?Het spijt me (niet)?: Herstel na een verontschuldiging door een mannelijke versus vrouwelijke CEO

"I'm (not) sorry": Repair after apologies from a male versus female CEO Offering an apology can mitigate damage after a transgression made by an organization. While previous studies investigated the content of a good apology, the present study considered which circumstances (in terms of CEO gender and type of industry) are of importance for successful CEO apologies after an organizational transgression. Building on attribution theory and token status theory, we investigated effects of an apology given by a male versus female CEO, situated in a male versus more female dominated industry. An experimental scenario-based study (N = 57) with a within-subjects design found that offering an apology led to better repair within the public than not offering one. No difference in repair between a male CEO apology and a female CEO apology was found, nor did this effect change when the type of industry (i.e., male versus female dominated) changed. This study combines different theoretical perspectives and thereby adds to the literature on both CEO apologies and perceptions of male versus female CEOs. Results also help organizations, specifically CEOs and their communication teams, when preparing a reaction after a transgression and provide more insight into (handling) specific expectations regarding male versus female CEOs.