The influence of affective cues on positive emotion in predicting instant information sharing on microblogs: Gender as a moderator.

An impulsive-based model is proposed to explain instant information sharing.Information uniqueness and social interactivity increase positive emotion and urge.Males are stimulated by information uniqueness and information crowding.Social interactivity plays a dominant role in sparking the urge for female users.Males experience more positive emotion and engage in impulsive information sharing. Instant information sharing on microblogs is important for promoting social awareness, influencing customer attitudes, and providing political and economic benefits. However, research on the antecedents and mechanisms of such instant information sharing is limited. To address that issue, this study develops a research model to investigate the factors (affective cues in particular) that drive users to instantly share information on microblogs and explores the moderating role of gender. An online survey was conducted on a microblogging platform to collect data for testing the proposed research model and hypotheses. The results confirm the positive effects of informational (i.e., information uniqueness), ambient (i.e., information crowding), and social (i.e., social interactivity) cues on individuals positive emotion, which subsequently promotes their urge to share information on microblogs. Moreover, the moderating effects of gender are identified. This study contributes to the understanding of instant information sharing from an impulsive behavior perspective. The results also provide important insights for service providers and practitioners who wish to promote instant information sharing on microblogs.