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Impression management and overclaiming on job applications: Related to future sales performance?
Author(s) -
Watts Logan L.,
Kuzmich Irina,
Leung Desmond W.,
Gibson Carter,
Barsa Andrew
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of selection and assessment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.812
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1468-2389
pISSN - 0965-075X
DOI - 10.1111/ijsa.12310
Subject(s) - impression management , psychology , job performance , scale (ratio) , sample (material) , marketing , personnel selection , job analysis , job attitude , personality , applied psychology , social psychology , business , job satisfaction , management , chemistry , physics , chromatography , quantum mechanics , economics
Abstract Despite decades of research on the role of socially desirable responding (SDR) in hiring contexts, it remains unclear whether job applicant SDR is related to future employee performance. Drawing on a large sample of 1,084 retail sales employees and their original job application data, this study examined the predictive validity of two operationalizations of SDR: (a) impression management captured using a personality scale and (b) overclaiming familiarity with a list of products that were directly relevant to the job. Neither measure was used to inform the hiring decisions. Results showed that job applicant impression management and overclaiming were unrelated to four indicators of future sales performance as employees. Implications for organizational selection policies involving applicant SDR are discussed.