Empowering senior executives' career outcomes through social media

An impression management perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID12420940
AuthorsQiping Wang (0009-0007-4862-4137, East China Normal University Department of Information Management, corresponding author), Raymond Y K Lau (0000-0002-5751-4550, College of Business, City University of Hong Kong Department of Information Systems), Xiong Zhang (0000-0001-5173-6470, Beijing Jiaotong University Department of Information Management)
Year2025
Pages1-23
Publication date2025-12-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternet Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1066-2243 • E-ISSN: 2054-5657
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1108/intr-10-2024-1548
OpenAlexW7115174451
LanguageEN
References cited61

Purpose This study investigates the impact of social media usage on the career outcomes of senior executives at S&P 1500 firms. Design/methodology/approach This study integrates signaling, social capital and human capital theories, and adopts a difference-in-differences analysis, enhanced by a novel deep learning-based method. It examines how senior executives' impression management (IM) activities on social media influence their career outcomes. Findings Empirical results reveal that senior executives' IM in the form of establishing a Twitter account and engaging in visibility-enhancing activities (i.e. frequent work-related tweeting, hashtagging, mentioning and receiving a high number of likes and retweets) can significantly improve their career outcomes. In addition, as a type of visual IM, the strategic use of visual IM through profile photos also plays a critical role in attracting employers' attention. Practical implications Senior executives, especially those with low public visibility, can leverage social media to build a personal brand and use IM strategies to boost career prospects. Employers and executive recruiters may incorporate social media content into candidate evaluations. Originality/value This work contributes to the literature by systematically examining how senior executives utilize both textual and visual IM strategies on social media to influence career prospects

Career management · Impression management · Leverage (statistics · Perspective (graphical · Senior management · Social media · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Employer Branding and e-HRM · Impact of Technology on Adolescents

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