Bidirectional Relationships Between Employee Fit and Organizational Change

Although organizational change and person–environment fit are both well-studied topics, rarely is the interaction between the two researched. Using a longitudinal design and a major change for 800 nurses in a large hospital, this article provides empirical findings on the patterns of person–job (PJ) and person–organization (PO) fit across stages of change implementation, the influences of change readiness and general change self-efficacy (GCSE) on fit, and the influences of fit on change readiness. Results show that both fit facets decline early in change, with PO fit returning to pre-change levels, whereas PJ fit does not. Change readiness is found to relate with PO fitm, whereas GCSE relates more with PJ fit. Implications for practice and future research are provided.