The importance of person-job fit and person-organization fit in employee hiring and selection : A qualitative in Malaysian private organizations

This study explored the perceived importance of person-job fit and person-organization fit in relation with employee hiring and selection in Malaysian private organizations. The purpose of this paper is to propose a contingency perspective that describes the relative importance of personjob (PJ) fit and person-organization (PO) fit as selection criteria for hiring various types of employees. This study further identifies the antecedents of PJ and PO fit as practised by Malaysian private organizations. The other important aim of the study is to examine the
consequences of PJ and PO fit in employee selection and hiring, and also develop an initial PJ and PO fit model in the context of Malaysian environment as well. A qualitative field study was then carried out to explore the perceptions of person-job (PJ) fit and person-organization (PO) fit in
employee hiring and selection in the Malaysian private organizations. The findings from the qualitative study and literature review were then to develop initial research model. Ten Malaysian private organizations of various sizes are studied via interviews with key personnel. The results of the study identify twelve variables as antecedents of PJ and PO fit in hiring and selecting employees. The paper will also contribute theoretically and practically by providing an initial model of PJ and PO fit for the private organizations in the Malaysian environment. The
implications and future directions of the study are also discussed.