Effective Public Apologies

Abstract

Communicating with the public after corporate crises is often necessary, yet little evidence provides guidance. To address this, our theoretical and content analyses of public apologies revealed 12 key content elements. From these, we developed a basic apology, and tested its effectiveness alone, and with additional content. In two experiments involving river contamination, the basic apology was effective and improved with additional content. In Experiment 1, effectiveness involved actions taken to reduce harm and reoccurrence. Experiment 2 increased the hazard to carcinogenic chemicals, and one apology was superior: the basic apology plus statements of recovery efforts and defense of company actions. The two experiments show that crisis severity influences apology effectiveness. Experiment 3 found that clarifying causality helps convince people that the crisis source is identified and the problem resolved. Our findings show that an optimal public apology is comprehensive, and details the causes and actions taken to prevent reoccurrence.