Zhang MinMin, Ma Xiaodong
The Army Infantry College of PLA, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
Business School, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.
Front Psychol. 2025 Apr 11;16:1526860. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1526860. eCollection 2025.
This study examines how employees expected and perceived trust influence impression management strategies, focusing on their interplay in shaping pro-social and self-oriented behaviors. Trust is pivotal in organizations, yet research has overlooked the impact of trust mismatches on impression management. Addressing this gap, we analyze the effects of trust congruence and explore behavioral variations under different trust combinations.
Using a quantitative approach, we analyze survey data from employees across various enterprises. To test the hypotheses, we first conducted polynomial regression analysis, followed by response surface analysis. The primary polynomial regression aims to test the hypotheses of ascendant ridge, consistency, and asymmetry, further revealing the complex relationships between the variables.
Trust congruence fosters pro-social impression management and curtails self-oriented behaviors. Higher trust levels correlate positively with pro-social behaviors. Notably, trust incongruence has asymmetric effects: employees with high expected but low perceived trust resort to self-oriented strategies, while those with low expected but high perceived trust exhibit stronger pro-social tendencies.
These findings highlight the need to promote trust congruence in management. Addressing trust misalignment through tailored strategies, such as enhancing communication and support, can foster constructive behaviors. Future research should explore trust dynamics and moderating organizational factors like leadership and culture. This study advances understanding of workplace trust and offers practical insights for management.
本研究探讨员工预期信任和感知信任如何影响印象管理策略，重点关注它们在塑造亲社会行为和自我导向行为方面的相互作用。信任在组织中至关重要，但研究忽视了信任不匹配对印象管理的影响。为填补这一空白，我们分析了信任一致性的影响，并探讨了不同信任组合下的行为差异。
采用定量方法，我们分析了来自不同企业员工的调查数据。为检验假设，我们首先进行了多项式回归分析，随后进行了响应面分析。主要的多项式回归旨在检验上升脊、一致性和不对称性假设，进一步揭示变量之间的复杂关系。
信任一致性促进亲社会印象管理并减少自我导向行为。更高的信任水平与亲社会行为呈正相关。值得注意的是，信任不一致具有不对称影响：预期信任高但感知信任低的员工会采取自我导向策略，而预期信任低但感知信任高的员工表现出更强的亲社会倾向。
这些发现凸显了在管理中促进信任一致性的必要性。通过量身定制的策略，如加强沟通和支持来解决信任失调问题，可以促进建设性的行为。未来的研究应探索信任动态以及领导和文化等调节组织因素。本研究增进了对职场信任的理解，并为管理提供了实用的见解。
