Brokerage is a central concept in the organization literature. It has been argued that individuals in broker positions-i.e., connecting otherwise disconnected parts within a firms social network-can control the flow of information. It would imply their increased relevance in workplace gossip. This allegation, however, has not been addressed empirically yet. To fill this gap, we apply social network analysis techniques to relational data from six organizations in Hungary. First, we identify informal groups and individuals in broker positions. Then, we use this information to predict the likelihood with which positive or negative gossip is reported. We find more gossip when the sender and receiver are part of the same group and more positive gossip about in-group rather than out-group targets. Individuals in broker positions are more likely the senders and targets of negative gossip. Finally, even if both the brokers and the boss(es) are the targets of their colleagues negative gossip, the combination of the two categories (bosses in broker positions) does not predict more negative gossip anymore. Results are discussed in relation to the theoretical accounts on brokerage that emphasize its power for information control but fail to recognize the pitfalls of being in such positions.

Gossip is universal, and multiple studies have demonstrated that it can have beneficial group-level outcomes when negative reports help identify defectors or norm-violators. Gossip, however, seldom happens in a social vacuum. Instead, it is enmeshed in a fabric of positive and negative relationships that creates opportunities, constraints, and also motives to gossip. This article studies the importance of friendships and antipathies among the three concerned parties (sender, receiver, target) for negative gossip among adolescents. We contrast two theoretical accounts. According to the first, gossip brings closer individuals who have “enemies” in common. Based on this, we infer that gossip appears in triads where both the sender and receiver share their antipathy against the target. The second position argues that gossip is used to compromise different opinions of friends towards the target. Thus, what predicts gossip is direct antipathy against the target or being friends with someone who dislikes the target (indirect antipathy) rather than the combination of the two antipathies. We test these two lines of reasoning with sociometric data from 17 classroom observations (13 unique classrooms in different time points) in Hungary. Bayesian Exponential Random Graph Models yield support for direct antipathy in 13 (nine unique) classrooms and indirect antipathy in five. No evidence for shared antipathy is found. Results suggest that, at least among adolescents, negative gossip is not about bonding with potential allies but more about consensus-making between friends. Also, results reveal that negative gossip concentrates on the two ends of the reputational echelon, hinting that, in the classroom, high reputation might be contested instead of rewarded.

Gossip is a pervasive phenomenon in organizations causing many individuals to have second-hand information about their colleagues. However, whether it is used to inform friendship choices (i.e., friendship creation, friendship maintenance, friendship discontinuation) is not that evident. This paper articulates and empirically tests a complex contagion model to explain how gossip, through its reputational effects, can affect the evolution of friendship ties. We argue that hearing gossip from more than a single sender (and about several targets) impacts receivers friendships with the gossip targets. Hypotheses are tested in a two-wave sociometric panel study among 148 employees in a Dutch childcare organization. Stochastic actor-oriented models reveal positive gossip favors receiver-target friendships, whereas negative gossip inhibits them. We also find evidence supporting that, for damaging relationships, negative gossip needs to originate in more than a single sender. Positive gossip about a high number of targets discourages friendships with colleagues in general, while negative gossip about many targets produces diverging trends. Overall, the study demonstrates that second-hand information influences the evolution of expressive relations. It also underscores the need to refine and extend current theorizing concerning the multiple (and potentially competing) psychological mechanisms causing some of the observed effects.

Gossip constitutes a form of human communication consisting of the transmission of evaluative information about absent others. Previous research has associated the usage of gossip with outcomes at both the individual and the group levels. Such outcomes include, among other things, the delimitation of group boundaries, the ostracism of wrong-doers, effects on job performance, or feelings of social inclusion. Despite all this, there are conflicting views and an overall lack of research regarding how gossip affects — and is affected by — one’s and others’ relationships and, consequently, the evolution of a social network. Using social network data from high schools and firms, the purpose of this thesis is to shed light on gossip’s relational antecedents and consequences.

Four chapters compose this thesis. Chapter 1 (the “kappa”) provides the reader with an introduction to the study of gossip, the research problem, the theoretical and methodological approaches used, and the contributions and limitations of this thesis. In Chapter 2 (with Dorottya Kisfalusi and Károly Takács), I examine how antipathies contribute to negative gossip in high school classrooms. Results show that one’s and friends’ antipathies favour gossip independently, supporting the hypothesis that discrepancies between the sender and the receiver in how they relate to the target are resolved in gossip. Chapter 3 (with Károly Takács) centres on the distinctive contribution of employees whose networks span different groups. Results reveal that “network brokers” send positive and negative forms of gossip, but also are the targets of their colleagues’ negative talk. Finally, Chapter 4 (with Rafael Wittek, Francesca Giardini, Lea Ellwardt and Robert Krause) examines the impact of the reputations heard in gossip on the evolution of friendship relationships among employees. Results reveal weak reputational effects but disclose that negative information decay in value if overused.

“Modern evaluation” constitutes one of the fundamental institutions of our time. Within it, the concept of stakeholder currently holds a core place. The aim of this article is to reconstruct the path the concept has undergone within the discipline, as well as the reasons which has led to its “normalisation”. In both the literature on evaluation as well as its practical application, the employment of stakeholders is considered to be something taken for granted. Therefore, it does not need any kind of inquiry beyond an exclusively technical one. Our main goal is to encourage a reflection on the limitations (both internal and external) that the aforementioned concept presents. In order to do this, we carry out an historical and epistemological revision.