Negative Gossip Decreases Targets' Organizational Citizenship Behavior by Decreasing Social Inclusion. A Multi-Method...

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Organizational Behavior
• Communication Studies

Background:

• Negative gossip is experimentally shown to boost group cooperation via reputational concerns.
• Field studies indicate negative gossip reduces organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in targets.
• A gap exists in understanding how negative gossip impacts targets' OCB.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of social inclusion in mediating the effect of negative gossip on OCB.
• To reconcile conflicting findings on negative gossip's impact on cooperation and OCB.

Main Methods:

• A multi-method approach combining three studies: correlational (N=563), laboratory experiment (N=85), and online scenario experiment (N=597).
• Utilized social exchange theory to frame predictions about social inclusion and OCB.

Main Results:

• Being the target of negative gossip significantly reduced social inclusion.
• Reduced social inclusion was found to indirectly decrease targets' OCB.
• The negative impact of gossip on OCB was consistent across all three study designs.

Conclusions:

• Negative gossip negatively impacts targets' social inclusion, which in turn diminishes their OCB.
• The detrimental effect on social inclusion suggests negative gossip may be less effective for fostering sustainable cooperation than previously thought.
• This research provides a nuanced understanding of negative gossip's consequences on individual behavior within organizations.