How Males and Females Differ in Their Likelihood of Transmitting Negative Word of Mouth

Abstract

This article shows that the joint effect of tie strength and image-impairment concern on negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) transmission is different for males and females and argues that this effect occurs because of differences in their relative concern for self versus others. For males, there was not a significant interaction between image-impairment concern and tie strength on NWOM transmission likelihood. In contrast, for females the effect of image-impairment concern on NWOM transmission likelihood was stronger for weak ties than for strong ties. The robustness of the findings were tested in two additional studies by directly manipulating relative concern for self versus others and by employing an indirect proxy: interdependent and independent self-construal. Self-versus other-focused thoughts mediated the joint effect on NWOM transmission.