Overreward and the impostor phenomenon.

Overreward in the selection process potentially carries serious implications for organizations. Equity theory (Adams, 1963, 1965) proposes that individuals who feel underrewarded or overrewarded will experience tension (e.g., frustration in the case of underreward or guilt in the case of overreward) and will take steps to rectify the inequity. While much literature has been attributed to the study of underreward (e.g., Gilliland, 1993; Greenberg, 1990) and the multiple outcomes that are associated with this type of distributive justice, relatively little attention has been paid to overreward. This could be due to a generalized belief that overreward is not very common since there is a higher threshold of inequity (Miner, 2002; Adams, 1965). This higher threshold implies that overreward inequity will be tolerated more readily than underreward. While some may question the existence of overreward, research in the area of underreporting billable hours for personal satisfaction or to improve performance evaluations indicates that some individuals do feel a sense of and recognize the idea of overreward (Akers and Eaton, 2003). Although this viewpoint may be true, overreward may still cause problems for the employee and employer in the work environment.

Overreward in the selection process occurs when an individual receives an employment offer that exceeds the individual's expectations relative to the perception of his/her qualifications. This distributive injustice in the form of inequity causes feelings of unease within the applicant. Guilt is one potential response to the perceived inequity, and guilt may lead the applicant to reject the employment offer (Mowday, 1996; Miner, 2002; Gilliland, 1993). Alternatively, the offer may be "too good to refuse" and the person may accept the offer even if he/she does not feel it is deserved. If, however, the job is accepted, the individual may experience impostor feelings referred to as the impostor phenomenon (Clance and Imes, 1978). When an employee experiences the impostor phenomenon, he/she feels like an "impostor" or a phony that was mistakenly or accidentally offered the job despite his/ her inadequacies and will eventually be found out.

The impostor phenomenon has been defined as "an internal experience of intellectual phoniness in high achievers who are unable to internalize their successful experiences" (Bernard et al., 2002: 321). The impostor phenomenon generally applies to individuals who are successful by external standards but have a self-perception of personal incompetence (Chrisman et al., 1995; Clance and Imes, 1978). It was first applied to high-achieving women, who regarded themselves as impostors in spite of credentials and achievements indicating otherwise (Clance and Imes, 1978). The impostor phenomenon, or feeling of phoniness, plays an important role in shaping the attitudes and behaviors of the individual within the workplace. As Clance and Imes (1978) expressed, there is a fear within the individual that he/she will be "found out" since the job is not deserved. Thus, the employee will experience increased pressure to perform in order to meet expectations. According to Clance and Imes (1978), individuals who suffer from the impostor phenomenon experience generalized anxiety, a lack of self-confidence, depression, and frustration due to a perceived inability to meet high levels of self-imposed standards.

Research in psychology has validated the impostor phenomenon as a construct distinct from related constructs such as self-esteem, self-monitoring, and social anxiety (Chrisman et al., 1995; Cozzarelli and Major, 1990; Edwards et al., 1987). The impostor phenomenon, as a construct, encompasses (1) feelings of intellectual phoniness, (2) beliefs that individual success is based on luck or hard work rather than ability, (3) lack of confidence in the ability to replicate past successes, (4) fear of evaluation by others, as well as failure, (5) fear that one's incompetence will be discovered, and (6) an inability to take pleasure in one's achievements (Clance and Imes, 1978; September et al., 2001). Studies by Kolligian and Sternberg suggest the impostor phenomenon may involve "a complex interplay of inauthentic ideation, depressive tendencies, self-criticism, social anxiety, high self-monitoring skills, and strong pressures to excel and to achieve" (1991: 323). Ability is often not in question, but rather an individual's skewed perception of ability is in question (Clance and O'Toole, 1988). Kets de Vries (2005) suggests that the source of the impostor phenomenon may be found in dysfunctional families where parents are overinvested in the achievement of their children and in socially disadvantaged families where achievement is inconsistent with family expectations. He proposes that symptoms of a "neurotic" impostor may be a fear of failure or of success, a tendency toward perfectionism, procrastination, and a workaholic personality.

The impostor phenomenon plays an important part in the outcomes of the employee within the work context. For example, the impostor phenomenon has been shown to affect future achievement on the part of the employee (Clance and O'Toole, 1988) most likely because of the fear of failure the employee feels (Fried-Buchalter, 1992). There is also a strong fear that some significant person within the organization will discover that the employee is indeed an impostor (Clance and Imes, 1978).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impostor phenomenon in the organizational context. As illustrated in Figure 1, it is suggested that overreward will lead to the impostor phenomenon in some individuals which will, in turn, influence a number of organizational outcomes, including continuance and affective commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors. It is further suggested that two factors will influence whether or not overreward leads to the impostor phenomenon, core self-evaluations made by the overrewarded individual and the equity sensitivity of the individual. First, we examine the impostor phenomenon as it relates to overreward, followed by a discussion of core self-evaluations and equity sensitivity as moderators of this relationship. We then consider the implications of the impostor phenomenon for continuance and affective commitment, as well as organizational citizenship behaviors. In addition, propositions are provided that specify these relationships. Finally, implications for research and managerial practice are discussed.

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OVERREWARD AND THE IMPOSTOR PHENOMENON

The impostor phenomenon may be examined as an outcome of overreward. That is, the individual feels that he/she holds a job with specifications and/or pay level that exceed expectations relative to the individual's self-perception of qualifications, talent, and capabilities. For example, upon receipt of a job offer, a job applicant may feel that he/she is not fully qualified for a position or that a mistake occurred within the hiring process. This job offer will cause feelings of inequity within the applicant because of self-doubt regarding abilities and qualifications. Once this job offer has been extended, the applicant has two choices--accept or reject the offer. At this point, the applicant may feel some sort of dissatisfaction or unease because of the inequity. This may come in the form of an unpleasant emotional state such as guilt (Adams, 1965; Gilliland, 1993). If the applicant chooses to reject the job offer, the inequity will be reduced and there will be no more feelings of dissatisfaction (Adams, 1965; Pritchard et al., 1972). The other option available to the applicant is to accept the job offer and the feelings of inequity that come with this decision.

Equity theory is particularly relevant for analyzing this process. According to this theory, individuals compare themselves to a referent other, which can be oneself, another individual, or an imagined other in terms of the ratio of outcomes to inputs (Adams, 1963, 1965). The individual will feel that the outcomes received are fair and equitable, or unfair and inequitable relative to those received by the referent other.

An applicant may feel that the job offer is less than or greater than what is equitable concerning his/her education, skills, abilities, etc. (Pritchard, 1969; Gilliland, 1993). When inequity exists, the employee may experience distress and take action to diminish the perceived inequity in order to bring balance to the relationship (Adams, 1963, 1965). In the case of overreward, these attempts on the part of the employee may include increased levels of performance and changes in attitudes and behaviors in an effort to demonstrate a level of confidence equal with the perceived overreward (Pritchard et al., 1972; Greenberg, 1990). As noted above, one such outcome is the impostor phenomenon. The individual accepts the offer but doubts his or her ability to succeed in the job. Unfortunately, most literature to date concerning perceived equity in the selection process deals with underreward, and most literature on overreward focuses on overreward in the sense of overpayment, or a pay level greater than what the individual feels is deserved or earned (Mowday, 1996; Adams and Rosenbaum, 1962; Vecchio, 1981). Based on this, we offer the following proposition:

Proposition #1: The perception of overreward in the selection process will be positively related to the impostor phenomenon.

THE IMPOSTOR PHENOMENON AND CORE SELF-EVALUATIONS