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This study aims to explore a rarely studied form of person–organization fit, perceptual fit, which captures the accuracy of an employee’s understanding of their organization’s culture. The managerial antecedents of perceptual fit were explored to increase understanding about how employees learn their organizational culture and the role that managers play in that process. In addition, the behavioural and attitudinal consequences of perceptual fit were examined to gain a deeper appreciation for the impact of misunderstanding one’s organizational culture on work attitudes and cognitions.

Survey tools were used to measure multiple workplace cognitions, attitudes and values from employees of three small health-care organizations. Organizational culture was measured for each organization so that perceptual fit could be ascertained, which represents an accuracy score of each individual’s comprehension of their organization’s culture. Regression analyses measured the hypothesized associations between perceptual fit and its proposed antecedents and consequences.

The results suggest that leader–member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) are both positively associated with perceptual fit. In terms of the outcomes of perceptual fit, the regression analyses provide support for an association between perceptual fit and psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

This study contributes to the literature by exploring how employees come to understand their organization’s culture, and the consequences of differing levels of understanding (i.e. perceptual fit). The study results suggest that managerial action such as LMX and POS can enhance the chances that an employee is able to understand their organization’s culture accurately. Furthermore, this research adds to our understanding of the individual consequences of understanding one’s organizational culture by providing evidence that psychological empowerment is associated with perceptual fit.

This study seeks to explore the value of using brand alliances, or co‐branding strategies, to influence consumer perceptions of new brand extensions under circumstances where the firm (parent brand) introduces new products that will be targeted to product categories within which the parent brand has a low initial degree of perceptual fit.

Data were collected through a four‐stage questionnaire administered to 308 subjects. Hypotheses were explored through a four‐level single factor between subjects experimental design.

Analyses suggest that by partnering with brands possessing higher perceived degrees of fit in the extension category (i.e. co‐brand), parent firms' brands can achieve more favorable positions for their extensions than could be realized if firms acted independently. Explained variance in perceptions of the extension increased substantially when perceptions of co‐ and parent‐brand fit were considered. Fit between the co‐brand and the new extension product apparently should be the driving factor in selecting best partnering brands for alliances. Fit between parent and partner brands may take a back seat when forming alliances.

Current co‐branding research typically addresses the ability of brand alliances to improve perceptions of new products bearing the names of both co‐joined brands. “Perceptual fit” and brand attitudes are major constructs thought to influence the ability of brand alliances to achieve this goal. Specifically, in co‐branding applications, perceptual fit is usually conceptualized as the fit between co‐joined brands themselves, rather than fit between each co‐joined brand and the proposed new product for which both has been combined to launch. The paper's original argument is that when one brand (parent or host brand) seeks to co‐brand for purposes of improving its ability to penetrate an untested new product category, fit should be treated from a more traditional brand extension perspective. This argument is supported.

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) has often been utilised in retail store positioning and repositioning research. However, MDS results constrain store movement to existing perceptual dimensions. This work indicates that an assessment of higher level preference functions should be conducted before utilising MDS results in store positioning. Despite this limitation, the ability of MDS to reveal current perceptual criteria means that it can serve as a very useful diagnostic. In this regard, MDS can be utilised to determine if a new dimension has emerged from a given positioning, or whether consumers have changed the salience of their perceptual criteria, as a result of a positioning. It can also reveal if a referent store has moved in the appropriate direction (e.g. away from competitors and towards a gap that evidences utility).

Focusing on symbolic brands, this paper aims to re-test whether perceived â€∼fit’ between the personality of the parent brand, and the brand extension causes consumers to the feel increased affect towards the brand extension. The contention is that high brand personality fit causes consumers to like the brand extension more because, like the parent brand, consumers can use the brand extension to maintain and project a desirable self-identity. This relationship is obscured because consumers process brand personality fit as part of the overall brand image fit; therefore, the potential mediating role of brand image is tested. Consumers differ in their self-monitoring disposition as well, which may explain differences in response to perceived personality fit. Therefore, the potential moderating role of self-monitoring is tested.

Using an experimental design, respondents viewed an advertisement for a brand extension that showed either congruent, moderately incongruent or incongruent personality fit with the parent brand. This was completed for four symbolic brands: two watch brands and two motor vehicle brands.

The results indicate that brand personality fit between the brand extension and the parent brand is causally related to affect felt towards the brand extension, but that this relationship is fully mediated by image fit for the BMW brand and partially mediated for Volkswagen Beetle, Omega and Swatch. For BMW and Swatch, the relationship between the independent variable personality fit and the mediator variable image fit is positively moderated by the self-monitoring disposition of the consumer.

The implication is that, while marketers can communicate a wide range of attributes when advertising brand extensions, marketers of symbolic brands should clearly demonstrate brand personality fit as an important component of brand image fit. This is even more important for consumers with a high self-monitoring disposition.

The study conclusively tests the importance of personality fit for symbolic brands, the mediating role of brand image and the interaction effect of self-monitoring on personality fit. These findings contribute to the research literature and help marketers to manage the level of personality fit that should be emphasized in their marketing communications.

The study aims to understand the signaling effects of two major recruitment advertisement (ad) contents – job attributes and organizational attributes (OA) – on the perceptions and application intentions (AIs) of potential job seekers.

A fictitious faculty job ad based on existing real ads was created as a stimulus and the responses to the ad were collected from 270 job seekers of the academic domain in India. The partial least square-structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothetical relationships.

Drawing from the concept of signaling theory and instrumental-symbolic framework, the results revealed that job attributes and OA exhibit strong signals that generate the following perceptual outcomes in a job seeker – organizational attractiveness, attitude and person-organization fit. These perceptual outcomes mediated effectively to induce an AI in a job seeker. Signals from information on job attributes had a more significant effect on the job seeker than signals from information on OA.

The outcome of the study provides preparatory guidelines to academicians, institutional recruiters and recruitment agencies in posting an effective job ad.

From an Indian context, this is the first paper to present distinctive job advertising strategies to be implemented in the academic institutional recruitment communication.

Companies are increasingly incorporating support for social causes in advertising to improve brand image and increase sales, but it is unclear how these behaviours influence purchase intentions. This paper aims to analyse this relationship from a strategic perspective to assess whether the degree of fit of any of the five strategic dimensions that Zdravkovic et al. (2010) propose influence purchase intentions synergistically.

This study includes two stages: a qualitative stage to build brand–cause relationships and a quantitative study of one of these relationships to examine which fit dimensions are involved and whether they generate synergy in purchase intentions.

Results demonstrate that adjustment to two of the five dimensions is sufficient to influence emotional responses positively.

This study presents limitations, as it has been developed using a particular sample of university students.

These analyses provide tools for managers to verify which types of strategic fit operate in this relationship and facilitate co-branding planning to achieve financial goals.

The analysis provides tools for managers to verify which types of strategic fit operate in this relationship and facilitate co-branding planning to achieve financial goals.

The study aims to discuss how the attributes of Chinese tea beverage brands influence consumers' evaluations of brand positioning and the differences and competition among brands.

A perceptual map, developed using probabilistic discriminant analysis algorithms, depicts the relative position of each brand and illustrates their attractive properties. This statistical technique can enhance managers' ability to identify promising brand positions and enhance the overall brand design process.

The study finds that Chinese tea beverage brands pursue various goals, such as quenching thirst, attractive advertising, or reliable quality, to develop their positions. Brand positioning implies that consumers remember particular information conveyed by the brand. The study illustrates consumers' brand awareness attributes, potential market demand, and brand competition conditions.

Brand positioning, when linked with market segmentation, can yield effective guidelines for the design and coordination of a marketing strategy. The scope of this study, however, does not enable elaboration on segmented differences in product positioning.

The study provides a useful source of information for managers, who should introduce brands to the market carefully and deliberately and choose a position that is both appealing and sustainable over time.

The study provides a unique method to understand the current market structure and determine a target brand and its best competitive position.

The purpose of this paper is to decompose the concept of country of origin (COO) and test the influence of country of design (COD) and country of manufacture (COM) on consumer evaluations of bi‐national products (products designed in one country and manufactured in another). In addition to global country images, the paper aims to introduce the concept of “fit” or the logical connection between product categories and the COD or COM.

Relationships between constructs (perceived product quality, COD image, COM image and perceived fits) are hypothesized and data are collected via survey on the Tunisian market. Each of the 389 respondents evaluated different combinations (COD/COM) for two product categories (automobiles and television sets). All hypotheses are tested using multiple regression analysis.

The paper finds that the concept of fit between country image (both COD and COM) and product category is an important determinant of product evaluations. For products with status symbolic meanings (automobiles), consumers from emerging countries are more sensitive to COD than for more private goods (television sets) for which COM and COM/product fit are important.

This study used two informational cues (COD and COM), and fairly complex durable goods. Results need to be expanded and confirmed with other product categories on other emergent markets.

Practical implications of the study are that, beyond country images, measurement of fit between COD or COM and the product category will help define marketing communications and product promotions by emphasizing (or de‐emphasizing) global country information, country image/product fit, or both.

The paper provides new insights into consumer judgements of product quality for bi‐national products.