College of Business

Purpose – The purpose of these studies was to investigate how the repeated use of impression
management (IM) tactics are related to supervisor perceptions in newly formed supervisorsubordinate
dyads.
Design/methodology/approach – Two studies were conducted—a lab study in which
participants evaluated a confederate who performed an accounting task while using different
types of IM across five trials, and a field study examining the IM tactics of new employees and
their supervisors’ ratings of likability and performance at two points in time.
Findings – In the lab study, the repeated use of ingratiation had an increasingly positive effect
on performance ratings, whereas repeated apologies had an increasingly negative effect on
evaluations of performance. The influence of IM tactics on ratings of subordinate likability, did
not change with repeated use. In the field study, subordinates’ use of apologies and justifications
was more strongly associated with supervisor evaluations of likability and performance in earlier
stages of their relationship.
Practical Implications – Employees need to be mindful that IM tactics may vary in their
effectiveness depending on the timing and frequency of their use. Furthermore, supervisors
should consider the initial influence that IM has on their ability to objectively evaluate new
subordinates.
Originality/value – This research is unique in that it examined how the repeated use of both
assertive (i.e., ingratiation and self-promotion) and defensive (i.e., apologies and justifications)
IM tactics are related to both evaluations of likability and performance ratings at multiple points
in time.