The effects of blame attributions and offender likableness on forgiveness and revenge in the workplace

This study proposes and tests a model that applies the concept of restorati ve justice to the enactment of revenge and forgiveness in organizations. Th e model draws from theories of cognitive attribution and consistency, as we ll as more recent theories of revenge in organizations, to describe the pro cess by which a personal offense triggers revenge and forgiveness cognition s and behavior. Attributions of blame were predicted to directly influence the contemplation of revenge and forgiveness strategies. In turn, these cog nitions were hypothesized to be the immediate precursors of behavior It was also predicted that the likableness of the offender would be positively as sociated with both revenge and forgiveness cognitions. Finally, blame attri bution was expected to be influenced by offense severity. To test these pre dictions, a survey was administered to one hundred and eighty employees of a government agency. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the si gnificance of the pathways in the model and compare its fit to theoreticall y plausible rivals. Although the theoretical model fit the data well, a les s constrained alternative showed a superior fit. In both the theoretical mo del and less constrained alternative, all but two of the predicted pathways in the model were upheld. The implications of the findings for organizatio ns are discussed and future research directions are offered. (C) 1999 Elsev ier Science Inc. All rights reserved.