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Testing the mediation effect of Testing themediation
person-organisation fit on the effect of P-O fit
relationship between talent
management and talented 319
employees’ attitudes Received 25 August 2016Revised 7 November 2016
28 March 2017
James Kwame Mensah 25 April 2017
Department of Business Administration, Accepted 14 May 2017
University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana, and
Justice Nyigmah Bawole
Department of Public Administration and Health Services Management,
University of Ghana Business School, Accra, Ghana
Abstract
Purpose – Previous studies suggested that talent management (TM) is positively related to employee work
attitudes. However, a few studies have examined the mechanisms through which TM leads to employee
work attitudes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of person-organisation (P-O) fit on the
relationship between TM and employee’s job satisfaction, and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs).
Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 232 talented employees from the Ghanaian banking
sector, a partial mediation model was outlined and tested using structural equation modelling.
Findings – The results showed that TM had positive relationship with P-O fit, job satisfaction and OCBs.
The findings further show that P-O fit had positive relationship between job satisfaction and OCBs and
partially mediated the relationship between TM and both job satisfaction, and OCBs.
Research limitations/implications – This study used cross-sectional data; hence, conclusions regarding
causality cannot be made. That is, the results must be interpreted as associations rather than causality.
Practical implications – Management should endeavour to use TM to help align talented employee’s
competences, values and goals to those of their organisation.
Originality/value – This study contributed to the TM literature by providing a stronger and more plausible
explanation of the relationship between TM and talented employees’ outcomes.
Keywords Talent management, Satisfaction, Ghana, Banking sector, Organizational citizenship behaviours,
Person-organization fit
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Talent management (TM) has attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners since its
appearance in the managerial lexicon in the 1990s. Indeed, Thunnissen et al. (2013) have
described interest and research in the field of TM as having grown from infancy to
adolescent. This is because for organisations, TM practices have become the cornerstone
not only of attracting the best and bright employees but also achieving organisational
sustainability in this dynamic and competitive global environment. Previous findings from
the extant literature suggest that TM practices are positively related to talented employee
outcomes such as job satisfaction, affective commitment, work motivation, retention and
citizenship behaviours (Collings and Mellahi, 2009; Bethke-Langenegger et al., 2011;
Bjorkman et al., 2013; Chami-Malaeb and Garavan, 2013; Gelens et al., 2015; Luna-Arocas International Journal of Manpower
and Morley, 2015; Mensah et al., 2016). Vol. 39 No. 2, 2018
pp. 319-333
However, the mechanisms through which TM affect talented employees’ outcomes still © Emerald Publishing Limited
need more research (e.g. Dries, 2013; Gallardo-Gallardo and Thunnissen, 2016; 0143-7720DOI 10.1108/IJM-08-2016-0162
IJM Thunnissen, 2016). Several mechanisms such as employee engagement (Mensah, 2015),
39,2 perceived organisational support (Gelens et al., 2015), perceived organisational justice
(Gelens et al., 2013), psychological contract (Hoglund, 2012; Sonnenberg et al., 2014) and
social exchange theory (Sonnenberg et al., 2014) have been researched. A further
mechanism proposed by Collings and Mellahi (2009) is person-organisation (P-O) fit.
This mechanism has been extensively used in the HRM literature, but it is yet to be tested
320 sufficiently in the TM field. Generally, P-O fit is referred to as the compatibility between
the characteristics of employees and their organisation (Kristof, 1996).
Even though several studies have examined the mechanisms that affect talented
employees’ outcomes (e.g. Chami-Malaeb and Garavan, 2013; Gelens et al., 2015;
Luna-Arocas and Morley, 2015), little have considered the mediation effect of P-O fit on
the relationship between TM and talented employees’ outcomes. We argued that TM does
not guarantee talented employees’ outcomes as talented employees also have their values
and goals to achieve. We incorporate P-O fit theory as a frame to understand talented
employees’ reactions to TM. This study aims to examine the mediating effect of P-O fit on
the relationship between TM and talented employees’ attitudes ( job satisfaction and
organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs)). Our argument is that TM will increase
congruence (P-O fit) between talented employees and their organisation because TM
communicates organisational values and goals to talented employees. We proposed that
increased congruence will generate talented employees’ outcomes of job satisfaction
and OCBs. The selection of job satisfaction and OCBs is based on the premise that both
significantly influence talented employee and organisational performance (e.g. Collings and
Mellahi, 2009; Luna-Arocas and Morley, 2015).
Although, there is a growing body of scholarly research linking TM with talented
employees’ outcomes in different regions of the world (Bethke-Langenegger et al., 2011;
Bjorkman et al., 2013; Chami-Malaeb and Garavan, 2013; Gelens et al., 2015; Luna-Arocas and
Morley, 2015), a few studies have evaluated this link in Ghana. As a response to the call by
Vaiman et al. (2012), Thunnissen et al. (2013) and Gallardo-Gallardo and Thunnissen (2016) for
more empirical research on TM from different context, this paper will explore TM’s impact on
P-O fit and, in turn, on talented employees work attitudes in the Ghanaian banking sector.
The Ghanaian banking sector has recently seen implementation of strategies aimed at
attracting, developing and retaining talented employees (Mensah et al., 2016). Therefore,
conducting this study from the Ghanaian banking sector will provide evidence of whether TM
will have similar effects on talented employees as in western context.
The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, the paper explores the concept of P-O fit
as the mechanism through which TM leads to both talented employees’ job satisfaction and
OCBs. Thus, the paper explores both empirically and theoretically how the congruence
between the values and goals of organisations and that of talented employees influences
their work outcomes. This is important as voices are increasingly being raised as to how to
gain substantially from talented employees for competitive advantage in this turbulent and
fast changing environment. Second, this paper makes an important contribution to the
development of TM theory as we increase the international breadth of empirical research on
the link between TM and talented employees’ outcomes. In short, we contributed to the TM
literature by providing a stronger and more plausible explanation of the relationship
between TM and talented employees’ outcomes.
Structurally, this paper first discusses the theoretical mechanism linking TM to job
satisfaction and OCBs. This is then followed by the potential mediator, P-O fit, through
which TM affects job satisfaction and OCBs. Following a description of the research context
and methodology, the seven hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling
(SEM). The paper concludes with an analysis of the theoretical and managerial implications
as well as limitations.
2. Theoretical framework and hypotheses Testing the
The operational environment of the twenty-first century calls for a different kind of war; mediation
a war not between the forces of nation states, but a war for talents. The well-known phrase effect of P-O fit
“the war for talent” was coined by a group of Mckinsey consultants in the late 1990s.
This subsequently ignited current day interest in TM research. Over the course of the
last decade, TM has increasingly become pertinent research area and has grown from
infancy to adolescence (Thunnissen et al., 2013). Generally, TM focusses on the activities 321
and processes that are used to identify key positions, the development of a talent pool of
high potential and high performing employees to fill these roles and the continuous
management of such employees with differentiated human resource architecture to ensure
their continued commitment to the organisation (Lewis and Heckman, 2006; Collings and
Mellahi, 2009; Gelens et al., 2013).
The ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) theory of Appelbaum et al. (2000)
provides a theoretical underpinning for examining the relationship between TM and
employee outcomes. According to the AMO theory, performance is a function of employee
ability (A), motivation (M) and opportunity (O) to participate. The theory predicts that
employees will perform well when: they possess the required knowledge and skills to
undertake the job (abilities); they are incentivised and adequately interested in the work
(motivation); they are provided with opportunities to express themselves at the workplace
(opportunity to participate). It is argued that talented employees possess the desired abilities
(Collings and Mellahi, 2009) and, consequently, the implementation of TM seeks to motivate
and incentivise talented employees; and provide them with the opportunity to participate by
placing them in key positions (Collings and Mellahi, 2009).
From the AMO perspective, organisations’ interests are best served by TM practices
that attend to talented employees’ interests such as their skill requirements, motivations
and the quality of their jobs. Therefore, the use of TM can help to positively influence
talented employees’ attitudes and behaviours (Collings and Mellahi, 2009). Several studies
have found a positive relationship between TM and talented employees’ outcomes such as
work motivation, job satisfaction, affective commitment, OCBs and a negative relationship
between TM and intention to quit (e.g. Bjorkman et al., 2013; Chami-Malaeb and Garavan,
2013; Gelens et al., 2015; Luna-Arocas and Morley, 2015). This paper focusses on two
outcomes – job satisfaction and OCBs because they have been shown to have a significant
impact on both employee and organisational performance (Collings and Mellahi, 2009;
Luna-Arocas and Morley, 2015).
2.1 Job satisfaction
Job satisfaction is one of the most studied concepts in organisational research because of
its important connotations for employee behaviours such as performance, turnover and
absenteeism. Job satisfaction is seen as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting
from one’s job or job experience” (Locke, 1976, p. 1304). Also, job satisfaction is defined as
“the extent to which people like or dislike their jobs” (Spector, 1997, p. 2). Apart from these
definitions, Chiu and Chen (2005) distinguished between two dimensions of job
satisfaction – intrinsic and extrinsic. According to Chiu and Chen (2005), the extent to
which employees are satisfied with factors related to the job itself is referred to as intrinsic
job satisfaction while extrinsic job satisfaction is related to factors not related to the job
(Chiu and Chen, 2005). Generally, three groups of variables have been identified that affect
job satisfaction. These are job/task-related characteristics, individual characteristics and
organisational characteristics.
TM may relate to job satisfaction because talented employees are recruited, placed in
strategic positions and developed with a broad variety of TM practices (Collings and
Mellahi, 2009; Chami-Malaeb and Garavan, 2013). Recent studies have found a positive
IJM relationship between TM and job satisfaction (Mensah et al., 2016). For instance,
39,2 Luna-Arocas and Morley (2015) reported a positive relationship between TM and
talented employee’s job satisfaction in their study of 198 public and private sector
employees in Valencia. Similar findings were reported by Gelens et al. (2013) who
argued that TM leads to higher levels of job satisfaction even though this is mediated
by perceptions of distributive justice. Bethke-Langenegger et al. (2011) studied
322 138 Swiss companies and found that TM initiatives aimed at retaining and developing
talented employees positively impact on job satisfaction. Accordingly, the following
hypothesis is suggested:
H1. TM will positively affect talented employee’s job satisfaction.
2.2 OCBs
According to Organ (1988, p. 4), OCBs are “individual behaviours that are discretionary, not
directly or explicitly recognised by the formal reward system and that in the aggregate
promote the effective functioning of the organisation”. Based on this definition, Organ (1988)
put forward a seven-factor model of OCBs – sportsmanship, civic virtue, conscientiousness,
altruism, courtesy, peacekeeping and cheerleading. Williams and Anderson (1991), on the
other hand, suggested just two components of OCBs – those directed at individual
employees and those directed at the employing organisation. However, this dichotomous
classification integrates Organ’s seven-factor model in that courtesy, cheerleading, altruism
and peacekeeping behaviours are directed towards individuals within the organisation,
while the conscientiousness (compliance), civic virtue and sportsmanship dimensions are
directed at the organisation (Podsakoff et al., 2009). Stressing on the twofold dimensions of
OCBs, Eatough et al. (2011, p. 620) defined OCBs as “discretionary behaviours that benefit
organisations and their members by improving the social and psychological context in
which the technical core of the organisation operates”.
OCBs are different from in-role task performance to the extent that in-role performance is
formally prescribed by the job while OCBs are not (Podsakoff et al., 2009). Therefore,
OCBs entail taking on responsibilities beyond the normal role requirements such as helping
work colleagues with their tasks, encouraging a positive work environment, avoiding
unnecessary conflicts and getting more involved in organisational activities. Collings and
Mellahi’s (2009) definition of strategic TM emphasises matching pivotal positions with
pivotal talented employees which will subsequently lead to discretionary effort (OCBs).
Scholars have found that employees who are members of a more favourable group
(talent pool) portray more discretionary effort and OCBs (e.g. Collings and Mellahi, 2009;
Mensah et al., 2016). Mensah (2015) argued that the implementation of TM systems will
lead to contextual performance of talented employees, which is similar to OCBs.
Drawing implications from the AMO theory and the above studies, the following hypothesis
is suggested:
H2. TM will positively affect OCBs.
2.3 P-O fit: the mechanism linking TM to talented employee outcomes
P-O fit has become one of the widely researched topics in the fields of HRM, organisational
behaviour and general management. Generally, P-O fit is defined as “the compatibility
between individuals and organisations” (Kristof, 1996, p. 3). Kristof (1996, p. 4) argued that
P-O fit occurs when: “(1) at least one entity provides what the other needs or (2) they share
similar fundamental characteristics or (3) both”. Muchinsky and Monahan (1987) identified
two main types of P-O fits – supplementary fit and complementary fit. Whereas
supplementary fit is achieved when an individual possesses characteristics that are similar
to other individuals in an organisation, that of complementary fit is achieved when an Testing the
individual’s characteristics add something that is missing to the organisation (Muchinsky mediation
and Monahan, 1987). effect of P-O fit
Schneider’s (1987) attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) framework provides a useful
lens to examine P-O fit between talented employees and their organisations. Broadly, ASA
framework suggests that organisations attract, select and retain employees whose
personal characteristics suit or fit the organisation (Schneider, 1987). According to the 323
ASA framework, whereas employees are attracted to organisations based on their
pre-entry beliefs of the organisation’s principal values and goals, organisations also
choose through formal and informal selection strategies, employees who fit their values
and goals. The ASA framework also proposes that where employees do not fit the
organisation’s core values and goals, they will exit (Schneider, 1987). In applying the ASA
framework, we argued that organisations that implement TM practices will not only
attract talented employees but will also be able to retain them as such employees fit into
the core values of the organisation.
TM is therefore believed to be one of the main factors that help align talented
employees with their organisations (i.e. achieving P-O fit). TM practices such as
differentiation of employees, favourable opportunities for rewards, fast-track career,
special job training and job autonomy (Poocharoen and Lee, 2013) constantly
communicate organisational values and expectations to employees, which, in turn,
should facilitate greater P-O fit (Collings and Mellahi, 2009). The HRM literature has
examined the propositions underlying the ASA framework and their findings support
the idea that HRM has an influence on P-O fit (Cable and Judge, 1997; Carless, 2005).
Although, HRM concentrates on all organisational employees rather than employees in the
talent pool, they provide useful insights and this study adopts a similar approach in
testing the implementation of TM on P-O fit. Therefore, on the basis of the ASA theory
and HRM empirical studies, the following hypothesis is suggested:
H3. TM will positively affect P-O fit.
Empirical studies examining the relationship between P-O fit and job satisfaction have
generally found a positive relationship between them. Studies from the USA found a
positive relationship between P-O fit and job satisfaction (Lauver and Kristof-Brown,
2001; Westerman and Cyr, 2004). Research findings from a sample of workers in Spain
(Vilela et al., 2008) and teachers in India (Narayanan and Sekar, 2009) came to
similar conclusions. Finally, Iplik et al. (2011) studied a sample of hotel managers in
Turkey and found a positive relationship between P-O fit and job satisfaction. Studies
examining the relationship between P-O fit and OCBs have found a positive relationship
(e.g. Lauver and Kristof-Brown, 2001). Therefore, the higher the talented employees
recognise a stronger link between their personal values and those of the organisation
(P-O fit), the greater the job satisfaction and willingness to perform OCBs (Collings
and Mellahi, 2009). From the perspective of theory and the above evidence, the following
hypotheses are suggested:
H4. P-O fit will positively affect talented employees’ job satisfaction.
H5. P-O fit will positively affect talented employees’ OCBs.
Recent studies have begun to examine the mediating mechanisms through which TM
practices lead to employee outcomes (Chami-Malaeb and Garavan, 2013; Gelens et al., 2015;
Luna-Arocas and Morley, 2015). Despite the appealing logic of the P-O fit, little
empirical studies exist on its mediating role between TM and talented employees’ outcomes.
Whereas TM leads to both P-O fit and employee outcomes (Collings and Mellahi, 2009;
Gelens et al., 2013; Luna-Arocas and Morley, 2015), the literature also shows that P-O fit
IJM positively affects employee outcomes (Lauver and Kristof-Brown, 2001; Vilela et al., 2008).
39,2 Therefore, we argue that P-O fit will partially mediate the relationship between TM and
employee outcomes. We draw from the ASA theory and argue that P-O fit is one of the main
mechanisms through which TM affects talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs.
Our theoretical argument is also underpinned by HRM literature (Carless, 2005; Iplik et al.,
2011). Therefore, this study predicts that P-O fit will partially mediate the relationship
324 between TM and both talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs. We therefore,
hypothesise, as follows:
H6. P-O fit will partially mediate the relationship between TM and talented employees’
job satisfaction.
H7. P-O fit will partially mediate the relationship between TM and talented employees’OCBs.
3. Method
3.1 Research context
Ghana has a well-developed banking system and there are about 33 banks, the majority
of which are foreign owned. With the increasing use of technology, all banks in
Ghana have rolled out a number of services such as VISA electronic debit card, internet
banking, smartcards and mobile phone banking. In fact, the banking sector in Ghana
has become one of the most innovative, resilient and competitive sectors in the country.
The Ghanaian banking sector in recent years has constantly updated their strategies
to keep up with regulatory requirements, the changing demands of their customers
and radical shift in technology (Baba, 2012). All these call for innovation across the
entire value chain of the banking sector. This can only be achieved through the right set
of talented employees.
However, due to the specialised nature of the banking sector, it has a limited pool of
skilled and experienced talent to recruit from, resulting in a constant shortage of talented
employees (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2014; Mensah et al., 2016). This is further exacerbated
by competition for talented employees from multinational corporations. The banks
are responding to this challenge with the implementation of TM strategies through the
attraction, development and retention of talented employees (Mensah et al., 2016).
These banks usually engaged on early career development that follows a highly selective
recruitment of talented employees with the perceived potential to reach very senior
leadership levels over their career. Such early career employees have rapid early career
progression and a wide range of early experiences to accelerate the early stages of their
career development before they finally become talent pool members.
Some of the banks have adopted internally ran academies as one route to address the
challenge of the talent shortage as the labour market continues to heat up
(PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2014). The banks now have official positions for TM with
names for such positions varying slightly (e.g. TM and performance management;
learning and talent development; leadership, learning and talent development; etc.). To be
eligible as a talent pool member, one must master expertise beyond the technical, deliver
credible results and behave in ways consistent with the banks values. The Ghanaian
banking sector therefore represents an interesting context to study the relationships
proposed in this paper.
3.2 Sample and procedure
Our data were collected by means of a survey questionnaire distributed to licensed Banks in
the Bank of Ghana database. We followed a series of steps to get data from the respondents.
As a first step, a letter of permission was sent to the HR managers of these banks to conduct
the study. The second stage involved ensuring that our respondents were actually talented Testing the
employees. In our study, the 33 participating banks had formal yearly corporate talent mediation
review systems in place, which they used for identifying talented employees effect of P-O fit
(PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2014, 2015). Based on agreement, the list of talent pool
members was obtained from the HR managers of the participating banks. Thus, all
respondents had to meet a pre-set criterion of being labelled talented employee. This
approach has been used in previous studies (e.g. Chami-Malaeb and Garavan, 2013; Mensah 325
et al., 2016). A simple random sampling technique was then used to select the respondents
(Creswell, 2014).
In the third stage, questionnaires were given to the HR managers to administer to the
sampled talent pool members. This is because we had no direct access to the employees
and therefore, it was imperative to use the HR managers to facilitate the proper
administration of the survey. All completed questionnaires were returned to the HR
managers who subsequently handed them over to the researchers after three months.
Of the 300 questionnaires distributed to talented employees, 232 usable questionnaires were
returned, representing a response rate of 77.3 per cent. Table I presents the demographic
characteristics of the respondents in terms of their gender, age distribution, educational
level and job titles.
3.3 Measures
All the indicators in this study allowed respondents to answer on a five-point Likert scale
(1¼ strongly disagree, 5¼ strongly agree) except the TM scale.
Perceived TM practices. Festing and Schäfer (2014, pp. 295-296) argued that whereas a
scale that could be employed to measure TM has not yet been developed, the CIPD (2006)
has developed a list of 16 practices which are commonly used by organisations and could
serve as a first reference to operationalising TM in empirical studies. These measures
were also used by Sonnenberg et al. (2014). To ensure uniformity in the measure of TM,
interactions were held with the HR managers of the studied banks and it was revealed that
Sample size (n¼ 232)
Demographic variable Category Frequency Percentage
Gender Male 127 54.7
Female 105 45.3
Age 21-30 29 12.5
31-40 100 43.1
41-50 99 42.7
51-60 4 1.7
Highest Level of education Bachelor 58 25.0
Masters 170 73.3
PhD 1 0.4
Professional 3 1.3
Job titles Investment banker 30 12.9
Financial analyst 25 10.8
IT specialist 27 11.6
Development manager 12 5.2
HR manager 9 3.9
Project manager 33 14.2
Operations manager 22 9.5 Table I.
Corporate banker 31 13.3 Demographic
Marketing specialist 20 8.7 characteristics
Credit risk analyst 23 9.9 of respondents
IJM 13 of the items from the CIPD measures are being used by all of them. These 13 items were
39,2 therefore used in this study. Respondents were asked whether or not they perceived their
employer as offering to them the opportunity to make use of those 13 TM practices items.
The number of TM practices was operationalised by summing for each employee the
number of perceived TM practices. As this concerns perceived practices, the total can vary
between employees in the same organisation (Sonnenberg et al., 2014). Sample item
326 includes “I am part of the high-potential development schemes”. The coefficient α was 0.86
in our sample.
P-O fit. P-O fit was measured based on four items taken from Cable and Judge (1996) and
Bright (2007). These items are based on talented employees’ perceptions of fit between their
values and goals and those of their bank. Bright (2007) maintained that perception ratings
have been extensively used in P-O fit research because they have been found to be better
predictors of employee attitudes and behaviours. Sample item includes “my values match
the values of my bank”. The coefficient α was 0.89 in our sample.
Job satisfaction. In this study, job satisfaction was measured using three items
of overall job satisfaction developed by Seashore et al. (1982). This scale is “global” and the
preferred measure of job satisfaction (Wanous et al., 1997) because it focusses on
employees’ perceptions of their job, rather than on different aspects of their work.
Employees’ perception of their job is more likely to result in fewer methodological
concerns (Wanous et al., 1997). Sample item includes “In general, I like working here”.
The coefficient α was 0.87 in our sample.
OCBs. We measured OCBs using five items from the scale developed by Lee and
Allen (2002). Thus, two of the items tap into behaviours that are beneficial to individuals
while three items tap into behaviours that are beneficial to the organisation. Sample item
includes “I willingly give up time to help others who have work-related problems”.
The coefficient α was 0.86 in our sample.
4. Analysis and results
We tested the proposed framework with the methodology of structural equation modelling
(SEM) via analysis of moment structures (AMOS 20) and the maximum likelihood
estimation. It has been stated that SEM is effective for testing models that are path analytic
with mediating variables (Hair et al., 2010). In assessing the model, we followed the
recommended two step analysis procedure (Hair et al., 2010). We validated the measurement
model in the first step and the structural model in the second step.
4.1 Measurement model evaluation
Construct validity was examined by applying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).
We performed CFA for the individual constructs in the first stage and the data provided a
good fit for all of them (TM, P-O fit, job satisfaction and OCBs). We examined the fit of the
model with the use of multiple indices as it is possible for a model to be adequate on one-fit
index but inadequate on many others (Hair et al., 2010). Hence, we used the χ2 test (with critical
insignificant level, pW0.05), the normed χ2 ratio (with critical level not more than 3 or at most
5), the GFI, CFI, TLI and IFI (with critical level not lower than 0.90) and the RMSEA
(with critical level not more than 0.08) (Hair et al., 2010). The result of the measurement is given
as follows: χ2¼ 219.891, df¼ 113, p¼ 0.000, χ2/df¼ 1.946, GFI¼ 904, CFI¼ 0.957, IFI¼ 0.957,
TLI¼ 0.948 and RMSEA¼ 0.064. All the loadings are high (0.623-0.980) and fall within the
accepted range (⩾0.50) while all the path estimates are significant ( po0.001) (Hair et al., 2010).
We examined the internal consistency by evaluating the computed Cronbach alphas which
shows that the instruments are reliable as all Cronbach alphas are much higher than
70 per cent. The average variance extracted (AVE) values are higher than 50 per cent
indicating acceptable survey instrument while the calculated composite reliability scores also Testing the
indicated that the degree of construct reliability is acceptable (Hair et al., 2010). mediation
Discriminant validity was examined by comparing the square root of each factor’s AVE effect of P-O fit
with the correlation estimates between constructs. Table II shows that the correlation
coefficients are significantly different from unity, and are smaller than the square root of
each factor’s AVE, providing evidence for separate constructs. Again, the correlation
coefficients among the constructs do not exceed 80 per cent, indicating that multicollinearity 327
does not appear to be a problem (Hair et al., 2010). Finally, we assessed common method bias
by using Harman’s (1967) single factor test. After performing this test, we found that the
simultaneous loading of all the 25 items in a factor analysis revealed 9 factors with
eigenvalues greater than 1.0. While the 9 factors accounted for 61.2 per cent, the first factor
accounted for only 10.8 per cent of the total variance explained, indicating that the common
method bias is unlikely in the data (Podsakoff et al., 2003).
4.2 Structural model evaluation
The conceptual model as provided in Figure 1 shows that TM has direct as well as indirect
effects (via P-O fit) on both job satisfaction and OCBs. Thus, we argue that P-O fit mediates
the relationship between TM and both job satisfaction and OCBs. The result of the
structural model is as follows: χ2¼ 236.5, df¼ 114, p¼ 0.000, χ2/df¼ 2.075, GFI¼ 0.895,
CFI¼ 0.947, IFI¼ 0.947, TLI¼ 0.936 and RMSEA¼ 0.068, providing evidence of good fit.
In our model, TM and P-O fit account for 46.5 per cent of the variance of job satisfaction
(R2¼ 0.465) and 27.1 per cent of the variance of OCBs (R2¼ 0.271). Again, TM accounts for
11.0 per cent of the variance in P-O fit (R2¼ 0.110). The predictions of all the direct
hypotheses were supported by the structural model. Thus, TM had significant positive
effects on talented employees’ job satisfaction ( β¼ 0.161, po0.001) and OCBs
( β¼ 0.283, po0.001). Also, TM had significant positive effect on P-O fit ( β¼ 0.330,
po0.001) which, in turn, had significant positive effect on talented employees’ job
satisfaction ( β¼ 0.438, po0.001) and OCBs ( β¼ 0.209, po0.001). The findings therefore
suggest that TM practices have positive influences on talented employees’ attitudes and
also help create P-O fit.
Constructs α AVE Mean (SD) Composite reliability 1 2 3 4
1. P-O fit 0.89 0.59 3.73 (1.22) 0.89 (0.77)
2. OCBs 0.86 0.55 3.51 (1.55) 0.85 0.29 (0.74) Table II.
3. Satisfaction 0.87 0.78 3.82 (1.61) 0.91 0.48 0.33 (0.88) Consistency and
4. TM 0.86 0.56 3.44 (1.01) 0.86 0.33 0.34 0.29 (0.75) reliability measures,
Notes: Diagonal figures in parentheses represent square root of AVE. Sub-diagonal entries are the latent and inter-correlation
construct inter-correlations. All inter-correlation coefficients are significant at po0.001 for all the variables
0.161***
Satisfaction
0.438***
0.330***
TM P-O fit
0.209***
OCB
0.283*** Figure 1.
Note: ***p<0.001 Conceptual model
IJM 4.3 Test of mediation effects
39,2 Figure 1 shows that P-O fit mediates the relationship between TM and both job satisfaction
and OCBs. To test whether P-O fit partially mediated the relationship between TM and both
job satisfaction and OCBs, we compared the fit of two different models. The first model did
not include a direct path between TM and both job satisfaction and OCBs, indicating a full
mediation, while the second model included a direct path suggesting partial mediation.
328 The results for the full-mediation model demonstrated a poor fit ( χ
2¼ 236.5, df¼ 114,
p¼ 0.000, χ2/df¼ 2.075, GFI¼ 0.894, CFI¼ 0.884, IFI¼ 0.960, TLI¼ 0.896 and
RMSEA¼ 0.058), while the partial mediation model demonstrated a good model fit and a
significantly better fit than the full-mediation model ( χ2¼ 236.5, df¼ 114, p¼ 0.000,
χ2/df¼ 2.075, GFI¼ 0.895, CFI¼ 0.947, IFI¼ 0.947, TLI¼ 0.936 and RMSEA¼ 0.068).
Thus, our results support a partial mediation model. Consequently, H6 and H7 were
supported. We used the Sobel test with bootstrap standard errors to examine the significant
of the mediation effect of P-O fit on the relationship between TM and both job satisfaction
and OCBs (Hayes and Preacher, 2010). We used a bootstrapped based on 1,000 re-sampling
because the Sobel test requires large sample size (Hayes and Preacher, 2010). Using the
Sobel online calculator, the results showed that P-O fit mediated the relationship between
TM and both talented employees’ job satisfaction (Sobel test¼ 3.382, po0.001) and OCBs
(Sobel test¼ 2.415, po0.001).
4.4 Control variables
We controlled for gender, education and experience on P-O fit, job satisfaction and OCBs.
However, there were no significant differences among the respondents in terms of gender,
education and experience.
5. Discussion
5.1 Theoretical implications
The purpose of this study was to test the mediating effect of P-O fit on the relationship
between TM and both talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs. Thus, the
mechanisms through which TM leads to talented employee outcomes have received little
empirical research (Thunnissen, 2016). This therefore limits our understanding of why TM
leads to such outcomes. This study therefore addressed this gap by examining the
mediating effect of P-O on the relationship between TM and both talented employees’ job
satisfaction and OCBs. The findings showed that TM had significant positive direct and
indirect effects on talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs through P-O fit. This study
contributes to the TM literature by establishing an innovative link between TM and P-O fit.
Thus, P-O fit may be valuable in explaining the relationship between TM practices and
positive employee outcomes. This means that both TM and P-O fit are effective in
explaining and predicting talented employees’ outcomes of job satisfaction and OCB.
The findings of this study are also consistent with the argument that achieving congruence
between the values and goals of employees and their organisations (i.e. P-O fit) is an important
factor in determining employee attitudes and behaviours (Cable and Judge, 1997;
Carless, 2005). Thus, when talented employees sense that there is a close fit between their
values and goals and those of their organisation, they will be more satisfied with their
jobs and more willing to display citizenship behaviours. Even though, this study is specific to
the Ghanaian banking sector, previous studies (e.g. Lauver and Kristof-Brown, 2001;
Narayanan and Sekar, 2009) have also confirmed a relationship between P-O fit and job
satisfaction and OCBs. This is because the compatibility between the characteristics of
employees and their organisations helps to increase job satisfaction and perform OCBs.
Consequently, this finding is consistent with the underlying principle of the ASA framework.
Therefore, both TM and P-O fit are influential predictors of talented employees’ job Testing the
satisfaction and OCBs in the Ghanaian banking sector. mediation
Many scholars have highlighted the need to examine TM in different contexts effect of P-O fit
(Vaiman et al., 2012; Thunnissen et al., 2013; Gallardo-Gallardo and Thunnissen, 2016).
This study addressed this lacuna by examining the effects of TM on talented employees’
job satisfaction and OCBs through the mediating role of P-O fit. Generally, the findings are
consistent with those in western context (e.g. Bjorkman et al., 2013; Gelens et al., 2015; 329
Luna-Arocas and Morley, 2015) indicating that the effects of TM are not confined to
Anglo-Saxon countries but are evident in the Ghanaian banking sector as well. This is,
however, not surprising as the Ghanaian banking sector has an Anglo-Saxon background.
Thus, the findings provide additional support for the positive effects of TM on both
talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs in the Ghanaian banking sector. These
findings from Ghana are significant because they do not only serve as lessons to other
emerging economies but also help organisations to use TM to achieve congruence between
their goals and values and that of talented employees.
With respect to the mediating effect of P-O fit on the relationship between TM and both
talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs, the results show that P-O fit partially
mediates this relationship. Thus, TM helps orient talented employees to their organisational
values and goals, which, in turn, shape their satisfaction and OCBs. The paper makes a
contribution to the TM literature by exploring both empirically and theoretically how the
congruence (P-O fit) between the values and goals of organisations and that of talented
employees influences their work outcomes. Indeed, this will help increase the international
breadth of empirical research on the link between TM and talented employees’ outcomes.
5.2 Managerial implications
The findings of this study show that TM does not only have a direct positive effect, but also
an indirect positive effect on both talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs through
their influence on P-O fit. This means that both TM and P-O fit are important independent
variables in explaining talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs. Management and
organisations should adopt TM practices that enhances talented employees’ P-O fit. This,
according to the current study, should facilitate talented employees’ P-O fit, which will, in
turn, benefit organisations through greater talented employee satisfaction and enthusiasm
to exhibit OCBs. To make TM beneficial, HR managers in the Ghanaian banking sector
should align talented employee’s competences, values and goals to those of their banks.
Thus, organisations gain when they align talented employees’ behaviours and actions to the
goals of the organisation.
To achieve congruence between their organisation and individuals, managers have to
take note of the following issues. First, they must put in place an effective TM system that
helps them to source, screen and select employees with the right knowledge, skills and
experiences. Second, they should implement an on-boarding system that will quickly help to
immerse employees into the organisation’s cultural values, thereby achieving fit. Third, once
the right employees are on-board, they should be deployed in a way that will continuously
develop their skills, knowledge and experiences, and match their career interests and
competencies with the short- and long-term needs of the organisation. These actions are
aimed at ensuring congruence between employee and organisational values in order to
achieve employee satisfaction and OCBs.
Talented employees should be provided with more autonomy and opportunities to
participate in strategic planning and goal setting with the purpose of aligning their goals
and those of the banks. Management should continuously communicate organisational
values and goals to talented employees. In other words, to facilitate fit between talented
employees and the Ghanaian banks, managers should provide talented employees
IJM information about the culture and values of their banks during recruitment and selection in
39,2 order for them to assess whether the bank is likely to fit well with their own personal values.
From this study, it could be argued that TM is not only beneficial to western organisations,
but have positive effects on employee work attitudes when applied in the Ghanaian banking
sector. Despite the growth of TM in recent years, there is still a paucity of TM research in
Ghana. Therefore, the findings of this study will offer an encouraging ground on which to
330 conduct further TM research in Ghana.
Finally, putting in place TM practices requires major shifts in HR practices which require
strong support from top management. Therefore, top management has to prioritise TM
practices along with common HRM functions. This requires top management to have a
talented mindset as this will help to attract talented employees whose values and goals are
similar to that of their organisation.
5.3 Limitations and further research
The findings of this study should be interpreted by taking into consideration a number of
limitations. First, the study used cross-sectional data and therefore conclusions regarding
casualty cannot be assumed but rather the findings must be interpreted as associations.
Second, the data for this study were collected from talented employees in the Ghanaian
banking sector with the use of a simple random sampling. Therefore, the findings of this
study cannot be generalised to the Ghanaian context as a whole. Further research can be
conducted across other public and private sector organisations in Ghana. Second,
respondents in our study scored high on mean for all the items. This has implications for the
generalisability of our findings as the results could have been different if the sample scored
low or moderate on all or some of the items.
Again, this study examined talented employees’ job satisfaction and OCBs.
Other variables such as job performance, quit intentions and organisational
commitment can be used in order to confirm whether the positive findings reported in
this study are replicable across a range of employee outcomes. Finally, our data came from
a single source – self-report and subjective measures of all the variables. Self-report has
been criticised to have biases relating to order, bias in inflating results and concerns about
the common method variance. However, Howard (1994) has downplayed the concerns in
self-report. Further studies can use data either from superiors or co-workers or multiple
raters, and archival data. Lastly, this study concentrated on P-O fit. Future research
should add person-job fit to the model.
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About the authors
Dr James Kwame Mensah is a Lecturer at the Department of Business Administration, University of
Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana. He received a PhD in Development Administration from GSPA,
National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand. His research interests include public
management, talent management, development management, local economic development, public
policy and green industrialisation. Dr Mensah has published in peer-reviewed journals including
Management Research Review, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management,
International Review of Administrative Sciences and Development Southern Africa. Dr James Kwame
Mensah is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: mensjam@gmail.com
Professor Justice Nyigmah Bawole is an Associate Professor and the Head in the Department of
Public Administration and Health Services Management, University of Ghana Business School,
Accra, Ghana. He received a PhD in Development Policy and Management from IDPM, University of
Manchester, UK. His research interests include public sector performance management, sustainable
development and NGOs. Dr Bawole has published widely in reputable journals including
International Journal of Public Administration, Voluntas, International Review of Administrative
Sciences and Public Organisation Review.
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