Cross-cultural differences in the attitude toward applicants’ faking in job interviews

Purpose: This study questions whether applicants with different cultural backgrounds are equally prone to fake in job interviews, and thus systematically examines cross-cultural differences regarding the attitude toward applicants’ faking (an important antecedent of faking and a gateway for cultural influences) on a large scale.Design/Methodology/Approach: Using an online survey, employees’ (N = 3252) attitudes toward faking were collected in 31 countries. Cultural data were obtained from the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness project (GLOBE).Findings: Attitude toward faking can be differentiated into two correlated forms (severe/mild faking). On the country level, attitudes toward faking correlate in the expected manner with four of GLOBE’s nine cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance, power distance, in-group collectivism, and gender egalitarianism. Furthermore, humane orientation correlates positively with attitude toward severe faking.Implications: For international personnel selection research and practice, an awareness of whether and why there are cross-cultural differences in applicants’ faking behavior is of utmost importance. Our study urges practitioners to be conscious that applicants from different cultures may enter selection situations with different mindsets, and offers several practical implications for international personnel selection.Originality/Value: Cross-cultural research has been expected to answer questions of whether applicants with different cultural backgrounds fake to the same extent during personnel selection. This study examines and explains cross-cultural differences in applicants’ faking in job interviews with a comprehensive sample and within a coherent theoretical framework