The (almost) ubiquitous ASA framework

Ben Schneider’s ASA framework and the associated idea of homogeneity is a theoretical cornerstone on which most organisational person-environment (PE) fit studies are built. However, whilst it is commonly used to justify studies and to explain empirical findings, very few PE fit studies have moved the underlying ASA framework forward. More than 20 years on, the theory remains intact and has barely evolved. This paper begins with a short citation review that illustrates how the ASA framework is used in empirical studies. Following this, the body of the paper explores the reasons why the empirical studies that use the ASA framework as their theoretical underpinning are ineffective in revising Schneider’s ideas. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ASA framework’s rhetorical role and its inappropriateness as a theoretical justification of empirical PE fit studies.