When Employees Speak as They Like: Bad Mouthing in Social Media

Stefan Ivens, Mario Schaarschmidt () and Raoul Könsgen
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Stefan Ivens: University of Koblenz-Landau
Mario Schaarschmidt: University of Koblenz-Landau
Raoul Könsgen: University of Koblenz-Landau

Corporate Reputation Review, 2021, vol. 24, issue 1, No 1, 13 pages

Abstract: Abstract Employee voice can threaten a company’s reputation when employees speak badly about their employer. This research focuses on identifying and quantifying the importance of antecedents of employees’ company-related bad mouthing in social media. Data for this study was collected through a qualitative interview study (N = 33) and a quantitative survey approach (N = 472). The hypothesized model is tested using structural equation modelling. Drawing on social identity theory and using the job demands-resources model as a theoretical lens, we found that job demands are positively associated with turnover intention, which in turn increases company-related bad mouthing in social media of employees. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design, which may be complemented by mono-organizational studies in the future. This study enriches the understanding of employees’ behavior in social media and provides implications for managers such that the strategy of reducing turnover intention is more successful to limit the amount of employees’ bad mouthing than enhancing employees’ commitment. This study is the first which links job demands and job resources with company-related bad mouthing of employees in social media. It proposes and tests antecedence of corporate reputation harming behavior of employees.

Keywords: Social media; Employee behavior; Company-related bad mouthing; Job demands-resources model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1057/s41299-019-00086-w

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