Impression Management on Instagram and Unethical Behavior: The Role of Gender and Social Media Fatigue

Esraa Al-Shatti (), Marc Ohana, Philippe Odou and Michel Zaitouni
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Esraa Al-Shatti: College of Business Administration, Gulf University for Science & Technology, West Mishref, Hawally 32093, Kuwait
Marc Ohana: Sustainability Centre of Excellence, Kedge Business School Bordeaux, 33405 Talence, France
Philippe Odou: UFR Sciences économiques et Gestion, University De Champagne Ardenne, 51571 Reims, France
Michel Zaitouni: College of Business Administration, Gulf University for Science & Technology, West Mishref, Hawally 32093, Kuwait

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: Impression management (IM) concerns can lead to significant psychological consequences, potentially engendering unethical behavior. Therefore, adopting the stressor–strain–outcome framework, this study explores the effects of IM concerns on unethical behavior through wellbeing, and whether IM on social media (i.e., Instagram) triggers fatigue and results in unethical behavior at work. The findings of two empirical studies (n = 480 and n = 299) in different settings (Kuwait and the UK) suggest that women experience higher effects from IM concerns compared with men in Kuwait, while no gender differences are found in the UK. The results also confirm that impression management on social media platforms triggers fatigue, in turn increasing unethical behavior at work. This study contributes to the IM literature by capturing the effect of Instagram activities on workplace behavior.

Keywords: impression management concerns; wellbeing; social media fatigue; unethical behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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