Tripartite Reactions to Emotions (TRE) Theory: The Impact of Emotional Expressions in User-Generated Content

Although emotional expression is commonplace in online user-generated content (UGC), theoretical understanding of its consequences is limited and fragmented. We advance a theory of tripartite reactions to emotions (TRE) in UGC that addresses the following question: When and how do content creators’ emotional expressions about a target influence observers’ behaviors toward the target and the content itself? Integrating and extending existing theories, TRE theory distinguishes between two kinds of observer behavior, proposes three distinct cognitive and affective pathways, and highlights the moderating influence of UGC context. To guide future research, we develop an extended, dynamic model that allows for interactions among pathways, and we illustrate the application of TRE in an online word-of-mouth setting. TRE represents a novel, emotion-focused theory that researchers in information systems and other disciplines can leverage to explore the interpersonal impacts of emotional expressions on UGC platforms.