Perceptions of Negative Workplace Gossip: A Self-Consistency Theory Framework

Long-zeng Wu, Thomas A. Birtch, Flora F. T. Chiang (Corresponding Author), Haina Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

122 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present and test a self-consistency theory framework for gossip: that perceived negative workplace gossip influences our self-perceptions and, in turn, this influences our behaviors. Using supervisor-subordinate dyadic time-lagged data (n = 403), we demonstrated that perceived negative workplace gossip adversely influenced target employees’ organization-based self-esteem, which, in turn, influenced their citizenship behavior directed at the organization and at its members. Moreover, by integrating victimization theory into our framework, we further demonstrated that negative affectivity, an individual’s dispositional tendency, not only moderated the self-consistency process but also predicted perceived negative workplace gossip. Our study therefore shifts attention to the target of negative workplace gossip and in doing so offers a promising new direction for future research. Implications to theory and practice are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1873-1898
Number of pages26
JournalJournal of Management
Volume44
Issue number5
Early online date25 Apr 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2018

Bibliographical note

The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of Management, 2018, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2018 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Journal of Management page: http://jom.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/

Keywords

  • self-consistency theory
  • perceived negative workplace gossip
  • organizational citizenship behavior
  • organization-based self-esteem
  • negative affectivity

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