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Blaming others during an incident inquiry. An analysis of ‘blame games’ in the aftermath of crisesn the aftermath of crises, organizations try to restore a negative impact on their reputation. One of the strategies coined by Benoit (1997) consists of shifting blame towards others who were involved in the same crisis or disaster and minimizing one’s own perceived role in a crisis. Based on a report by the Dutch Safety Board, this study analyzes how organizations try to influence the reputation and perception of other organizations involved. It shows that ‘blame games’ tend to be restricted to the phase of an inquiry, while only ‘diminishing’ crisis response strategies are used once a final report is presented.