The impostor phenomenon at work: A systematic evidence-based review, conceptual development, and agenda for future research

Abstract

The impostor phenomenon (IP) was originally identified over 40 years ago, and there has been a recent surge in its examination across domains of management research. However, a lack of a comprehensive review that synthesizes organizationally-relevant IP research has left IP research dispersed across time and disciplines with diminished conceptual clarity and an incoherent nomological network. We address these shortcomings by conducting a systematic review of IP in the workplace. We review 188 scholarly works (111 articles and 77 dissertations) published from 1978 to 2023 and summarize these data to describe the current state of the workplace-relevant IP literature. Moreover, we map the antecedents, correlates, mediators, moderators, and outcomes that have been examined in published research with the IP to develop an integrative framework. Next, we identify gaps in the literature, including the issue of conceptual imprecision regarding the IP construct. We address this imprecision through the advancement of both a trait- and state-based understanding of the IP experience. Finally, we identify avenues for future research to direct future studies of the IP in organizational research.