In many organizational settings cooperation between peers is one of the crucial preconditions not only for the production of collective goods, but also for the successful accomplishment of one’s own tasks. However, not all individuals are equally successful in eliciting voluntary cooperation...

Three hypotheses about the effects of different informal social network structures on gossip behavior are developed and tested. Gossip is defined as a conversation about a third person who is not participating in the conversation. Having analyzed the costs and benefits of gossip, we prefer the...