When Leader's Forgiveness Backfires: Consequences on Trust and a Potential Mitigation Strategy

Area of Science:

• Organizational Behavior
• Leadership Studies
• Trust Dynamics

Background:

• Leader forgiveness is crucial for organizational harmony but its impact on follower trust remains complex.
• Existing research has not fully explored the potential dilemma forgiveness creates between leader integrity and benevolence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how leader forgiveness influences follower trust, specifically examining the integrity-benevolence dilemma.
• To determine the conditions under which leader forgiveness affects integrity-based versus benevolence-based trust.

Main Methods:

• Conducted three studies with 1,235 participants, employing controlled scenarios and a behavioral experiment with real stakes.
• Assessed follower trust perceptions following leader forgiveness in situations of organizational misconduct.

Main Results:

• Leader forgiveness decreased integrity-based trust but increased benevolence-based trust.
• The negative impact on integrity trust was greater for moral transgressions and severe consequences.
• Explicitly articulating moral principles behind forgiveness mitigated the negative effect on integrity trust.

Conclusions:

• Leader forgiveness presents a dual effect on follower trust, impacting both integrity and benevolence.
• Leaders can manage the trust dilemma by clearly communicating the moral basis for their forgiveness.
• Findings provide theoretical insights and practical guidance for leaders navigating forgiveness.