When saying sorry may not help: transgressor power moderates the effect of an apology on forgiveness in the workplace
Journal
Human Relations
Subject
Organisational Behaviour
Publishing details
Authors / Editors
Zheng X;van Dijke M;Leuniissen J M;Giurge L M;De Cremer D
Publication Year
2016
Abstract
An apology, as an expression of remorse, can be an effective response from a transgressor to obtain forgiveness from a victim. Yet, to be effective, the victim should not construe the transgressor’s actions in a cynical way. Because low-power people tend to interpret the actions of high-power people in a cynical way, we argue that an apology (versus no apology) from high-power transgressors should be relatively ineffective in increasing forgiveness from low-power victims. We find support for this moderated mediation model in a critical incidents study (Study 1), a forced recall study (Study 2) among employees from various organizations and a controlled laboratory experiment among business students (Study 3). These studies reveal the limited value of expressions of remorse by high-power people in promoting forgiveness.
Keywords
Apology; Cynicism; Forgiveness; Power; Remorse
Available on ECCH
No
