Examining self-regulation as a potential intervention for moral grandstanding on social networking sites

Social networking sites serve as major platforms for public discourse. However, such sites are also grounds for online abuse, and such abuse is more common in relation to topics that traverse the moral and political sphere. This research examines moral grandstanding, an antecedent of online abuse. Through two studies that employ experimental design, this research provides evidence for the conditions under which online moral grandstanding is most likely to occur, the relationship between moral grandstanding and online conflict, the role of status-seeking in mediating this relationship, and the potential of a self-regulation intervention for moderating these relationships. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings, along with the limitations of the current work and suggestions for future research, are also provided.