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Impression Management by Information Technology Professionals When Reporting Flow at Work: A Study at the Individual and Team Levels of Occupational Culture

Author

Listed:
  • Pedro Jácome de Moura

    (Department of Business Administration, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051, PB, Brazil)

  • Carlo G. Porto-Bellini

    (Department of Business Administration, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051, PB, Brazil)

  • Eusebio Scornavacca

    (School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA)

Abstract

Information technology (IT) professionals have been depicted as good examples of in-flow individuals and teams. Accordingly, their workplace is acknowledged as ludic and relaxed, while also immersive and productive. The present study discusses evidence of actions effected by IT professionals to institutionalize and reinforce this mostly positive image when they report perceptions about themselves, their cohorts, and their routines at work. The study involves the processing of two datasets of responses given by IT professionals to questionnaires on the state of flow at work concurrently with other phenomena of positive psychology at both the individual and team levels. The datasets included contrasting (positive and negative) attitudinal measures that enabled a statistical discussion on whether IT professionals overestimate the positive aspects of their profession. This study concludes that cognitive dissonance and practices of impression management are likely involved in how IT professionals address flow-related questions to reinforce a positive image at work. Recommendations for scholars and industry researchers involve better questionnaire-crafting techniques to minimize measurement and inference biases, as well as contrasting self-reports with actual behaviors to build stronger indicators of the work climate, the routines, and the mood of IT personnel.

Suggested Citation

  • Pedro Jácome de Moura & Carlo G. Porto-Bellini & Eusebio Scornavacca, 2025. "Impression Management by Information Technology Professionals When Reporting Flow at Work: A Study at the Individual and Team Levels of Occupational Culture," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:5:p:170-:d:1646874
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jonathan Whitaker & Sunil Mithas & Che-Wei Liu, 2019. "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Toward a Contextual Understanding of Compensation of Information Technology Professionals Within and Across Geographies," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 892-911, September.
    2. Nishtha Langer & Tarun Jain, 2024. "Peer Influence and IT Career Choice," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 35(2), pages 642-656, June.
    3. Fisher, Robert J, 1993. "Social Desirability Bias and the Validity of Indirect Questioning," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(2), pages 303-315, September.
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