Impression management (IM) behaviors, im culture, and job outcomes

Impression management (IM) has been shown to have positive associations with desired career outcomes. However, these studies have focused on a relatively small number of consequences and almost exclusively examined IM behaviors. This study examines the impact of two forms of IM behaviors (exemplification and intimidation), organizational IM cultural norms, and the interactions of these IM behaviors and culture on the outcomes of job satisfaction, burnout, and job strains. The authors investigate these relationships in a sample of 319 human resource employees from Brazil. The findings revealed that exemplification behaviors and intimidation behaviors and cultures were significantly related to burnout and job strains. Additionally, the interactions between the same IM behavior and culture (i.e., exemplification behavior and exemplification culture) were related to all three outcomes for exemplification, but only job satisfaction for intimidation. Practical applications, limitations, and directions for future research are offered.