Selective incivility through impression management and the role of this process in shaping organizational identification among highly skilled ethnic minorities in the Netherlands

This study explores the impression management behaviors developed by highly skilled ethnic minority employees in response to selective incivility and how these behaviors reflect their ethnic identity strengthening and organizational identification orientations. The study is based on in-depth interviews with 21 highly skilled ethnic minority working in different sectors. The findings demonstrate that ethnic minority identity is shaped by processes of racialization, but that this identity emerges to different degrees in individuals’ experiences; thus, exposure to selective incivility is perceived as a stronger threat to identity for some participants. The study also reveals that the impression management behaviors exhibited by ethnic minority workers in the face of selective incivility contribute to identity strengthening and shape their identification with the organization.