Make the Effort Visible: The Effect of Process Transparency on Public Forgiveness in Tourism Crisis Communication

Abstract

Public forgiveness in tourism crisis communication is conducive to improving destination reputation, although this connection has been ignored. To fill this research gap, this study conducts three experiments to investigate the effect of process transparency on public forgiveness. The results of two experiments reveal that response messages with high (vs. low) process transparency are more likely to promote public forgiveness, and the effect of process transparency on public forgiveness is mediated by perceived effort. The results of Experiment 3 also show that narrative (vs. non-narrative) messages with high process transparency have a stronger impact on perceived effort and public forgiveness. However, for messages with low process transparency, the effect of process transparency does not vary by message type. This study expands the research framework of tourism crisis communication and provides a new research perspective on emotional recovery. It also provides managers with effective and low-cost tourism crisis communication strategies.