Big Trouble for the Big Three: An Audience Perspective of the Appropriateness and Effectiveness of the Big Three Automakers’ Image Repair Strategies

Abstract

The importance of image management has created the need to for organizations to continually work in order to improve their image or defend it against perceived threats. Since organizations engage in a constant struggle to preserve their reputation, it is important to understand the persuasive discourse associated with image repair strategies. In addition, a successful rhetor must also acknowledge the importance of perception of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the apologetic discourse from the perspective of an audience. Focus groups were conducted and analyzed in order to better understand the perceived appropriateness and effectiveness of the image repair strategies employed by the Big Three Automakers as perceived by the audience. The findings of this study complement the original findings of Benoit and Drew’s quantitative study assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness of image repair strategies in an interpersonal setting. However, there were observable differences between the studies in terms of the perception of both the appropriateness and effectiveness of bolstering and the effectiveness of differentiation. The implications of these differences can be important in developing a better understanding of the utilization of image repair strategies in the apologetic discourse of organizations. Specifically, the results demonstrate how the audience determines the appropriateness and effectiveness of the strategies and how rhetors are able to successfully use different strategies based in context.