Re-tweeting and the Theory of Middle-Status Conformity in the Post-adoption Use of Twitter

In this paper, we investigate the post-adoption usage of the micro-blogging platform Twitter at the firm level, specifically the act of re-tweeting (reposting what others have tweeted) and the propensity to have one´s tweets re-tweeted by others. Using a sample of tweeting activity from US colleges and universities, we demonstrate empirically that re-tweeting activity is consistent with the theory of middle-status conformity and that re-tweeting in a manner inconsistent with the institution´s status in the marketplace has a differential impact on their successful post-adoption usage of the platform, which was measured as the propensity to have one´s tweets re-tweeted by others. For high-status and upper middle-status colleges and universities, re-tweeting content posted by others less than normative expectations is more effective than more, but for lower middle-status and low-status colleges and universities, re-tweeting content posted by others more than normative expectations is more effective than less. Our study contributes to the post-adoption usage of information systems literature at the firm level by demonstrating empirically the importance of status to the technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework.