Person-Environment Fit Theory

5.1 Types of Person-Environment Fit

Amy Kristof-Brown (2005) systematised four types of P-E fit:

Fit Type	Description	Outcome
Person-Job (PJ) Fit	Match between abilities/preferences and job demands/rewards	Job satisfaction, performance, engagement
Person-Organisation (PO) Fit	Match between values/personality and organisational culture/values	Commitment, lower turnover
Person-Group (PG) Fit	Match between individual and work team characteristics	Team cohesion, collaboration
Person-Vocation (PV) Fit	Match between personality and broad vocational environment (Holland)	Career stability, long-term flourishing

5.2 Schneider's ASA Model (1987)

Benjamin Schneider's Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) Model (1987) explains how organisations develop distinct cultures:

1. Attraction: People are attracted to organisations whose characteristics are congruent with their own
2. Selection: Organisations select individuals who fit their existing culture
3. Attrition: Those who do not fit eventually leave — voluntarily or involuntarily

Consequence: Organisations become increasingly homogeneous over time. This can create blind spots — a district administration that selects only conventional (C) types will lack creative (A) and investigative (I) thinkers needed for innovation.

5.3 Self-Determination Theory and Fit

Deci and Ryan's Self-Determination Theory (SDT, 1985, 2000) connects person-environment fit to psychological needs:

• Autonomy fit: When the job allows self-direction → need for autonomy satisfied → intrinsic motivation
• Competence fit: When challenges match skills → need for competence satisfied → flow states
• Relatedness fit: When work involves meaningful connections → need for relatedness satisfied → sense of belonging

SDT predicts: Environments that provide conditions for all three need satisfactions produce flourishing regardless of external incentives; environments that frustrate these needs produce ill-being even when external rewards are high.

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