Transcultural validation of the perceived person-environment fit scale in a French context

Our aim was to test the transcultural validity of the multidimensional model and measure of person-environment fit (PE-fit) of Chuang et al. (2016) in a French context. This approach differentiates four types of PE-fit: person-job fit, person-organization fit, person-group fit and person-supervisor fit. Studies analyzing jointly their effects on job-outcomes are scarce and have generally used different scales that were not derived from the same validation procedures. One exception is the Perceived Person-Environment Fit Scale (PPEFS). However, it has only been used on non-European samples. Thus, the transcultural validity of the PPEFS and its underlying model are currently insufficiently evidenced. After application of recommended transcultural validation procedures (blind translation/back-translation, verification of content-validity, item-clarity and cross-language equivalence with bilingual experts and employees), 571 French participants from diverse occupational sectors participated in a survey including measures of burnout, job satisfaction, turnover intention and the PPEFS. Confirmatory factor analyses replicate the expected superordinate multifactor-structure. Furthermore, each PE-fit dimension was distinctively associated with at least one of the job outcomes (positively with job satisfaction and professional self-efficacy, negatively with emotional exhaustion, cynicism and turnover intention), providing external-validity to their distinction.