A corpus-based analysis of corporate apologies and public responses on Chinese social media

Abstract

On social media, corporations apologize for real/potential offense to maintain rapport with consumers, repair damaged image, and rebuild public trust. However, the apologies will elicit polarized evaluations from the offended party, indicating recipients' acceptance or rejection. This paper analyzes 53 corporations' apology posts on Sina Weibo, a prominent Chinese social media platform, to investigate causes, features, and reception of these apologies. The findings reveal that: (1) employees' misconduct and flawed products are significant triggers for the corporate apologies, while violations of social norms and partners' incompetence are the minor ones; (2) overall, corporations employ four primary apology strategies, viz. explaining, promising forbearance, highlighting corporate cultural identity, and accepting responsibility, with the double form “denying responsibility + explanation” as the dominant complex constitution. In response to the different types of offenses, explanation, highlighting cultural identity, and denying responsibility are more frequently applied; (3) a majority of the recipients reject the apologies by displaying negative emotions regarding serious damage/offense, improper compensation, inadequate accounts of the incident, and a lack of sincerity. Conversely, fewer than a quarter of recipients accept the apologies by conveying support, belief, expectation for the corporations, and satisfaction with their repairs, and offering suggestions for improvement. A successful corporate apology is reflected in recipients’ positive responses, which are influenced by the triggering event and diverse strategies the firm employs. The synthesized perspective theoretically enhances the understanding of the speech act and practically sheds light on improving the efficacy of corporate apologies on social media.