I n this paper, we attempt to reconcile contingency and institutional fit approaches concerning the organization-environment relationship. Whereas prior scholarly research has examined both theories and compared their impacts on organizational fit and performance, we lay the groundwork for a metafit approach by investigating how contingency and institutional fit interact to influence firm performance. We test our theoretical framework using a data set of 3,259 respondents from 1,904 companies, examining task environmental demands and institutional demands on organizational design across a broad range of industries and firm size classes. Our results show that contingency and institutional fit provide complementary and interdependent explanations of firm performance. Importantly, our findings indicate that for firms under conditions of "quasi fit" rather than perfect contingency fit or optimal institutional fit, improvements in contingency and/or institutional fit will result in better performance. However, firms with high contingency fit are less vulnerable to deviation from institutional fit in the formation of firm performance, whereas firms with perfect institutional fit will slightly decrease their performance when they strive to achieve contingency fit.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of managerial flexibility and analyse its relationship to the organizational responsiveness of firms. This paper seeks to measure responsiveness by determining the fit between contextual and organizational variables. Design/methodology/approach -Using an empirical approach and data drawn from a wide range of countries and different industries this paper obtains a sufficiently validated multidimensional scale. Findings -The research proposes a measurement scale of organizational responsiveness through four types of managerial flexibility: internal and external, structural and strategic. Practical implications -Whereas researchers can benefit from the development of a methodology that integrates different perspectives on fit, practitioners can identify the organizational responsiveness in their organizations. Originality/value -This paper contributes to the literature by proposing a method to identify the organizational responsiveness of firms and developing a measurement scale.

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