2024 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 47-55
This study discusses the micro-organizational theory of “person–organization (P–O) fit and misfit” to reflect on the decline of Japan’s innovativeness and on-site capability during its “lost 30 years.” Japanese human resource management is typified by forming an internal labor market based on the one-time hiring of new graduates and lifetime employment, which strongly requires individuals to conform to the organization. However, if this case becomes excessive, homogeneity will intensify, resulting in innovation being undermined. Furthermore, when an organization lags behind the changes of the external environment, individuals will have difficulty adapting to the external environment together. This phenomenon will lead to a loss in the value of the external labor market and a decline in the up-to-date on-site capability. When individuals try to adapt to the external environment independently, they will feel misfit against the organization, which is heavy and slow-moving toward the change. This study examines the effects of individuals speaking out to the organization, starting from misfits, on dynamics between the person and organization.
