The Effect of Person-Job Fit and Job-Training Fit on Employee Work Behaviour Within the Ghanaian Manufacturing Sector

Abstract

The impact of person-job fit (PJF) and job-training fit (JTF) on employee work behaviour is an issue receiving increasing attention within the Organizational Studies and Human Resource literature; especially as companies consider how they will continue to improve performance among their employees. In particular, the ability of employees to effectively perform their job roles, and the impact of their skills and personality on organizational performance, have placed a greater emphasis on understanding the multiplicity of antecedents impacting their workplace behaviour. A review of the extant literature revealed the need for further studies on the role of organizational commitment, environmental fit and psychological empowerment as essential yet rarely explored constructs. Consequently, this study sought to extend the literature by analyzing how PJF and JTF could impact on work behaviour and how this relationship could be contingent on factors such as environmental fit, psychological empowerment and organizational commitment. To effectively address the primary research objective, this thesis used a quantitative research approach, conducting a survey of 600 employees in tile manufacturing companies in Ghana. In total, 484 responses were received, resulting in a response rate of 80.66%. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and Exploratory Factor Analysis techniques were used in analyzing the collected data. The results show that PJF had a positive and significant impact on in-role performance of employees, suggesting that workers perform better in their direct job roles when they meet the specific skill demands placed on them by the role and the organizational environment. The examination of the moderator relationship found that the relationship between JTF and in-role performance of the employee is stronger when organisational commitment is high rather than low. Also, the results shows that the relationship between JTF and in-role performance of the employee is stronger when the environmental fit is high rather than low. Likewise, it was found that in the ceramics tile manufacturing industry, psychological empowerment tends to reduce both in-role and extra-role performance, while commitment tends to enhance both in-role and extra-role performance. The study recommends the need for organizations to focus on improving the PJF of employees through competence training, given its positive impact on their performance. In addition, as much as staff are empowered, there is the need for controls to be in place to avoid the abuse of the empowerment to the extent of producing negative performance outcomes.