When firms are doing business it is important to meet the customer’s expectations. It is often in the first impression (the first time the parties meet in a sales encounter) that the seller fails to do this, sometimes resulting in the prospective customer dropping the whole thought of a business deal and no further relationship is established. The first impression results from the first image and understanding a seller creates in a potential customer: here the latter gets a brief insight into the former’s organization, credibility and overall quality. Each encounter or meeting is an opportunity to achieve trust and build a relationship, but also contains the risk of reducing credibility and losing all chances of a relationship. The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the importance of the first impression when creating and building a business to business relationship and to describe the factors which influence this process. The theoretical framework is based on theories regarding the concept of first impression and the implications of two-way communication during the first encounter. These include the seller’s preparation and categorisation of the customer before each encounter. Other variations of communication concerns verbal and non-verbal communication, generalizations, cultural differences and circumstances where a failure can turn into an advantage. The present qualitative case study is based on interviews with five highly competent respondents with long experience of business relationships. They were chosen after discussions with Walter Carvajal, owner and MD of City Guest Service. The results showed that the first impression was very important in creating a business relationship. Some variables, e.g. gender, had less significance. Generally, the first impression included the small things a person perceived and interpreted during the first encounter. Combined, they determined whether a person chose to do business with the counterpart in question. All aspects of verbal and non-verbal commu-nication formed a basis for judging the other person. Cultural differences increased the acceptance level, reducing the risk of failure, when the parties were from differ-ent cultures.

The surgical culture values certainty and confidence, and this was proposed to be a source of internal conflict for surgeons, particularly during times of stress and uncertainty. Surgeons previously described the need to manage their image during these times, putting on an external appearance that is inconsistent internally. As part of a larger program of research on surgical judgment and decision making, this study used a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore 15 general surgery trainees’ perceptions and experiences of impression management during moments of decision making. Residents described their perceived expectations in training, and the impression management strategies they used to appear as though they were meeting them in circumstances when they were not. Participants described those who did not meet these expectations as branded the ‘struggling resident’. Concerns about one’s impression had implications for residents’ evaluations, learning opportunities, decision making, and wellness.

The surgical culture values certainty and confidence, and this was proposed to be a source of internal conflict for surgeons, particularly during times of stress and uncertainty. Surgeons previously described the need to manage their image during these times, putting on an external appearance that is inconsistent internally. As part of a larger program of research on surgical judgment and decision making, this study used a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore 15 general surgery trainees’ perceptions and experiences of impression management during moments of decision making. Residents described their perceived expectations in training, and the impression management strategies they used to appear as though they were meeting them in circumstances when they were not. Participants described those who did not meet these expectations as branded the ‘struggling resident’. Concerns about one’s impression had implications for residents’ evaluations, learning opportunities, decision making, and wellness.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the influence of interviewee social skill on the use and effectiveness of impression management (IM), as well as interviewers’ perceptions of the use of IM during the employment interview. One hundred and nine participants completed mock employment interviews for developmental purposes. An antecedent model whereby IM partially mediated the effect of social skill on interview performance was supported for observer-coded self-promotion. In contrast, a moderator model was supported for self-reported deceptive IM, as interviewees were more likely to positively influence their interview performance with the use of deceptive IM when they were high on social skill. In addition, although interviewers were mostly inaccurate in their perceptions of deceptive IM, social skill did not moderate the amount of agreement between self- and interviewer-ratings of IM. Implications for research and practice are discussed. / Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Facebook offers users a mode in which to (re)construct their identity. Recent studies examining identity and Facebook explore how impression management is a major factor when participating in the site. However, a research gap exists regarding the perspectives and experiences of older adult users and how they construct their identity on Facebook. This study extends the current knowledge base on identity in online environments. Qualitative face-to-face interviews with 16 individuals (8 male, 8 female) between the ages of 48-67 followed by a detailed thematic analysis indicate that identity is not fixed; but rather, is multiple and ever-changing. Findings reveal the performative nature of identity on Facebook through the identification of seven identities: expressive, hesitant/cautious, censored, vain, controlled, confident, and validated. Results give voice to older adults, an age group largely ignored when exploring the use of social media.

In this thesis, I proposed that individuals high in relative autonomy toward exercise would make fewer excuses for personal goal failures and that endorsement of certain types of excuses would foster commitment/internalization toward exercise, limiting future excuse-making. Excuses were expected to vary in effectiveness at removing culpability and enhancing commitment. In 3 studies, relative autonomy was measured or primed. Participants considered past personal goal failures, and sometimes provided excuses, and in one study, participants received expert excuse tolerant/intolerant feedback. Contrary to predictions, excuse-making was similar across all levels of relative autonomy. The results showed, however, that (a) some excuses effectively remove culpability for failure and maintain commitment to exercise goals; (b) such excuses are used more frequently than their less effective counterparts and that this selective may be stronger for those high in relative autonomy toward exercise; and (c) an excuse-tolerant social environment can foster commitment/internalization of exercise goals.

Impression management (IM) handlar om enmedveten eller omedveten process att styra intrycken av sig själv som ges tillomgivningen i syfte att imponera och söka erkännande. Tidigare forskning har istor utsträckning berört anställningsrekommendation utifrån intervjuer och demest framgångsrika resultaten har visat sig vara självförbättrande IM taktik.Studiens syfte vara att undersöka hur självförbättrande IM taktik i personligtbrev, två kvalitéer av meriter, påverkar ett beslut omanställningsrekommendation, samt undersöka hur en uppsättning personliga egenskaperrelaterar till självförbättrande IM taktik. Deltagarna var studenter, 57kvinnor och 32 män. Studien var experimentell 2 x 2 x 2 mellangruppsdesign. Deviktigaste fynden var att, högre kvalité av meriter innebar högre skattning avanställningsrekommendation samt att högre skattning av egenskaper vidsjälvförbättrande IM taktik skattats. Meriters kvalité visades viktig,egenskaper visade samband med IM dock satte IM trovärdighet på spel.Könsskillnader påträffades även och vidare forskning förslås göras mellankönen.

In this thesis, I proposed that individuals high in relative autonomy toward exercise would make fewer excuses for personal goal failures and that endorsement of certain types of excuses would foster commitment/internalization toward exercise, limiting future excuse-making. Excuses were expected to vary in effectiveness at removing culpability and enhancing commitment. In 3 studies, relative autonomy was measured or primed. Participants considered past personal goal failures, and sometimes provided excuses, and in one study, participants received expert excuse tolerant/intolerant feedback. Contrary to predictions, excuse-making was similar across all levels of relative autonomy. The results showed, however, that (a) some excuses effectively remove culpability for failure and maintain commitment to exercise goals; (b) such excuses are used more frequently than their less effective counterparts and that this selective may be stronger for those high in relative autonomy toward exercise; and (c) an excuse-tolerant social environment can foster commitment/internalization of exercise goals.

Studenter har ofta som mål att få ett arbete efter avslutade studier och med hög konkurrens på arbetsmarknaden skulle personal branding, personligt varumärkesbyggande, i sociala medier kunna vara ett bra hjälpmedel för att få ett arbete. Men hur många utnyttjar egentligen detta? Uppsatsens syfte är att belysa denna kombination. Frågeställningen handlar om hur studenter inom olika yrkesområden upplever och hanterar presentationen av sig själva i sociala medier. Vi undersökte också hur studenter reflekterade över olika publiker och roller på sina sociala medier och hur de tänkte kring det de publicerade. Vi var också intresserade av hur de såg på den påverkan som innehållet på deras sociala medier kunde ha på eventuella framtida arbetsgivare. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgår från Erving Goffmans teori om självpresentation, också kallad impression management. Teorin handlar om hur man genom olika handlingar försöker påverka vilken bild som andra ska få av en själv. Vi presenterade också de teorier som finns om personal branding. Impression management och personal branding jämfördes sedan för att undersöka skillnader och likheter. Impression management visade sig vara mer eller mindre omedvetna och vardagliga handlingar för att påverka den bild som presenteras av en själv. Personal branding är medvetna strategier för att nå olika mål, ofta karriärmässiga. Undersökningen är genomförd med en kvalitativ metod. Vi har intervjuat 16 studenter från fyra olika ämnesområden på Karlstads universitet. Studenterna från de olika ämnesområdena kommer troligtvis att söka arbete på arbets- marknader med olika hög konkurrens och var därför extra intressanta att jämföra. Utifrån resultatet av denna studie delade vi in respondenterna i tre olika grupper utifrån hur stor benägenheten var att bygga sitt eget varumärke på sociala medier. De slutsatser som vi kom fram till var att studenter tycker det är viktigt att visa upp en fördelaktig bild av sig själv på sociala medier, något de ofta gör omedvetet. De reflekterar heller inte så hög grad kring de olika publiker som finns på deras sociala medier. Till sist tror många att en potentiell arbetsgi- vare undersöker deras sociala medier i rekryteringssyfte. För en del studenter innebär detta att de i framtiden kommer att ändra innehållet på deras sociala medier för att förbättra sina chanser för en anställning.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。