Pass the Buck or the Buck Stops Here? The Public Costs of Claiming and Deflecting Blame in Managing Crises
Research Question
How do executives’ presentational strategies during crises–-blame claiming vs. blame deflecting–-affect public support?
Main Finding
Executives who claim responsibility during a crisis are viewed more favorably than those who deflect blame. Blame claiming boosts perceptions of leadership and honesty, even when the crisis is negative.
Research Design
A series of survey experiments using both stylized and real-world crisis scenarios to test the impact of different rhetorical strategies on public evaluations.
Data Employed
Experimental survey data exposing respondents to varied presentations of executive crisis response.
Substantive Importance
Offers a counterintuitive insight that taking responsibility may be politically advantageous during crises. This contributes to our understanding of political communication, crisis management, and accountability.
Research Areas
Crisis Management, Political Communication, Survey Experiments, Presidential Accountability, Public Opinion
Citation
@article{blameclaim,
author = {Miller, David R. and Reeves, Andrew},
title = {Pass the Buck or the Buck Stops Here? The Public Costs of Claiming and Deflecting Blame in Managing Crises},
journal = {Journal of Public Policy},
volume = {42},
number = {1},
pages = {63--91},
year = {2022},
}