Investigating impression management use in asynchronous video interviews across 10 countries

Abstract

This cross-cultural study investigates how interviewees from 10 culturally-distinct countries differ in their use of impression management (IM) tactics in asynchronous video interviews (AVIs), and the relationship(s) between those tactics and interview performance. A total of 582 participants from ten countries (India, Canada, South Africa, Poland, Spain, Iran, Germany, Chile, Philippines, China) completed an 8-question AVI for a mock position as a manager in a bank. We drew upon GLOBE's cultural framework to predict and explain observed differences in self-reported IM use and performance. We used multi-level modeling to test our hypotheses. Interviewees from our ten countries differed slightly in their IM use for various tactics, but IM use was seldom related to GLOBE cultural dimensions. Partially consistent with previous in-person interview research, honest IM tactics (e.g., self promotion) were positively, but deceptive tactics (e.g., extensive image creation) negatively, associated with interview performance. This research is the first to investigate cross-cultural IM differences in AVIs, thus addressing a critical gap in the selection literature at a time when many organizations conduct interviews virtually to save costs, streamline the hiring process, or simply conduct most of their activities remotely.