Purpose

Police officer perceptions of their own legitimacy can be important in shaping aspects of their performance and other organizational outcomes. The current study uses person-environment fit theory to assess the effects of value congruence with top managers, immediate supervisors and coworkers on officers' perceptions of self-legitimacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a cross-sectional survey of nearly 250 front-line police officers from seven municipal police departments in Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky to examine the effects of perceived value congruence on officers’ self-legitimacy. A hierarchical model of fit is assessed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Findings demonstrate that value congruence positively relates to officers’ reported self-legitimacy, suggesting that officers who perceive greater similarity in values with others in the organization will express more confidence in their authority.

Originality/value

Our findings add to research on police officers’ self-legitimacy, and the use of a hierarchical model of person-environment fit might offer implications for future research on police culture.

中文翻译：

---

警务人员的自我合法性：组织适应的作用

目的

警官对其自身合法性的认识对于塑造其绩效和其他组织成果方面可能很重要。当前的研究使用人与环境的适应理论来评估与高级管理人员，直属上司和同事的价值一致性对官员的自我合法性观念的影响。

设计/方法/方法

该研究采用了一项横断面调查，来自密歇根州，印第安纳州和肯塔基州的七个市警察局的近250名前线警察，以检验感知到的价值一致性对警员自我合法性的影响。使用结构方程模型评估拟合的层次模型。

发现

调查结果表明，价值一致性与官员所报告的自我合法性成正比，这表明，与组织中其他人在价值观上具有更大相似性的官员将对其权威表达更多的信心。

创意/价值

我们的发现增加了对警官自我合法性的研究，使用人与环境的适应性分层模型可能会为将来对警务文化的研究提供启示。