Crisis Management By Apology: Corporate Response to Allegations of Wrongdoing

This volume examines the role of apologia and apology in response to public attack. Author Keith Michael Hearit provides an introduction to these common components of public life, and considers a diverse list of subjects, from public figures and individuals to corporations and institutions. He explores the motivations and rationales behind apologies, and considers the ethics and legal liabilities of these actions. Hearit provides case studies throughout the volume, with many familiar examples from recent events in the United States, as well as an international apology-making case from Japan. The broad-perspective approach of this volume makes the content relevant and appealing to practitioners and scholars in public relations, business communications, and management. It is a valuable text for courses that take a discursive approach to public relations, and it also appeals to readers in business management, examining apology as a response strategy to corporate crises.

Keith Michael Hearit (Ph.D., 1992, Purdue University) is an Associate Professor of Communication and Associate Dean of the Lee Honors College at Western Michigan University. In addition to his administrative work, Professor Hearit teaches courses in organizational communication, public relations, corporate advocacy, and crisis management. His research focuses on non-commercial forms of external organizational communication by corporations, particularly in those instances when companies are accused of wrongdoing. In addition to his book, Crisis Management by Apology: Corporate Response to Allegations of Wrongdoing, he has published articles in the Handbook of Public Relations, Communication Studies, and Public Relations Review, as well as contributed chapters in a number of edited books. Hearit is active in the National Communication Association, Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Education, and the Central States Communication Association.