Person-Organization Fit in a military selection context

Abstract

The goal of personnel selection is to find predictors that, together, maximize the explained variance in important job outcomes such as Task Performance or Work Engagement. Common predictors include Intelligence and Big Five Personality. Using Person-Organization Fit (P-O Fit) for selection purposes has been discussed, but, beyond Intelligence and Personality, evidence of the incremental predictive validity of P-O Fit in relation to task performance and work engagement is scarce. This study examines the practical utility of indirectly measured P-O Fit as a selection tool in a military setting. Measures of objective P-O Fit were obtained from actual applicants in a military selection setting and combined with self-report measures of Work Engagement upon organizational entry, and supervisor-rated Task Performance approximately two weeks later. P-O Fit predicted both Task Performance (R2 = .041) and Work Engagement (R2 = .038). More importantly, P-O Fit yielded incremental predictive validity in relation to both outcomes, also after controlling for intelligence and personality traits. While our initial models (including age, gender, intelligence, and personality) explained 25.1% and 5.8% of the variance in work engagement and task performance, respectively, this increased to 26.3% and 6.3%, respectively, after the inclusion of P-O Fit. Implications for practical use in selection systems are discussed.