Sustainability 2022, 14, 16567. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416567 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Article Interactive Effects of Person–Group Fit and Team-Member Exchange in Predicting Continuous Improvement Linyuan Zhang 1 , Jee Young Seong 2, * and Doo-Seung Hong 3 1 Society and Law School, Shandong Women’s University, Jinan 250300, China 2 Department of Business Administration, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea 3 Department of Sociology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea * Correspondence: sjylyk@jbnu.ac.kr Abstract: This study presents a research model that describes how person–group (PG) fit affects continuous improvement (CI). Using the dyadic survey data from a public sector firm in Korea (N = 113), the study found that the relationships between PG fit and CI are moderated by team bound- ary conditions such as team-member exchange (TMX). The results revealed that a high level of TMX induces the negative effect of value fit on CI, whereas it strengthens the positive impact of ability fit on CI. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed. Keywords: person–group (PG) fit; value fit; ability fit; continuous improvement; team-member ex- change (TMX) 1. Introduction Continuous improvement (CI), i.e., the progressive improvement that involves every employee, has been believed as an appropriate strategy for operating business organiza- tions in harsh environments of constant and pervasive change [1]. Prior research has ex- plored enhancing the implementation level of CI for proper and sufficient utilization by identifying the barriers to CI [2,3]. CI indicates “a culture of sustained improvement tar- geting the elimination of waste in all systems and processes of an organization” (p. 761) [4]. During the last decade, CI has attracted wide attention in management research de- spite unsuccessful attempts at CI [2,5,6]. One of the factors affecting CI is person–group (PG) fit, which has potential worth in further research. PG fit is defined as the compatibility or congruence between a person and their group environment, which includes other members and group tasks [7,8]. Am- ple theoretical and empirical evidence suggests the multiple dimensions of person–group (PG) fit [9,10]. However, topics on PG fit at multiple dimensions are still under-re- searched. The decision of which dimensions to measure depends on the mechanism of similarity and attraction or social identity and need-fulfillment to be invoked and pre- dicted outcomes. We introduce supplementary and complementary fit to explain the working mechanism of PG fit better. Supplementary fit starts with a person “supplements, embellishes, or possesses characteristics similar to other individuals in this environment" (p. 269) [11]. Alternatively, complementary fit occurs when a “weakness or need of the environment is offset by the strength of the individual, and vice versa” (p. 271) [11]. The common forms of supplementary fit (e.g., values and personality) are strongly associated with affective outcomes, whereas complementary fit (e.g., ability) shows stronger rela- tionships with task performance [12,13]. Recently, Seong and Choi (2021) investigated the interactive effect of PG value and ability fit on creativity at multiple levels [14]. They found that the compensatory effect of value and ability fit predicts employee creativity at the individual level, while the additive effect at the group level affects group creativity. This further emphasizes the necessity and Citation: Zhang, L.Y.; Seong, J.Y.; Hong, D.-S. Interactive Effects of Person–Group Fit and Team- Member Exchange in Predicting Continuous Improvement. Sustainability 2022, 14, 16567. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416567 Received: 8 November 2022 Accepted: 8 December 2022 Published: 10 December 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu- tral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Li- censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and con- ditions of the Creative Commons At- tribution (CC BY) license (https://cre- ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).