A Meta-Analysis of Perceived Overqualification: Resource-Based Mechanisms with Cultural Moderators

Perceived overqualification (POQ), the belief that one’s qualifications exceed job requirements, is an increasingly prevalent phenomenon, yet empirical findings regarding its effects remain mixed. Based on Conservation of Resources theory, this meta-analysis of 233 studies (257 samples, N = 89,617) examines how POQ influences work behavior through two competing mechanisms: personal-resource sufficiency and workplace-resource depletion. Results indicate that POQ simultaneously builds personal resources and depletes workplace resources, generating opposing effects on behavior. Personal-resource sufficiency promotes proactive and prosocial behavior and reduces counterproductive work behavior, whereas workplace-resource depletion shows a reversed pattern. Overall, POQ exhibits a positive total effect on proactive and counterproductive work behavior, and a negative total effect on prosocial behavior. In terms of cultural moderation, the positive link between POQ and personal-resource sufficiency is weaker in high-power-distance and high-individualism contexts, whereas the depletion pathway remains invariant. These findings integrate the dual pathways of POQ and clarify the cultural boundary conditions of its effects. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.