Table 3. Thematic mapping of brand... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3.

Thematic mapping of brand forgiveness pathways

Brand forgiveness pathways
First-order quotes	Open coding	Axial coding
“X realized and removed the ad from their website and social media pages” “Received a call from their general manager, and he apologized”. “..didn’t charge me for delivery and gave me a £20 gift card”	Brand withdrawal of offensive content Leadership apology Tangible compensation	Restorative brand actions
“..changed its website and its communications, especially after the Nigerian incident …” “..fundamental change in their culture” “That is what they are showing”	Communication transformation Cultural evolution signals Surface-level ideological adaptation	Ideological brand shifts
“Now that we are talking about it, I think that it was not a big deal” “Maybe I overreacted” “The delay in delivery was due to a roadblock”	Severity downgrading Self-reflection on response Technical explanation acceptance	Transgression trivialization
“Performance of X was not good in the UK” “This business needed a drastic change” “Maybe those decisions were necessary”	Market reality recognition Business necessity acknowledgement Rational acceptance	Circumstantial reframing
“What is the problem in promoting positive character?” “Giving voice to people like me” “When it works, it is magical”	Value identification Personal alignment Benefit recognition	Benefit-harm calculus
“X lost $14.7bn” “X has been punished enough” “Strip away the hysteria”	Financial consequences Satisfaction with retribution Rational evaluation	Perceived justice

Brand forgiveness pathways
First-order quotes	Open coding	Axial coding
“X realized and removed the ad from their website and social media pages”“Received a call from their general manager, and he apologized”.“..didn’t charge me for delivery and gave me a £20 gift card”	Brand withdrawal of offensive content Leadership apology Tangible compensation	Restorative brand actions
“..changed its website and its communications, especially after the Nigerian incident …”“..fundamental change in their culture”“That is what they are showing”	Communication transformation Cultural evolution signals Surface-level ideological adaptation	Ideological brand shifts
“Now that we are talking about it, I think that it was not a big deal”“Maybe I overreacted”“The delay in delivery was due to a roadblock”	Severity downgrading Self-reflection on response Technical explanation acceptance	Transgression trivialization
“Performance of X was not good in the UK”“This business needed a drastic change”“Maybe those decisions were necessary”	Market reality recognition Business necessity acknowledgement Rational acceptance	Circumstantial reframing
“What is the problem in promoting positive character?”“Giving voice to people like me”“When it works, it is magical”	Value identification Personal alignment Benefit recognition	Benefit-harm calculus
“X lost $14.7bn”“X has been punished enough”“Strip away the hysteria”	Financial consequences Satisfaction with retribution Rational evaluation	Perceived justice

Source(s): Authors’ own work