Purpose – the main purpose of this article is to remove vacancy in the knowledge of person-environment fit theory and discover whether this theory can be applied to service workers in little towns in such countries as Malaysia and other developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach – research is supported by reliable evidence, which was obtained by distributing questionnaires adapted from items in the Diagnostic Job survey among one hundred responders working in a government department in a small town called Gua Musang in Peninsular Malaysia. Satisfaction with the job was measured using the Job Descriptive Index.
Findings – as a result of this research, some evidence supporting the S-V fit theory was obtained. This result was achieved by analyzing the data obtained from the questionnaires. They showed that the greater was dissidence between values of work quantity power and responsibility, the lesser became satisfaction. Results also show that if officials of a company want their workers to show better results, be more effective, and be more satisfied with their work, they should guarantee that these workers will able to achieve a better S-V fit.
Research limitations/implications – one hundred respondents are not enough to make a conclusion about the general tendencies of these processes in the world, as statistically, it does not compose a great part of the targeted audience.
Practical social implications – the following research provides a good way to improve the level of satisfaction of workers of a company by suggesting investigation connected with the facts which have a big influence on its level. Some regularities of the interdependence of satisfaction and outer factors are also outlined.
Originality/value – Investigations in these spheres have already been made. However, their main purpose was of another nature. The main advantage of this work is that it is trying to fulfill the gap which existed in this field of knowledge. The originality of this research lies in the fact that it managed to combine two different approaches to this issue, trying to find missing connections, providing research that is based on reliable evidence. That is why this study fills the gap which exists because of the absence of investigation, which combined effects of a discrepancy between received and desirable levels of responsibility and concentration which is needed to do a job.
Keywords – S-V fit, discrepancy, satisfaction, concentration, work, quantity, power, service workers, developed countries, investigation
Critique (positive) – This is the first study that combines two different approaches in one work and tries to investigate and enlarge knowledge in this sphere. Moreover, conclusions given after the main research can provide a further study of this question and at the same time help to answer existing questions about workers satisfaction and help to increase its level. It gives some pieces of advice on how to raise the level of satisfaction. That is why its practical utility makes it very important and interesting. Moreover, the author is going to continue his researches, that is why this one is appreciated as the beginning of a cycle.
Critique (negative) – the main drawback of this work is the relatively small amount of respondents as in terms of statistics, it is very difficult to make a definite conclusion basing on the results of one hundred respondents. That is why it is very difficult to speak about the universal applicability of this research.