Action-State Orientation: a Question of Fit?

Running head: ACTION-STATE ORIENTATION ON P-S FIT

The Action vs. State Orientation of Subordinate-Supervisor Dyads: A Question of Fit?

Thesis subscribed for the degree of master Personnel Management, Work and Organizational Psychology Dissertation Promoter: Dr. Ronald Bledow Academic year 2011-2012, Ghent University

Suzanne Mulier

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CLAUSE

Permission I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the contents of this thesis may be consulted and/or reproduced provided that the source is acknowledged. - Suzanne Mulier

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ABSTRACT

The framework of person-environment fit has been around for decades. One outgrowth of this major field of research is person-supervisor fit. The concept suggests that alignment between the characteristics of the supervisor and the employee lead to multiple, beneficiary outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate if and how self-regulatory processes establish fit between the supervisor and subordinate. Self-regulation, in the form of action vs. state orientation has recently been introduced into the work-related context and is worth digging into above and beyond the clinical setting. In order to fully understand the impact of dyadic fit concerning self-regulation, in the form of action vs. state orientation, two opposites ways of thinking about fit, namely supplementary and complementary fit are contrasted and scrutinized. Supplementary fit finds its justification within the similarity-attraction paradigm, while complementary fit refers back to the dominancecomplementarity hypothesis. This study shows that both of these theories hold some truth. A better dyadic fit is described as higher leader-member exchange and a better overall performance of the subordinate. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis on the data of 217 subordinates and 76 supervisors from both Belgium and Germany supports the insight that both equals and opposites...