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Welcome to the Fifth Global e-Conference on Fit

Experiencing Organisational Fit and Misfit

 

December 2016

 

Conference Theme

In the introduction to their 2013 book, Kristof-Brown and Billsberry (2013) tease out opposing paradigms of fit (PE fit and perceived fit) and demonstrate that we know little of the experience of fit and misfit and that this lack of understanding is hampering further development of the field. They say, ‘Very little is known … about how these perceptions [of fit] form, or why they influence attitudes and behaviours as strongly as they do. This is fertile ground for new organizational fit research’ (p. 5) that emphasizes the processes of how fit and misfit form, exist, and decay. Addressing this lack of knowledge is relevant to both PE and perceived fit paradigms.

In addition to knowing relatively little about the experience of fit, we also know little about its dynamic nature (Ostroff & Schulte, 2007; Shipp & Jansen, 2011). Although various models of fit have a dynamic element to them (e.g., Kammeyer-Mueller, 2007; Jansen & Kristof-Brown, 2006; Schneider, 1987; Yu, 2013), few empirical fit studies have employed within person approaches and explored these models in depth (cf. Van Vianen, 2004). This is important because studies in related fields such as vocational psychology and work adjustment have shown that there is a continuous process by which individuals seek to achieve and maintain congruence with the work environment (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984).

Finally, there have been calls for qualitative studies of the phenomenon of fit (e.g., Kristof-Brown & Guay, 2011). Such studies are important because they may help researchers define the experience of fit and misfit, differentiate it from other constructs, and understand how various forms of fit and misfit coalesce, or not, into an overarching sense of fit. This latter research goal has been the attention of several studies (e.g., Edwards & Billsberry, 2010; Jansen & Kristof-Brown, 2006; Kristof‐Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005; Morley & Sekiguchi, 2007), but these studies have been inconclusive about the combined effects of sub-types of fit.

This e-Conference addresses these critical issues in current fit and misfit research; namely, understanding the experience of fit. Beneath this main aim, we have attracted papers that explore the dynamic nature of the experience and studies that provide new and clear insights about the nature of the constructs.

 

Special Issue of the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology on the Experience of Fit

This e-Conference is closely aligned to Special Issue of the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology (EJWOP) on the experience of fit, from whose Call for Papers the conference theme has been adapted. As the submission date for the Special Issue is almost a year after this e-conference, we want to propagate possible submissions. We hope to discuss ideas for possible papers and develop emerging papers. All the previous fit e-conferences have been attended by more than 250 people and have included many of the best published people in the field. All have given their time and advice freely to help develop new papers. We hope this year will be no exception.

Please click here for the EJWOP call for papers

 

Truly Global and Inclusive for the Fit Community

Although this e-conference hopes to seed papers for the upcoming special issue of EJWOP on the experience of fit, this e-conference is for anyone interested in the concept of workplace person–environment fit regardless of whether or not they intend to submit to the special issue. In this conference we want to discuss all matters to do with PE and perceived fit (and misfit). In addition to the EJWOP SI track, we will have a track for scholarly articles not necessarily linked to the SI. We will have a special zone for doctoral students where they can receive developmental feedback from experts in the field.

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Keynote Speakers

We are delighted to announce our two keynote speakers. They are both noted scholars, with publications in the top journals, and have many interesting things to say about fit. They are Aichia Chuang from the National Taiwan University and Ryan Vogel from Pennsylvania State University in Erie. You can find out more about Aichia and Ryan on the page devoted to our keynote speakers.

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Conference Format

The conference has a similar design to previous Global eConferences on Fit. There are a series of papers and one video that can be found under the '2016 Conference' menu tab. These papers will be available from the start of the conference. Please click the blue reference number to get a PDF of the paper. Once you have read the paper, please join the relevant discussion in the Forum, for which you need to be a registered user. To ensure that every submitter has their moment in the spotlight and to ease the flow through the day, the discussion forum for each paper will open according to a schedule, which you can find under the 'Schedule' menu tab. It is that simple.

 

Doctoral Zone

The doctoral zone is a stream of the conference reserved for people currently undertaking doctoral studies in fit and closely-related subjects. These papers are refereed and can be identified through the prefix 'DOC'. We encourage developmental feedback on these papers in the full awareness that these are emerging scholars and emerging ideas. In previous years, this has been a supportive and nurturing environment and we hope to repeat that again this year.

 

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Sign-Up

This e-conference is completely free to anyone who wishes to sign-up. All we need is your name and email address. Once you supply us with these details, we will keep you informed about the e-conference, the itinary, the papers and the 'speakers'. It doesn't commit you to anything; it just keeps you informed about the e-conference (and it helps us judge interest). Please note that if you subscribed for a previous conference, you still have to subscribe again, as we have changed platforms. Please click on the following link to sign-up:

CLICK HERE for FREE REGISTRATION [disabled]

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Organising Committee

Jon Billsberry, Deakin University, Australia (Chair)

Rein De Cooman, KU Leuven, Belgium

Amy Kristof-Brown, University of Iowa, USA

Stefan Mol, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Dannie Talbot, Coventry University, UK

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