Workplace Impostor Thoughts, Impostor Feelings, and Impostorism: An Integrative, Multidisciplinary Review of Research on the Impostor Phenomenon

In light of recent recognition of the timeliness, relevance, and need for more research on the impostor phenomenon, we conducted an integrative review of organizational research and the relevant work from nearby disciplines. We engaged in co-citation mapping to identify silos and fragmentation within and across disciplines, and we leveraged text analysis tools to trace the construct’s evolution. Next, we identified issues of construct clarity and surfaced foundational assumptions that, upon review of the evidence, appeared ill founded or inadequate. The challenges and assumptions we identified form the bedrock for three emergent insights. First, following from the lack of construct clarity, we suggest recentering the phenomenon’s defining cognitive feature—the belief that others overestimate one’s abilities—as an important course correction. Second, stemming from the questionable assumptions, we outline opportunities for future theoretical development and empirical exploration. Third, to inspire the next wave of research by organizational scholars, we bridge lines of inquiry at the intersection of the impostor phenomenon and the organizational domains alongside which it is often mentioned (i.e., leadership, diversity, and identity).