2016
When saying sorry may not help: Transgressor power moderates the effect of an apology on forgiveness in the workplace
Publication
Publication
Human Relations , Volume 69 - Issue 6 p. 1387- 1418
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.
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doi.org/10.1177/0018726715611236, hdl.handle.net/1765/96507 | |
ERIM Top-Core Articles | |
Human Relations | |
Organisation | Erasmus University Rotterdam |
Zheng, X., van Dijke, M., Leunissen, J., Giurge, L., & de Cremer, D. (2016). When saying sorry may not help: Transgressor power moderates the effect of an apology on forgiveness in the workplace. Human Relations, 69(6), 1387–1418. doi:10.1177/0018726715611236 |