Person–Job Misfit and Employee Negative Word-of-Mouth Advocacy: How Perceived Overqualification Drives Negative Megaphoning Behaviour

This study examines the impact of perceived overqualification (POQ) on employee negative megaphoning behaviours, focusing on the mediating roles of work-related stress and job embeddedness. A mixed-methods design was employed across two complementary studies. Study 1 analysed two-wave survey data from 431 hotel employees in China using structural equation modelling (SEM) in Mplus. Study 2 utilised a scenario-based experiment with 107 participants from the education sector to validate the proposed relationships. Results from both studies demonstrated a positive association between POQ and three forms of negative megaphoning—internal, external, and anonymous social media megaphoning. Work-related stress and job embeddedness emerged as significant mediating mechanisms explaining how misfit perceptions translate into negative communication behaviours. This research advances person–job fit theory by identifying POQ as a meaningful antecedent to negative megaphoning and by illuminating the psychological pathways through which misfit affects employee communication. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of reducing work-related stress and enhancing job embeddedness to help service organisations mitigate the reputational risks associated with POQ.