Abstract
Complex contagion theory is used to develop novel hypotheses on the effects of workplace gossip on expressive relations. It is argued that hearing gossip from multiple senders or about multiple targets impacts receivers’ friendships with gossip targets. Hypotheses are tested in a two-wave sociometric panel study among 148 employees of three units in a Dutch childcare organisation. Stochastic Actor-oriented Models yield only very weak support for simple contagion processes, with positive gossip fostering receiver-target friendships in one, and negative gossip significantly decreasing them in another of the three Departments. No support was found for complex contagion effects based on multiple senders. Findings for complex contagion based on multiple targets were inconsistent. Implications for theories of gossip and reputation are discussed.
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