Electronic warfare: A personality model of cyber incivility

Abstract

Cyber incivility is defined as communicative behavior exhibited in computer mediated interactions that violate workplace norms of mutual respect. This study examines the impact of personality traits on cyber incivility via work email. Specifically, by drawing on the abridged big-five dimensional circumplex (AB5C) model of personality and the extant literature on cyber incivility, this study proposes a personality model of cyber incivility and posits that the personality traits of extraversion and emotional stability can be linked to cyber incivility more closely when each of them is accompanied by the personality trait of conscientiousness than when without it. We test our model by conducting a two-phased online survey of 265 full-time employees in the country of India. Results indicate that the relationships of extraversion and emotional stability with cyber incivility are negatively moderated by conscientiousness. Our findings contribute to the knowledge base of both personality and cyber incivility by understanding their linkages.