Influence of traits and emotions on boosting status sharing through microblogging

Disclosing status information through microblogging can facilitate effective and efficient electronic word-of-mouth marketing. Therefore, we should understand why people share status information and why certain pieces of content are being shared more often than others. This study adopted an impulsive perspective to investigate status-sharing behaviour in microblogs, which is more spontaneous and unplanned compared with that displayed in traditional virtual communities. Specifically, this study developed a theoretical model to investigate the association among personality traits, emotions, and urge to share status through microblogging. The research model was empirically validated by conducting an online survey among the users of a prevalent microblogging service in China. These users’ urge to share their status was influenced by their personality traits and emotions. Moreover, people with a high level of sharing impulsiveness were inclined to generate negative emotions, whereas those with a high level of inherent novelty seeking could easily induce positive emotions.