Toward prescription: Testing the rhetoric of atonement's applicability in the athletic arena

Did BP Atone for its Transgressions? Expanding Theory on ‘Ethical Apology’ in Crisis Communication

“…Atonement theory (see, e.g., Jerome, ; Koesten et al., ) identifies five features of atonement where the transgressor: (1) acknowledges wrongdoing and asks for forgiveness; (2) demonstrates an attitude of change and relationship renewal; (3) specifically identifies the steps that will be taken to develop a ‘different’ kind of present and future; (4) demonstrates the authenticity of apology; and (5) conducts the atonement – that is the specific actions to correct the problem and renew the relationship – in public. Atonement must be supported by distinctive and measurable actions.…”

“…Therefore, the second element in developing a model of ethical apology is to identify a mechanism to more objectively evaluate message ethics. In this literature review, the theory of atonement is discussed as a key mechanism for assessing an organization's ethical apology because it is built on measurable conceptualizations of authenticity in apology (Jerome, ; Koesten et al., ; Shepard, ).…”

“…As an example of a unique type of apologia, atonement's conceptual roots certainly come from a religious tradition where the ‘sinner’ accepts responsibility for wrongs and seeks to make just retribution to those wronged (Koesten et al., ); however, it is distinctive from typical apology because while atonement may result in long‐term image restoration its shorter term goal is to gain forgiveness and begin to restore the relationship with those ‘wronged’ (Jerome, ; Koesten et al., ; Shepard, ). Koesten et al., () describe atonement as, ‘a means of accepting guilt to create a new image as a redeemed individual or nation’ (p. 70).…”

“…Research has found that although apology is the most effective crisis strategy (Kim, Avergy & Lariscy, 2009), sympathy and compensation can be equally effective as apology (Choi & Lin, 2009). Additionally, apology is often accompanied by affirmative statements such as those where the organization accepts responsibility (Pace, Fediuk & Botero, 2010), demonstrates corrective action (Blaney, Benoit & Brazeal, 2002) and can work to atone for the transgression (Jerome, 2008). Yet these factors are seldom considered together as a form of ethical apology.…”

“…With an increasing body of research suggesting that 'authentic' corporate social responsibility is a critical factor in not only minimizing the impact of crises on organizations (e.g., Kim, 2013;Lacey, Kennett-Hensel & Manolis, 2014;Xu et al, 2013), but also as an important approach to responding to crises themselves (e.g., Diers, 2012;Haigh & Brubaker, 2010;Piotrowski & Guyette, 2010), the centrality of evaluating the ethical content of crisis response as an integral component to evaluating crisis response is important. Certainly, this resonates with the demands from a modern public relations environment that requires organizations to more ethically engage with many different stakeholder groups (Botan, 1997;Jerome, 2008;Kim, 2013;Shepard, 2009;Xu et al, 2013).…”