Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T15:41:34.844Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Why Saying “I’m Sorry” Isn’t Good Enough: The Ethics of Corporate Apologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Daryl Koehn
Daryl Koehn*
Affiliation:
University of St. Thomas
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The number of corporate apologies has increased dramatically during the past decade. This article delves into the ethics of apologies offered by chief executive officers (CEOs). It examines ways in which public apologies on the part of a representative (CEO) of a corporate body (the firm) differ from both private, interpersonal apologies, on the one hand, and nation-state/collective apologies, on the other. The article then seeks to ground ethically desirable elements of a corporate apology in the nature or essence of the corporate apology itself. It explores the largely ignored roles played by the speaker’s ethos and audience pathos in genuine or ethical apologies and suggests that attention needs to be paid to the problems posed by “role contamination,” context, and other overlooked factors. The reception by the actual audience of a given apology is a highly contingent matter. Ethicists should concentrate, therefore, on what makes a proffered apology, in principle, trustworthy and not merely efficacious for a given audience.

Keywords

CEOapologiesethospathoslogosrole contamination
Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 239 - 268
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2013

References

REFERENCES

Adams, M. 2000. “CEOs Now Love to Say ‘Sorry,’” USA Today (September 8), 1.Google Scholar
Andrews, P.H., and Baird, J.E. 2005. Communications for Business and the Professions (Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland Press).Google Scholar
Aristotle, . 2005. Nicomachean Ethics, trans.Ross, W.D. (New York: World Library Classics).Google Scholar
Associated Press, . 1988. “Crisis Control: Ashland Chairman's Conduct on Oil Spill Wins Public Support” (January 8).Google Scholar
Austin, J.L. 1962. How to Do Things with Words (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press).Google Scholar
Benoit, W.L. 1995. Accounts, Excuses, and Apologies: A Theory of Image Restoration Strategies (Albany: State University of New York Press).Google Scholar
Benoit, W.L., and Czerwinski, Anne 1997. “A Critical Analysis of USAirʼs Image Repair Discourse,” Business Communication Quarterly 60(3): 38–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/108056999706000304CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birk, M.M., Einwiller, S.A.,and Johar, G.V. 2010. “How to Save Your Brand in the Face of Crisis,” MIT Sloan Management Review 51(4): 57–64.Google Scholar
Bisel, R.S., and Messersmith, A.S. 2012. “Organizational and Supervisory Apology Effectiveness: Apology-Giving in Work Settings,” Business Communication Quarterly 75(4): 425–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1080569912461171CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borzo, J. 2010. “SAP Co-CEO Apologizes to Oracle,” Wall Street Journal (November 16), http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703326204575616783561825698.html?mg=reno64-wsj.Google Scholar
Broder, J.M., Wald, M.L., and Zeller, T. Jr. 2011. “At U.S. Nuclear Sites, Preparing for the Unlikely,” The New York Times (March 28), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/science/29threat.html.Google Scholar
Celermajer, D. 2009. The Sins of the Nation and the Ritual of Apologies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, K. 2011. “Blindsided by Ferocity Unleashed by a Fault,” The New York Times (March 21).Google Scholar
Clampitt, P.G. 2010. Communicating for Managerial Effectiveness (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage).Google Scholar
Clegg, A. 2013. “The Subtle Secrets of Charisma,” Financial Times (January 2). Google Scholar
CNET. 2010. “Japanese Suspicious of Government, TEPCO,” (March 16), reported by Bill Whitaker, http://cnettv.cnet.com/japanese-suspicious-government-tepco/9742 -1_53-50101833.html.Google Scholar
Cohen, J. 1999. “Advising Clients to Apologize,” Southern California Law Review 72: 1009–69.Google Scholar
Consumerist.com. 2007. “Mattel CEO’s Online Video Apology for Millions of Toy Recalls,” (August 18), http://consumerist.com/2007/08/18/mattel-ceos-online-video-apology-for-millions-of-toy-recalls/.Google Scholar
Coombs, W.T. 2007. “Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory,” Corporate Reputation Review 10(3): 163–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dash, E. 2010. “So Many Ways to Almost Say ‘I’m Sorry,’” The New York Times (April 18), http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E4D6153AF93BA25757C0A9669D8B63.Google Scholar
Dash, E., and Chan, S. 2010. “Rubin and Prince Express Regrets in Citi’s Crisis,” Dealbook, April 8, http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/regrets-expected-from-2-former-leaders-3;at-citi/.Google Scholar
Fehr, R., and Gelfand, M., and 2010. “When Apologies Work: How Matching Apology Components to Victims’ Self-Construals Facilitates Forgiveness,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 113(1): 37–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016Zj.obhdp.2010.04.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferrin, D.L., Cooper, C.D.Kim, P.H., and Dirks, K.T. 2007. “Silence Speaks Volumes: The Effectiveness of Reticence in Comparison to Apology and Denial for Responding to Integrity- and Competence-Based Trust Violations,” Journal of Applied Psychology 92(4): 893–908. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.4.893CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
French, P. 1979. “The Corporation as a Moral Person,” Philosophical Quarterly 16(3): 207–15.Google Scholar
Goffman, E. 1972. Relations in Public: Microstudies of the Public Order (New York: Harper and Row).Google Scholar
Gordon, G. 2009. “Goldman’s Chief Executive Apologizes for Part in Fiscal Crisis,” Mc-Clatchy Washington Bureau (November 19).Google Scholar
Gorn, G., Jiang, Y., and Johar, G. 2008. “Babyfaces, Trait Inferences, and Company Evaluations in a PR Crisis,” Journal of Consumer Research 35: 36–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/529533CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenberg, J. 1990. “Looking Fair vs. Being Fair: Managing Impressions of Organizational Justice,” Research in Organizational Behavior 12: 111–57.Google Scholar
Halloran, S.M. 1982. “Aristotle’s Concept of Ethos, or If Not His, Somebody Else’s,” Rhetoric Review 1(1): 58–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07350198209359037CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harlan, C. 2011. “In Japan, Is a TEPCO Apology Enough?,” The Washington Post (May 17), http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-05-17/world/35263085_1_tepco-masataka-shimizu-apology.Google Scholar
Hearit, K.M. 1994. “Apologies and Public Relations Crises at Chrysler, Toshiba, and Volvo,” Public Relations Review 20: 113–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0363-8111(94)90053-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hearit, K.M. 2006. Crisis Management by Apology: Corporate Response to Allegations of Wrongdoing (Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hearit, K.M., and Courtright, J.L. 2003. “A Symbolic Approach to Crisis Management: Sears’ Defense of Its Auto Repair Policies,” in Responding to Crisis: A Rhetorical Approach to Crisis Communication, ed. Millar, D.P. and Heath, R.L. (Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 201–13.Google Scholar
Higgins, C., and Walker, R. 2012. “Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Strategies of Persuasion in Social/Environmental Reports,” Accounting Forum 36(3: 194–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, J. 2008. “Um, Whoops,” The Official Dreamhost Blog (January 15), http:/blog .dreamhost.com/2008/01/15/um-whoops/.Google Scholar
Kador, J. 2009. Effective Apology: Mending Fences, Building Bridges, Restoring Trust (San Francisco, Calif.: Berrett-Koehler Publishers).Google Scholar
Kelts, R. 2010. “Toyota and Trust: Was the Akio Toyoda Apology Lost in Translation?,” Christian Science Monitor (February 25), http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set /print/ content/view/print/282844.Google Scholar
Kim, P.H., Ferrin, D.L., Cooper, C.D., and Dirks, K.T. 2004. “The Effects of Apology versus Denial for Repairing Competence- versus Integrity-Based Trust Violations,” Journal of Applied Psychology 89(1): 104–18.http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.L104CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lazare, A. 2005. On Apology (Oxford: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
Lewicki, R.J., and Bunker, B.B. 1996. “Developing and Maintaining Trust in Working Relationships,” in Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research, ed. Kramer, R.M. and Tyler, T.R. (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage).Google Scholar
Liebelt, J., 2009. “AMP/Pepsi Apologize for Bad Taste App,” (October 12), http://www.kgnw.com/blogs/liebelt/11609739/.Google Scholar
Lindner, S., 2007. “Fighting for Consumers, One Post at a Time,” Austin American-Statesman (October7),http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/operations-quality-control/11903523-1.htmlGoogle Scholar
Louis, C.S. 2011. “Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick in Hand,” The New York Times (October 12), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/fashion/makeup-makes-women-appear-more-competent-study.html?_r=0.Google Scholar
Marty, M. 1973. “Ethics and Mass Media,” in Communication: Ethical and Moral Issues, ed. Thayer, L. (London: Gordon and Breach), 189–99.Google Scholar
Mattila, A.S. 2009. “How to Handle PR Disasters? An Examination of the Impact of Communication Response Type and Failure Attributions on Consumer Perceptions,” The Journal of Services Marketing 23(4) 211–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08876040910965548CrossRefGoogle Scholar
May, L. 1983. “Vicarious Agency and Corporate Responsibility,” Philosophical Studies 43(1): 69–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01112523CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCurry, J. 2010. “Japan Airlines Files for Bankruptcy,” The Guardian (January 19), http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/19/japan-airlines-files-bankruptcyGoogle Scholar
Mediacurves 2009. “Domino’s Pizza Apology Tested,” http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=uFiXWboPD5A.Google Scholar
Montopoli, B. 2010. “Akio Toyoda Congressional Testimony: ‘I Am Deeply Sorry’” (February 23), http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-6235105-503544.html.Google Scholar
Morgenstern, G., and Story, L. 2009. “Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won,” New York Times (December 23), http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/business /24trading.html?pagewanted=all.Google Scholar
Mostrous, A., and Ralph, A. and 2011. “Fukushima Nuclear Plant Owner Falsified Inspection Records,” The Times (March 17), reprinted athttp://www.theaustralian.com.au/fukushima-nuclear-plant-owner-falsified-inspection-records/story-fn84naht-1226023073141.Google Scholar
MSNBC2010. “Hayward’s Apology Falls on Deaf Ears,” (June 17), http://video.msnbc .msn.com/ nightly-news/37766776#37766776.Google Scholar
Nobles, M. 2008. The Politics of Official Apologies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511756252CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novak, J.M, Seeger, M.W., Sellnow, T., and Ulmer, R.R. 2005. “Post-Crisis Discourse and Organizational Change, Failure and Renewal,” Journal of Organizational Change Management 18(1): 78–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09534810510579869Google Scholar
Patel, A., and Reinsch, L. 2003. “Companies Can Apologize: Corporate Apologies and Legal Liability,” Business Communication Quarterly 66(1): 9–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/108056990306600103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patel, K. 2009. “Bad for DDB, Bad for Ad Shows, Just Plain Bad: How the WWF-9/11 Controversy Put the Worst Possible Spotlight on Madison Avenue,” Advertising Age (September 7), http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=138855.Google Scholar
Rap, C. 2010. “Aristotle’s Rhetoric,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring edition), ed. Zalta, Edward N.http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/.Google Scholar
Read, K. 2007. ‘“Corporate Pathos’: New Approaches to Quell Hostile Publics,” Journal of Management Communication 11(4): 332–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13632540710843931Google Scholar
Rehm, D. 2010. ‘“Apology,” The Diane Rehm Show (July 15), http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-07-15/apology.Google Scholar
Romell, R., and Gilbert, C. 2009. “Chrysler CEO Apologizes for Kenosha Mistake,” JS Online (May 8), http://www.jsonline.com/business/44595472.html.Google Scholar
Scher, S.J., and Darley, J.M. 1997. “How Effective Are the Things People Say to Apologize? Effects of the Realization of the Apology Speech Act,” Journal of Psycholin-guistic Research 26:127–40.http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1025068306386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlenker, B.R., Pontari, B.A. and Christopher, A.N. 2001. “Excuses and Character: Personal and Social Implications of Excuses,” Personality and Social Psychology 5: 15–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0501_2Google Scholar
Seeger, M.W., and Ulmer, R.R. 2001. “Virtuous Responses to Organizational Crisis: Aaron Feuerstein and Milt Cole,” Journal of Business Ethics 31(4): 369–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1010759319845CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirouzu, N., and Smith, R. 2011. “Plant’s Design, Safety Record Are Under Scrutiny,” The Wall Street Journal (March 16), http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704396504576204461929992144.html?mg=reno64-wsj.Google Scholar
Simon, R., and Muskal, M. 2010. “Gulf Oil Spill: BP’s Tony Hayward Apologizes,” Los Angeles Times (June 17), http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/06/gulf-oil-spill-bps-hayward-apologizes.html.Google Scholar
Sitkin, S.B., and Bies, R.J. 1993. “Social Accounts in Conflict Situations: Using Explanation to Manage Conflict,” Human Relations 46: 349–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001872679304600303CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, N. 2008. I Was Wrong: The Meanings of Apologies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Souder, L. 2010. “A Rhetorical Analysis of Apologies for Scientific Misconduct: Do They Really Mean It?,” Science Engineering Ethics 16(1): 175–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11948-009-9149-yCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tavuchis, N. 1991. Mea Culpa: A Sociology of Apology and Reconciliation (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press).Google Scholar
Tedeschi, J.T., and Norman, N. 1985. “Social Power, Self-Presentation, and the Self,” in The Self and Social Life, ed. Schlenker, B.R. (New York: McGraw-Hill), 293–322.Google Scholar
Tomlinson, E.C., Dineen, B.R., and Lewicki, R.J. 2004. “The Road to Reconciliation: Antecedents of Victim Willingness to Reconcile Following a Broken Promise,” Journal of Management 30(2): 165–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/jjm.2003.01.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trouillot, M-R. 2000. “Abortive Rituals: Historical Apologies in the Global Era,” Interventions 2(2): 171–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, L. 1997. “Liability Means Never Being Able to Say You’re Sorry: Corporate Guilt, Legal Constraints, and Defensiveness in Corporate Communication,” Management Communication Quarterly 11(1): 51–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0893318997111003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Villadsen, L.S. 2008. “Speaking on Behalf of Others: Rhetorical Agency and Epideictic Functions in Official Apologies,” Rhetoric Society Quarterly 38(1): 25–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02773940701779769CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiser, B. 2011. “Judge Explains 150-Year Sentence for Madoff,” The New York Times (June 28), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/nyregion/judge-denny-chin-recounts-his-thoughts-in-bernard-madoff-sentencing.html?pagewanted=all.Google Scholar
Whitaker, B. 2011. “Japanese Suspicious of TEPCO, Government,” CBS News (March 16), http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=735988.Google Scholar
Widman, A. 2010. “Liability and the Health Care Bill: An ‘Alternative’ Perspective,” California Law Review Circuit vol. 1 (September 21), http://www.californialawreview .org/ articles/liability-and-the-health-care-bill-an-;alternative-perspective.Google Scholar
Yarow, J. 2010. “Netflix CEO Apologizes for Calling Americans ‘Self-Absorbed,’” BusinessInsider (September 24), http://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-ceo-apologizes-for-calling-americans-self-absorbed-says-streaming-only-option-could-be-coming-to-us-2010-9.Google Scholar