The effect of power states on negative word‐of‐mouth sharing: The role of interpersonal closeness
研究发现低权力消费者更倾向于传播负面口碑，因为较少担心形象受损且更想保护他人；人际亲密度会调节这一效应，对亲密对象时两种权力状态差异缩小。
Abstract The current research investigates whether, when, and why power states, a prevalent experience in everyday life, influence negative WOM (NWOM). The authors find that low‐power consumers tend to engage more in NWOM, and this effect is driven by less image‐impairment concerns and heightened motives to protect others induced by low‐power states. We further showed that interpersonal closeness (IC)—people' feeling of proximity between they and others—moderates the positive effect of low‐power states on NWOM sharing. That is, the differences of sharing NWOM between low‐power and high‐power consumers are attenuated when facing high IC. To account for this, both image‐impairment concerns and motives to protect others mediate the effect of power states when recipients are interpersonally close others; however, only image‐impairment concerns mediate the effect of power states when recipients are interpersonally distant others. These findings make theoretical contributions to research in interpersonal communication, WOM, and power, and holds practical implications for marketers interested in understanding how NWOM spreads.