Rumour Sharing in the Marketplace: A Manifestation of Anxiety,Arousal, and Valence

Rumours have always been an interesting aspect of investigation in interpersonal communication. Rumours can potentially affect perceptions about the product and brand images, rumours cause changes to the credibility of the brands, and affect customer loyalty. In recent years, there have been many rumours that have emerged in the marketplace and have created drastic effects on the marketing scenario. Nevertheless, despite the importance of rumours, there has been little attention paid to rumour research in the marketing context. This paper explores the effect of consumer’s state anxiety and arousal on the consumer’s intention to share a rumour. Furthermore, the paper explores the role of rumour valence in the aforementioned relationships. Following a quasi-experimental approach, the study collects data from 394 respondents and explores the role of anxiety, arousal, and rumour valence in rumour propagation. A Partial Least Squared based Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) is conducted to understand the role of the aforementioned variables. Results of the study indicate that both state anxiety and arousal have a significant positive relationship with the consumer’s intention to share the rumour. Furthermore, the results also indicate a moderating effect of rumour valence to these relationships; which signify higher propensity for the consumer to share negative rumours as compared to positive rumours.