Largely what is known about P-O Fit stems from research conducted in business organizations. Surprisingly with such an important position as a college or university president, P-O Fit has not been empirically studied in the presidential selection process, much less from the perspective of the executive search firms that conduct these searches. This qualitative case study sought to determine to what extent executive search firms that specialize in presidential searches in higher education considered and used the concept and characteristics of P-O Fit, which included the components of organizational culture, in the selection process of public and private college and university presidents. This study uncovered three essential findings in the executive search firm process: shifting role boundaries, traditional role expectations, and limitations due to tradition. Deficiencies in the search process are mostly due to the search firms lacking development and advancement of P-O Fit components in their traditional search practice, ambiguity of P-O Fit, and the search committee's lack of understanding and relevance of P-O Fit in the presidential search process. Limitations due to traditional norms underscore the opportunities for the inclusion of socialization, leadership fit, and improved communication of P-O Fit information to improve upon the normative presidential search process. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]