Information dissemination via electronic word-of-mouth: Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster!

• People disseminate more negative than positive information.
• People disseminate negative information to more recipients and longer time.
• Negative online information is more elaborated and detailed.
• There are more negative reactions to positive information.
• There are less positive reactions to negative information.

The purpose of this research is to investigate negativity bias in secondary electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Two experiments, one laboratory and one field, were conducted to study actual dissemination behavior. The results demonstrate a strong tendency toward the negative in the dissemination of secondary commercial information. In line with Dynamic Social Impact Theory, our findings show that consumers disseminate online negative content to more recipients, for a longer period of time and in more elaborated and assimilated manner than they do positive information. The research is important from both a theoretical and managerial perspective. In the former, it enriches existing literature on eWOM by providing insight into theoretical dimensions of the negativity theory not examined before (duration, role of valence, elaboration, and assimilation). Findings provide managerial insights into designing more effective WOM and publicity campaigns.