. Newcomers were
97 males and 52 females, subject's sex was missing for 5 subjects. Av-
erage age of newcomers was 29.8 (SD = 5.4). They were all higher ed-
ucated and employed fulltime. Mean job tenure was 6 months (SD =
3.9). Peers were 69 males and 34 females, sex of one subject was miss-
ing. Average age of peers was 34.6 (SD = 9.5). They were all higher
educated and employed fulltime. Mean job tenure was 7.2 years (SD =
10.9). Supe!Visors were 88 males and 13 females. Mean age was 42.2 ( SD
= 7.7). They were all higher educated and employed fulltime. Mean job
tenure was 10.5 years (SD = 11.9).

Procedure and Measures

Two questionnaires were administered to 160 newcomers, their peers,

and supervisor. The first questionnaire was handed out by the re-
searcher; the second questionnaire was sent by mail 3 weeks after com-
pleting the first questionnaire. One questionnaire contained questions
about culture preferences (the preferences questionnaire), the other
questionnaire contained questions about perceived culture supplies,
commitment, and turnover intentions (the supplies questionnaire). In
order to control for order effects, one-third of the sample received
the supplies questionnaire first and the others received the preferences
questionnaire first. No order effects were found. One hundred forty-
six (91.3%) newcomers, 83 (51.9%) peers, and 101 (63.1%) supervisors
filled in the preferences questionnaire. The supplies questionnaire was
completed by 124 (77.5%) newcomers, 86 (53.8%) peers and 62 (38.8%)
supervisors.
Culture preferences and culture supplies were measured with 12 scales
covering the different facets of organizational culture of the competing
values framework (Quinn, 1988). These scales were developed for a
Dutch population and were validated in previous studies, showing good
reliabilities (Van Vianen & Kmieciak, 1998). It appeared that some
quadrants contained more scales than others. We, however, wanted to

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 126 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

be as exhaustive as possible rather than to seek symmetry in the number

of scales in each quadrant.
The items of culture preferences and culture supplies were commen-
surate. This allows a direct comparison of the person and the organiza-
tion components (Caplan, 1987). Concerning culture preferences, sub-
jects were asked to respond to the question: "Are the following state-
ments applicable to the organization in which you prefer to work? I like
to work in an organization in which ... [statement]." Responses ranged
from not at all applicable (1) to very applicable (7). Concerning culture
supplies, subjects were asked to answer the question: "Are the following
statements applicable to the organization in which you are employed?"
Responses ranged from not at all applicable (1) to very applicable (7).
Human relations aspects of organizational culture were operational-
ized with five scales: positive feedback, peer cohesion, human develop-
ment, participation, and conflict tolerance. Positive feedback was mea-
sured with 5 items, such as: " ... employees get recognition for their
performances." Cronbach's alphas were .84 (preferences) and .93 (sup-
plies). Peer cohesion was measured with 10 items concerning the co-
hesiveness of teams and the amount of support from coworkers, such
as: " ... there is a peer supportive atmosphere." Cronbach's alphas were
.84 and .89. Human development was measured with 6 items, such
as: " ... employees get the opportunity to develop themselves." Cron-
bach's alphas were .80 and .88. Participation consisted of 6 items, such
as: " ... employees participate in decision making." Cronbach's alphas
were .71 and .83. Conflict tolerance was measured with 6 items, such
as: " ... employees express their thoughts and emotions in conflict situa-
tions." Cronbach's alphas were .81 and .88.
The open system aspect of organizational culture was operational-
ized with an innovation scale. This scale consisted of 7 items, such as:
" ... challenges are taken up." Cronbach's alphas were .79 and .84.
Internal processes were operationalized with two scales: regulation
and communication. The regulation scale consisted of 8 items, such as:
" ... fixed procedures are followed." Cronbach's alphas of this scale were
.87 and .86, respectively. Communication consisted of 4 items, such as:
" ... employees are kept well informed about decisions and about what is
going on in the organization." Cronbach's alphas were .75 and .71.
Organizational goal orientation was operationalized with four scales:
reward, work pressure, effort, and competition. Reward was measured
with 4 items concerning the relationship between performance and re-
ward, such as: " ... a relationship exists between performance and re-
ward." Cronbach's alphas were .83 and .86. Work pressure was measured
with 6 items concerning the amount of pressure that is put on perfor-
mance, such as: " ... there are clear standards of performance." Cron-

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 127

bach's alphas were .78 and .85. Effort was measured with 5 items con-
cerning the amount of effort that is expected from the employees and
work morale, such as: " ... it is expected that employees put more ef-
fort into their work than they are paid for." Cronbach's alphas were .78
and .85. Competition consisted of 7 items, such as: " ... employees are
expected to compete with each other." Cronbach's alphas were .85 and
.89.
Two fit measures were used in this study. P-0 fit was assessed by com-
paring newcomer's culture preferences with organizational culture sup-
plies, as perceived by the recruiters. P-P fit was assessed by comparing
newcomer's culture preferences with recruiters' preferences. The two
fit measures were estimated with different fit indices. Furthermore, we
tested the data on the amount of deficiency or excess, that is, the propor-
tion of negative and positive scores. Finally, polynomial regression was
used in order to avoid methodological problems with P-0 fit measures
(Edwards, 1994, 1996).
Affective outcomes were commitment and turnover intentions. Com-
mitment was measured with 7 items, selected from the Organizational
Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ; Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979).
These items can be described as affective commitment (Alien & Meyer,
1990). One of the items is: "I have this organization very much at heart."
Cronbach's alpha was .89. Turnover intentions were measured with 3
items derived from Ten Horn (1983). Cronbach's alpha was .81. One
of the items is: " When I have the opportunity to work in another orga-
nization, I will take that opportunity."

Results

Correlation coefficients among the culture preferences and supplies

scales were explored. Substantial correlations were found between some
scales of each of the preferences and supplies questionnaires. In order
to parsimoniously capture organizational culture we used factor anal-
yses to reduce the number of scales into a small number of underlying
dimensions. Two factor analyses (varimax rotation) were conducted with
the preferences scales and the supplies scales, respectively. Both factor
analyses identified comparable solutions. A 3-factor solution was found
for the preferences scales (Eigenvalues > 1, accounting for 71.6% of
the variance) and a 2-factor solution was found for the supplies scales
(Eigenvalues > 1, accounting for 66.9% of the variance). The first factor
in both factor analyses consisted of the scales: positive feedback (. 73 and
.72), peer cohesion (.83 and .84), communication (.76 and .85), human
development (.88 and .70), participation (.85 and .85) and conflict toler-
ance (.84 and .77). This factor reflects a concern for people dimension,

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 128 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

with internal consistencies of .90 (preferences scales) and .91 (supplies

scales). The second factor in both analyses included the scales: reward
(.68 and .59 ), work pressure (.88 and .88 ), effort (.76 and .85 ) and
competition(. 83 and .86). This factor appears to reflect a concern for
goal accomplishment dimension, with internal consistencies of. 79 (pref-
erences scales) and .82 (supplies scales). The innovation scales (prefer-
ences and supplies) loaded both on Factor 1 (.65 and .49) and Factor 2
(.49 and .73). The regulation preferences scale loaded on the third factor
(.92) and the regulation supply scale loaded on the first factor (.47).
Because 10 culture scales loaded on two reliable factors, the number
of scales was reduced to two dimensions. These dimensions, concern for
people and concern for goal accomplishment, were used in the further
analyses. These dimensions are comparable to some dimensions of the
Organizational Culture Profile (O'Reilly et al., 1991 ), an instrument of-
ten used in the P-0 fit literature (but not available in a Dutch version):
supportiveness and team orientation, and outcome orientation. More-
over, concern for people and concern for goal accomplishment reflect
two basic leadership styles found in many studies on leadership behav-
ior (Yukl, 1994) and are key factors in determining people's behavior in
conflict situations (De Dreu, Harinck, & Van Vianen, 1999).
Table 1 reports the means, standard deviations and correlation coef-
ficients among the measures of preferences, supplies, and affective out-
comes.
In order to control for the independent measurement of preferences
and supplies correlations between both components were inspected. Ac-
cording to French et al. (1982) a moderate level of correlation will occur
because of the tendencies for individuals to seek out jobs and organiza-
tions which meet their preferences. Therefore, correlations lower than
.40 are acceptable. As can be seen in Table 1, Pearson product-moment
correlations between the commensurate scales for peers and supervisors
respectively were .17 ( ns) and .39 (p < .01) for concern for people and
.29 (p < .05) and .40 (p < .01) for concern for goal accomplishment.
These results show acceptable levels of correlation between preferences
and supplies.

Recruiters' Perceptions and Preferences

First, we compared supervisors' and peers' perceptions of organi-

zational culture in order to establish the amount of interrater agree-
ment between both recruiters concerning the 0-component of the P-0
fit measure. Interrater agreement coefficients were calculated for each
pair of recruiters using rwg of James, Demaree, and Wolf (1984). A rwg
of. 70 is conceived of as an acceptable level of interrater agreement. For

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

TABI..El
Descriptive Statistics and Zero-Order Correlations For Measures of Preferences, Supplies, and Affective Outcomes

M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Preferences: Concern for people
1. Newcomers 5.91 .56 ~
2. Peers 5.86 .55 .02 ~
3. Supervisors 5.88 .50 -.12 .03 t::
trl
Preferences: Goal accomplishment Cll
4. Newcomers 4.47 .83 .15 .03 -.03 trl
5. Peers 4.42 .85 -.22 -.17 .21 .29** - ~
6. Supervisors 4.84 .61 -.06 .14 .22* .33** .20
Supplies: Concern for people ~
7. Peers
8. Supervisors
4.41
4.97
.90
.72
.01
-.03
.17
.05
-.01
.39**
.09
- .21
.06
-.06
.02
.06 .11
;:;

z~
Supplies: Goal accomplishment
9. Peers 4.22 .86 -.26* .02 .02 .23* .29* .36** .40** .15
10. Supervisors 4.50 .80 -.16 .07 .23 -.15 .03 .40** -.13 .49** .35*
Affective outcomes
11. Commitment 3.72 .78 .19* .01 -.02 .07 .00 .01 .30** -.06 .11 -.07
12. Turnover intentions 2.38 1.15 -.08 .14 -.03 .02 .08 -.07 -.15 .02 - .07 -.07 -.71**
Note: **p < .01 *p < .05 (two-tailed).

N
\.0
 130 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

concern for people, interrater agreement coefficients ranged from -.50

to 1.00, with 20% of the coefficients below .70. For concern for goal
accomplishment, coefficients ranged from .19 to 1.00, with 11% below
.70. Because only two ratings were involved for establishing interrater
agreement we also inspected the absolute differences between both rat-
ings (Schmidt & Hunter, 1989). For concern for people, differences be-
tween the two recruiters ranged from .017 to 3.462 with a mean of .899
(SD = .785). For concern for goal accomplishment, differences ranged
from .008 to 2.541 with a mean of .782 (SD = .599). The gap between
the two ratings was more than one scale point for, respectively, 38% and
25% of the recruiter pairs. These results underline our previous notion
that high interrater agreement among recruiters depends on the specific
organizational context and differences in hierarchical positions. Based
on these results, we decided to treat supervisors' and peers' ratings sep-
arately in the further analyses.
We also examined similarity of supervisor's and peer's culture pref-
erences. For concern for people, interrater agreement coefficients (rw 9 )
ranged from .62 to 1.00, with only one pair of recruiters below .70. For
concern for goal accomplishment, coefficients ranged from .27 to 1.00,
with 17% below .70. Absolute differences between the two recruiters
ranged from .011 to 1.833 with a mean of .586 (SD = .462) for the con-
cern for people dimension. For concern for goal accomplishment, dif-
ferences ranged from .011 to 2.425 with a mean of .837 (SD = .650).
The gap between the two ratings was more than one scale point for, re-
spectively, 21% and 30% of the recruiter pairs. Note that the rw 9 s for
concern for people preferences were good and that the mean and stan-
dard deviations were reasonably low. Supervisors and peers were more
similar with respect to their concern for people preferences than to their
concern for goal accomplishment preferences. In line with the treatment
of recruiter's perceptions, we decided to treat supervisors' and peers'
preference ratings separately in the further analyses.

P-0 and P-P Discrepancies

We examined the proportion of positive and negative scores of the

simple algebraic differences between ?preferences newcomer and
Osuppliea and between Ppreferencea newcomer and Ppreference• others for
assessing deficiency or excess. The proportions of positive and negative
scores for the P-0 algebraic differences were unequal for the concern
for people dimension. Overall, newcomers' preferences were higher
than supervisors' and peers' perceptions of cultural supplies (86% and

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 131

93%, respectively), showing "concern for people deficiency." The pro-

portions of positive and negative scores for the P-0 algebraic differ-
ences for the concern for goal accomplishment dimension were, how-
ever, rather equal. Deficiency concerned 47% and 60% of the newcom-
ers, for the comparison with Osupervisor and Opeer respectively. The pro-
portions of positive and negative scores were also quite equal for the P-P
algebraic differences. Compared to the preferences of supervisors and
peers, 43% and 46% of the newcomers showed lower concern for people
preferences, and 63% and 49% of the newcomers showed lower concern
for goal accomplishment preferences.

Tests of the Functional Forms of Newcomers' P-0 Fit and Outcomes

Relationships between fit measures, their components and affective

outcomes were tested with polynomial regression. Regression analyses,
as shown in Table 2, concern the unconstrained regression equations. 2
We hypothesized that commitment would decrease (Hypothesis 1)
and turnover intentions would increase (Hypothesis 2) as culture sup-
plies exceed or fall short of culture preferences for culture dimensions
concerning the open systems model and the rational goal model. Hy-
potheses could be tested for the rational goal model (i.e., goal accom-
plishment) only.
No significant multiple correlations for the unconstrained regression
equations were found for concern for goal accomplishment predicting
commitment and turnover intentions. Hence, Hypothesis 1 and 2 could
not be confirmed.
We hypothesized deficiency relationships with commitment and turn-
over intentions for the human relations model (Hypothesis 3 and 4). The
concern for people dimension was significantly related to commitment
for the comparison with both Osupervisor and Opeer (R 2 = .286; F (5, 57)
= 4.089, p < .01 and R 2 = .332; F (5, 75) = 6.874, p < .01) and to
turnover intentions for the comparison with Opeer (R2 = .20; F (5, 75)
= 3.454, p < .01). Surfaces for the three equations (see Figures la-
le) show linear and asymptotic relationships between the component
measures and outcomes. To interpret the results for each surface we
applied procedures described by Edwards and Parry (1993).
The surface for concern for people preferences and supervisor sup-
plies predicting newcomer commitment (Figure la) was almost linear.
The slope along theY= -X line was positive and essentially linear (a.
= 6.374, p < .01; a;= -.611, ns). The slope along the Y = X line
was negative and linear (as = -3.240, ns; a; = .345, ns). These results

2 see for an extensive explanation Edwards and Parry (1993).

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

......
w
N

TABLE2
Unconstrained Equtltions for Asymptotic and Optimal P- 0 and P-P Models

Commitment Turnover intentions

Goal Goal
Concern for: PeoQle accomQlishment PeoQle accomQlishment
Supervisor Peer Supervisor Peer Supervisor Peer Supervisor Peer
'"d
P-0 t'Ii
1.567 2.398• -1.989 -0.953 -6.206 -3.601° 1.904 1.131 :00
PNewcom.er en
0 -4.807° -1.229 -2.444° 0.802 4.059 2.060 2.459 -1.843 0
P'fvewcoYner -0.339° -0.368° 0 0.179 0.101 0.613° 0.553° 0 -0.176 0.053 2
PO
02
0.478
0.206
0.468••
-0.160°
0.072
0.240°
-0.004
-0.074
-0.186
-0.315
-0.665••
0.209
0.013
-0.296
-0.049
0.214
f!l'"d
R2 .286° 0 .332° 0 .139 .051 .172 .zoo•• .167 .136 en
P-P
-<
(')
PNcwcomer 1.834 2.875 -1.874 -0.609 0.973 2.992 1.686 0.486 ::c
Pother per.9on 2.780 -4.504 -0.967 -0.293 -1.410 7.783 0.141 -4.007" f2
0
Plv ewconu:r -0.242° -0.327 0.063 0.070 0.314 0.399 0.109 -0.124
Q
PNewconu:rPOther per,s~on 0.194 0.176 0.274 -0.013 -0.777 -1.277 -0.499 0.189
p~ther pcr.-on -0.330 0.297 0.025 0.043 0.501 0.018 0.191 0.382
R2 .186•• .086 .035 .011 .161° .084 .047 .174°
Note For all rows except those labeled R 2 , table entries are unstandardized regression coefficients for equations with all predictors entered simulta-
neously; P = preferences, 0 = culture perceptions of supervisor or peer.
••p < .01 •p < .05
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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Figure 1b: Concern for People P-Ope er Measures Predicting Newcomer Commitment.
 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 135

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 136 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

indicate that newcomer commitment was lowest when preferences were

low and supplies were high. Commitment increased as newcomer pref-
erences increased towards supervisor supplies and decreased as pref-
erences decreased towards supplies. Commitment was also somewhat
higher when both newcomer preferences and supervisor supplies were
low. From our analyses regarding the direction of discrepancy scores
we already know that in 86% of the cases newcomers' preferences were
higher than supervisors' perceptions of cultural supplies, showing con-
cern for people deficiency. We expected that deficiency would be detri-
mental for commitment (Hypothesis 3). We found, however, that low
supervisor supplies actually enhanced newcomer commitment.
The surface for concern for people preferences and peer supplies
predicting newcomer commitment (Figure 1b) is somewhat concave, be-
cause the downward curvature is least along the first principal axis (a~
= -.027, ns) and greatest along the second principal axis (a~ = -.740,
p < .05). The surface is slightly positive, but not significant, along the
Y = X line (a. = 1.169, ns; a~ = -.060, ns). The slope along theY
= -X line is also positive and curved downward (a. = 3.627, p < .05.;
a; = -.996, p < .01 ). These results indicate that commitment was low-
est when newcomer preferences were low and supplies (as perceived by
peers) were high. The increase in commitment along theY= -X line
became smaller when newcomer preferences increased and supplies de-
creased. However, from our preceding analyses we know that in 93% of
the cases newcomer preferences exceeded peer supplies. Overall, these
results show two effects. First, newcomer commitment was lowest when
both newcomer preferences and peer supplies were low. Second, com-
mitment increased somewhat when newcomer preferences increased.
Similar results were found for the surface for concern for people
preferences and peer supplies predicting newcomer turnover intentions
(Figure le). This surface is convex since the upward curvature is greatest
along the first principal axis (a; = 1.035, p < .05) and least along the
second principal axis (a~ = .025, ns). As one moves along theY= -X
line, the surface is sloped downward (as = -5.661, p < .05). An increase
in newcomer's preferences together with a decrease in peer supplies had
a diminishing effect on newcomer turnover intentions as indicated by the
downward curvature along theY= -X line (a; = 1.427, p < .01). The
slope along the Y = X line is slightly negative, but not significant (a. =
-1.541, ns; a;= .097, ns). Because in most cases newcomer preferences
exceeded peer supplies, we specifically inspected that part of the surface
that lies at the right side from the line of perfect fit. The surface of
Figure le then shows two effects. First, turnover intentions are highest
when both newcomer preferences and peer supplies are low. Second,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 ANNELIES E.M . VAN VIANEN 137

turnover intentions decreased somewhat when newcomer preferences

increased.
With these results we could not confirm our deficiency Hypotheses 3
and 4. Using the supervisor as a point of reference for the organization's
concern for people supplies, we found low supplies to be beneficial for
newcomer commitment. When we used the concern for people percep-
tions of peers, we found low supplies to be detrimental for newcomer
commitment and turnover intentions only when newcomer preferences
were low.

Relationships Between P-P Fit and Outcomes

Regression coefficients for the P-P fit measures are shown in Ta-
ble 2. We hypothesized similarity effects, that is, newcomers' commit-
ment would decrease (Hypothesis 6) and newcomers' turnover inten-
tions would increase (Hypothesis 7) as their culture preferences exceed
or fall short of the culture preferences of others. Moreover, we assumed
that P-P fit with the supervisor would be more important for newcomer's
commitment and turnover intentions than P-P fit with a peer.
Table 2 reveals significant multiple correlations for the unconstrained
regression equations for the comparisons of concern for people prefer-
ences of newcomers and supervisors predicting newcomer commitment
and turnover intentions (R 2 = .186; F (5, 87) = 3.694, p < .01 and R 2
= .161; F (5, 87) = 3.119, p < .05). No significant relationships were
found for concern for people P-P fit with peers. However, the regression
equations for the goal accomplishment dimension predicting newcomer
turnover intentions showed significant results for the comparison with
peer preferences (R 2 = .174; F (5, 68) = 2.607, p < .05). Surfaces for
the three significant equations (see Figures 2a-2c) show the relation-
ships between the component measures and outcomes.
The surface for supervisor and newcomer concern for people pref-
erences predicting commitment (Figure 2a) is somewhat concave, be-
cause the downward curvature is least along the first principal axis (a~
= -.254, ns) and greatest along the second principal axis (a~ = -1.338,
ns). The slope along theY =X line is positive (a. = 4.614, ns), indi-
cating that commitment is higher when supervisor and newcomer pref-
erences are both high than when both are low. The slope along the Y
= -X line is slightly negative and curved downward (a. = - .946, ns;
a~ = -.766, p < .05). These results show that commitment decreased
somewhat more at the right side of the line of perfect fit, thus when new-
comer concern for people preferences exceeded those of the supervisor
than when it fell short of supervisor preferences. Hypothesis 6 was only
partly supported, that is, commitment was highest when supervisor and

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

-...,
00

10

-c
Q)
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E ....n •-- trl
~ -~- :;o
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g -.n 0
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~

Figure 2a: Concern for People P - Psupervisor Measures Predicting Newcomer Commitment.
 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 139

newcomer concern for people preferences were both high. Commitment

decreased as newcomer preferences exceeded or fell short of supervisor
preferences and as both preferences decreased. Hypothesis 6 was not
confirmed with respect to the concern for goal accomplishment dimen-
sion.
The surface for supervisor and newcomer concern for people prefer-
ences predicting turnover intentions (Figure 2b) is almost flat along the
Y =X line (as = -.437, ns; a~ = .038, ns). Newcomer turnover inten-
tions were relatively low along the line of perfect fit. In order to examine
whether turnover intentions were minimized at the point of perfect fit,
we tested whether the second principal axis was running along the Y =
X line. The intercept of the second principal axis was greater than zero,
but not significantly (p 2 o = 1.348) and the slope was slightly less than 1
(P21 = 0.788). In addition, the quantity (l~rp;,) did not significantly dif-
fer from zero (- 0.754). The slope along theY= -X line, however, is
positive and curved upward (as = 2.383, ns; a; = 1.592, p < .01 ). These
results indicate that turnover was lowest when newcomer and supervisor
concern for people preferences matched or when supervisor preferences
exceeded those of the newcomer. Turnover intentions increased at an in-
creasing rate as supervisor concern for people preferences fell short of
newcomer concern for people preferences.
The surface for peer and newcomer concern for goal accomplish-
ment preferences predicting turnover intentions (Figure 2c) shows a
negative slope and an upward curvature along the Y = X line (as =
-3.521, p < .05; a~ = .447, p < .05). The surface along theY= -X line
is positively sloped and linear (as= 4.493, p < .05; a~= .069, a; = .069,
ns). These results indicate two effects. First, newcomer turnover inten-
tions increased as peer concern for goal accomplishment preferences
decreased. Second, newcomer turnover intentions decreased along the
line of perfect fit when both newcomer and peer concern for goal ac-
complishment preferences increased.
Hypothesis 7 was partly supported for the comparison between new-
comer and supervisor concern for people preferences, but not for their
concern for goal accomplishment preferences. The results for the com-
parison between newcomer and peer preferences, however, did not con-
firm Hypothesis 7. No significant results were found for the concern for
people dimension and the results for concern for goal accomplishment
indicated a positive similarity effect only when both newcomer and peer
preferences were high.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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 142 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

Discussion

Most P-0 fit research has been primarily concerned with the match
between persons and organizations. The purpose of the present study
was to address some limitations of this approach to person-organization
fit. We argued that matching persons with organizations is a restricted
operationalization of the theoretical assumptions underlying the attrac-
tion-selection-attrition (ASA) model (Schneider, 1987; Schneider et al.,
1995). ASA theory assumes that individuals' characteristics are the ba-
sic ingredients of existing organizational culture. This implies that the
match between individuals and their organization also should refer to
the match between individuals' characteristics and the characteristics of
others in the organization. Schneider et al. (1998) provided empirical
support for this assumption underlying ASA theory by showing that or-
ganizations are relatively homogeneous with respect to personality at-
tributes. Thus, the mechanism of mutual attraction between the per-
son and the organization can partly be predicted by similarity of people.
In addition to personality attributes, P-0 fit researchers emphasize that
values (often operationalized as preferences) are also important com-
ponents on which to evaluate fit because they are fundamental and rela-
tively enduring. Moreover, they guide individuals' attitudes, judgments,
and behaviors (Chatman, 1989, 1991). In the present study, we there-
fore focused on the role of individuals' preferences for organizational
cultures. We compared the culture preferences of newcomers with orga-
nizational supplies (the traditional approach). In addition, we compared
newcomers' culture preferences with the preferences of salient others in
their work setting. There were two main reasons to expect that this sec-
ond operationalization of fit would be an important predictor for affec-
tive outcomes. First, if newcomers' culture preferences are similar to the
preferences of salient others these newcomers probably will match the
organizational culture, because those similar others already have proven
to match (they did not leave). Second, if newcomers show similar prefer-
ences as others in the work setting, they will feel attracted towards those
others. Feelings of similarity and attraction will affect their individual
work attitudes.
The results of this study lend some support for the hypothesized role
of P-P fit for newcomers' commitment and turnover intentions, but only
for the comparison between newcomers and supervisors. Newcomers'
P-P fit with their supervisors concerning the "concern for people" di-
mension of culture preferences appeared to be related to newcomers'
affective outcomes. When both newcomers and supervisors showed
high concern for people preferences newcomers were more commit-
ted. Overall, incongruency between the supervisor and the newcomer

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 143

decreased newcomer's commitment. However, when both preferences

matched and they were low, newcomer commitment was low. Hence,
P-P fit with the supervisor for the concern for people dimension en-
hanced newcomer commitment, but only when both preferences were
relatively high. Newcomer-supervisor P-P fit effects were also found for
newcomer turnover intentions. Turnover intentions were relatively low
when supervisor concern for people preferences matched or exceeded
those of the newcomer.
P-P fit with respect to the concern for goal accomplishment dimen-
sion was, however, less related to newcomers' commitment and turnover
intentions. Our results revealed that only when newcomer and peer pref-
erences were both high newcomer turnover intentions were low. For this
dimension of organizational culture we found that peers' preferences
affected newcomers' turnover intentions. Overall, newcomer turnover
intentions were lower when peer preferences were high.
For establishing P-0 fit, we focused on the match between newcom-
ers' preferences and organizational supplies as perceived by their super-
visor and one of their peers (i.e., the recruiters). With this approach we
simulated a selection situation in which recruiters were the only source
of information about organizational supplies. We expected to find P-0
fit effects for the concern for goal accomplishment dimension. How-
ever, our results revealed no significant relationships with affective out-
comes for this dimension. Apparently, the match between newcomer
preferences and recruiters' perceptions of the concern for goal accom-
plishment dimension of organizational culture is not a good predictor of
newcomers' affective outcomes. Different results were found with the
concern for people dimension. We hypothesized that P-0 fit for this
dimension would be beneficial for newcomer affective outcomes and,
specifically, that supplies should not fall short of newcomer preferences.
Surprisingly, we found that as supervisor concern for people perceptions
decreased towards newcomer preferences, newcomer commitment in-
creased. Most of all, newcomer concern for people preferences were
higher than their recruiters' perceptions. This discrepancy, however,
was not detrimental for newcomer affective outcomes. Combining the
results for the P-P fit measures with those of the P-0 fit measures, these
results suggest that the relatively high concern for people preferences
of newcomers have to match supervisor preferences, but not necessarily
supervisor perceptions of existing organizational culture.
For explaining the results with our P-0 and P-P fit measures we refer
to research on social information processing. Social information pro-
cessing (SIP) theory suggests that individual attitudes are likely to be
influenced by the opinion and information of others (Salancik & Pfef-
fer, 1978). The primary sources of social information in the work set-

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 144 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

ting are those with whom one communicates frequently, that is, new-
comers' peers and their supervisors. The similarity-attraction perspec-
tive assumes that newcomers who hear others express their preferred
culture values will feel more committed to their work setting than new-
comers who hear others express different culture values. SIP theory,
however, proposes that other people's preferences will affect newcom-
ers' attitudes only if newcomers consider the values of others to be rel-
evant. The results of this study suggest that for the concern for goal ac-
complishment dimension of organizational culture newcomers use their
peers' preferences as a frame of reference. For the concern for people
dimension they rely more on the preferences of their supervisor. New-
comers may expect the concern for goal accomplishment preferences of
their supervisors to be high and they therefore focus on the preferences
of their peers. If their peers show high concern for goal accomplish-
ment preferences-such as high preferences for competition-this may
hold a promise for a challenging work environment. Furthermore, new-
comers may expect the concern for people preferences of their peers to
be high and comparable to their own preferences. The concern for peo-
ple preferences of their supervisor, however, may be conceived of as less
predictable. Newcomers probably do realize that the concern for people
preferences of their supervisor are one of the main sources for creating
(and changing) the human side of organizational culture (Schein, 1985),
such as the amount of supportive feedback and opportunities for partici-
pation. They therefore put weight to the concern for people preferences
of their supervisors.
This is one of the first studies that examined P-P fit measures in
the context of personal selection. Our findings have some implications
for the application of fit measures in personnel selection procedures.
Practitioners may hesitate to include P-0 fit measures in their selection
procedures, because of problems with measuring organizational culture.
Moreover, incorporating a measure of applicant's values into the person-
nel selection maybe risky in applied organizational settings. Such mea-
sures are fakable and there is no clear evidence that a person's values are
related to the ability to perform the job. The results of the present study
indicate that comparing applicants' preferences with the preferences of
their recruiters (i.e., supervisor and peers) is a way to establish fit. This
would be applied in developing realistic job previews or in the establish-
ment of recruitment and retention programs. Of course, more research
is needed in order to confirm and extend our P-P fit findings.
Our results for the P-0 fit measures did not collaborate with previ-
ous studies showing P-0 fit effects. This is probably due to our opera-
tionalization of P-0 fit. Other P-0 fit studies used aggregated measures
of organizational culture based on the perceptions of a large number of

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 ANNELIES E.M. VAN VIANEN 145

organizational citizens. In this study, only two persons were involved in

establishing organizational culture. We argued that choosing the right
number and type of persons for assessing organizational culture is rather
arbitrary. Most studies relied on specific samples with high interrater
agreement in only a few organizations. We focused on measuring orga-
nizational culture and cultural preferences in many organizations. For
practical reasons, such a design imposes restrictions on the number of
people that could be involved in each of the organizations. Moreover,
with our design we wanted to come close to the daily practice of person-
nel selection and socialization processes in organizations. Because the
supervisors and peers were the recruiters, these recruiters are the ones
from which newcomers are most likely to assess the values of the orga-
nization. Further, the socialization literature indicates that newcomers
tend not to fully learn about and understand the culture of the organi-
zation until later in the socialization process. Hence, the perspective
of their most salient organizational members may be most important in
evaluating initial fit. However, for establishing newcomer P-0 fit in the
long term, more valid measures of organizational culture are needed.
Two more limitations of this study should be noted. First, an impor-
tant limitation of this study concerns the absence of longitudinal data.
The causal relation between fit measures and affective outcomes is best
understood by first measuring fit and subsequently assessing affective
outcomes at a later point in time. Future research should examine the
relationship between applicants' P-P and P-0 fit measures with affective
and performance outcomes of selected applicants, a few months after
they have entered the organization. Our newcomers were already ap-
pointed for 6 months. During this period they may have changed their
cultural preferences. Previous studies, however, showed that socializa-
tion processes account for changes in fit but these are not due to changes
in cultural preferences (Saks & Ashforth 1997; Van Vianen & Prins,
1997). We therefore expect that our results will be replicated with a lon-
gitudinal design. A second important criticism of this study concerns our
operationalization and measurement of organizational culture. Initially,
we operationalized organizational culture with 12 scales, based on the
competing values framework (Quinn, 1988). This framework is a theo-
retical framework for integrating models of organizational culture and
leadership from four perspectives derived from organization theory. It
is, however, not an empirical model of the basic dimensions of organiza-
tional culture and how different elements of organizational culture are
related. For this reason we used exploratory rather than confirmatory
factor analysis for examining relationships between the scales and for
reducing the number of scales. The resulting two dimensions may raise

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 146 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY

some doubts about the construct that was measured. Although both con-
cern for people and concern for goal accomplishment dimensions reflect
some basic values underlying organizational culture (see Schein, 1990)
we do recognize that these two dimensions do not cover organizational
culture. Future research should adopt a broader approach to organiza-
tional culture.
This study has shown some important implications for future P-0
fit studies. The comparisons between newcomers, peers, and supervi-
sors yielded relative homogeneity with respect to the concern for peo-
ple preferences of organizational citizens. Note, for instance, that su-
pervisors and peers were most similar regarding their concern for peo-
ple preferences. This result is in line with the conclusion of Schnei-
der et al. (1998) that organizations are relatively homogeneous with
regard to personality characteristics. However, the personality char-
acteristics used in their study referred to social behavior and interper-
sonal relationships (thinking-feeling, sensing-intuition, extraversion-
introversion, judging-perceiving). Personality characteristics such as
conscientiousness and achievement motivation that are related to the
concern for goal accomplishment dimension of organizational life were
not included. These latter personality characteristics may be less homo-
geneous in organizations, because they are, for instance, more related to
specific jobs or positions. Future studies, therefore, should consider di-
mensions of organizational and individual values that are specifically rel-
evant for effects of supplementary, complementary, or supplies-values
fit on individual and organizational outcomes.

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