Does Person-Organization Fit Mediate the Relationship between Affect-Based Work Antecedents and Public Employee Job Satisfaction?

In this study we investigate whether person-organization fit mediates the relationship between affect-based work antecedents—specifically, transformational leadership and role clarity—and public employee job satisfaction. We hypothesize that transformational leadership and role clarity, as joint affect-based work antecedents, will trigger the effect of value congruence on job satisfaction in public organizations. Using a viewpoint survey of South Korean government officials, we estimate structural equation models to test this hypothesis. Our findings indicate that person-organization fit does mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction. However, we also find that the mediating effect of person-organization fit on the relationship between role clarity and job satisfaction is not significant. This study contributes to our understanding of how affect-based work experiences can influence the person-organization fit and job satisfaction relationship. Implications are discussed accordingly.