Gossip and Reputation in Social Networks

This contribution suggests and defends two propositions. First, gossip and reputation are coevolving relational phenomena, which conceptually overlap and empirically reinforce one another. Second, this coevolution is shaped by the opportunity and constraint structure of the social networks (e.g., organizations) in which these phenomena are typically embedded. The chapter presents theorizing, measures, and empirical findings on information sharing along three analytical levels. At the macro level, global structures describe overall network characteristics, such as density; at the meso level, local structures concern triadic configurations, like transitivity and clustering; at the micro level, individual structures cover ego-centric measures, including actor centrality and betweenness. The overview closes with three major suggestions for future research avenues on the study of gossip and reputation from a social network perspective.