Gossiping Behavior on Social Networking Sites: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

This study examines how gender affects online gossip on social networking sites. Based on gender theories and agency-communion theory, it is posited that achievement value, friendship value, and normative pressure differ according to gender (female vs. male), the level of propensity to gossip (high vs. low), and the interaction between the two. An experimental survey is conducted with 809 general consumers. Between-subjects multivariate analysis of covariance reveals that gender has an impact only on friendship value, whereas propensity to gossip affects achievement value and normative pressure. No interaction effects are observed. However, a subsequent analysis of covariance finds an interaction between gender and propensity to gossip through electronic word-of-mouth for a high-involvement product. In closing, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed while important limitations are recognized.

Engagement with Social Media and Social Media Advertising: The Differentiating Role of Platform Type

“…This may ultimately result in better theories about how advertising on social media works. At the moment, however, theory building is problematic because almost all existing studies of social media advertising (for an excellent review, see Knoll 2016) focus on social media in general (e.g., Muntinga, Moorman, and Smit 2011;Okazaki, Rubio, and Campo 2014;Van Noort, Antheunis, and Verlegh 2014) or on one specific social media platform, such as Facebook (e.g., Chi 2011;Chu 2011;Nelson-Field, Riebe, and Sharp 2012), YouTube (Liu-Thompkins 2012;Walther et al 2010), Twitter (Liu, Burns, and Hou 2017;Sook Kwon et al 2014), or Pinterest (Phillips, Miller, and McQuarrie 2014). Social media, so it seems, is regarded as either an umbrella concept or a specific social medium seen as exemplary for all social media.…”

Relationship between Digital Literacy Awareness and Perceived Gossip Tendency among College Students

“…Gossip is broadly defined as the spread of information about new and negative behaviors of other people who do not exist at that moment [15]. Gossip is different from rumor in which gossip focuses on individuals while rumor places an emphasis on events rather than people.…”