Impression management, commitment and gender:: Managing others' good opinions

Val Singh and Susan Vinnicombe

European Management Journal, 2001, vol. 19, issue 2, 183-194

Abstract: In an exploratory study of British and Swedish managers' perspectives on the process of signalling high commitment, half said they actively managed the promotion of commitment. They did this through behaviours which could be described as impression management strategies, which differed by gender, males using more work-related strategies and females building closer upward relationships. Some overcame reluctance to promote themselves. Responses were similar from the samples in both countries. An implication for practitioners is that for those who are unaware of the importance of self-promotion, or unwilling to take such actions (and in this study, there were more females than males in this category), this may result in another invisible career barrier. Findings indicate the importance to ambitious managers of visibility of commitment to senior position gatekeepers, which helps to build reputation. Impression management is a valuable tool which, if used well, can enhance the visibility of their true strengths and committed performance.

Keywords: Impression; Management; Gender; Managerial; Professional; Self-promotion; UK; Sweden (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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