Forgiving Stakeholders
DOI
10.5465/amp.2023.0460
Abstract
Understanding firm responses to breaches of trust is critical to managing relationships between firms and stakeholders. Although forgiveness is a vital link in the trust-repair process, there is so far no article that examines forgiveness research to identify factors that should influence the propensity of top managers of a transgressed firm to forgive a transgressing stakeholder. This article fills that void by integrating concepts of trust restoration, forgiveness, stakeholder culture, and transgressor power to develop a model that predicts the level of forgiveness a firm is likely to extend to a stakeholder that has breached the firm’s trust. The visibility and magnitude of a transgression—as well as transgressor intentions, reactions, history, reputation, and power—influence the firm’s response, within the context of its stakeholder culture. Our model can help managers, consultants, and investors anticipate and interpret transgressed firm reactions to a transgressing stakeholder’s breach of trust, with implications for relations with the transgressor, relations with other stakeholders, and future firm performance.
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
6-24-2024
Publisher Statement
© Academy of Management Perspectives
Recommended Citation
Harrison, J. S., Ho, V. T., & Phillips, R. A. (August 2023). Forgiving stakeholders. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2023.0460
Comments
Presented August 2023
Runner Up for the 2023 Best Business Ethics Paper Award conferred by the Social Issues in Management Division, Academy of Management
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