Addressing the entrepreneur in the room: Entrepreneurial exit and impression management tactics in the employment interview context

Abstract

Despite the recent scholarly attention to the challenges entrepreneurs may face when attempting to rejoin the traditional workforce, we do not have a clear understanding of how recruiters respond to the various impression management (IM) tactics former entrepreneurs might use during employment interviews. This is important because IM tactics shape how former entrepreneurs are viewed by recruiters and ultimately impact their employment prospects. We examine the effects of IM tactics in an online survey experiment with professional recruiters, finding support for most of our hypotheses. Specifically, we show that former entrepreneurs who exit by selling their venture can benefit from using tactical-assertive IM tactics to positively influence recruiters’ hiring recommendations. We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurial career transitions and hiring decision-making.