A Pragmatic Study of Image Restoration via Corporate Apology in Chinese Internet Corporations

Autor/inn/en	Xu, Zhanghong; Yan, Alan
Titel	A Pragmatic Study of Image Restoration via Corporate Apology in Chinese Internet Corporations
Quelle	In: English Language Teaching, 13 (2020) 6, S.76-88 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1916-4742
Schlagwörter	Internet; Corporations; Pragmatics; Public Relations; Discourse Analysis; Form Classes (Languages); Language Usage; Verbs; Reputation; Trust (Psychology); Public Opinion; Foreign Countries; Speech Acts; Communication Strategies; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Unternehmen; Pragmalinguistik; Public relation work; Öffentlichkeitsarbeit; Diskursanalyse; Analytischer Sprachbau; Sprachgebrauch; Öffentliche Meinung; Ausland; Sprechakt; Kommunikationsstrategie
Abstract	With the booming of Chinese internet corporations, various wrongdoings have been frequently exposed to the public, which damages their corporate image. To face the challenge, these companies usually resort to apologies for image restoration. This study investigates how apology strategies are employed by Chinese internet corporations to restore image in the event of wrongdoings. Based on a self-built corpus and by means of textual analysis, we identified different apology strategies characterized by various linguistic features. The results show that "Illocutionary Force Indicating Devices (IFIDs)" and "damage repair" are two of the most frequently used move types which are normally marked by such key linguistic features as personal pronouns, modal verbs, performative verbs and intensifiers. It is also found that IFIDs, "giving account" and "admitting mistakes", "offering repair" and "inviting further interaction" are often incorporated together to show the company's sincere apologetic stance which contributes to the ultimate goal -- rebuilding corporate image and regaining the public's trust. However, direct expressions of "asking for forgiveness" are seldom found in apologies crafted by Chinese internet corporations. This study on apologies in the domain of internet corporations is believed to shed light on research on corporate apology in particular and corporate image restoration in general. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Canadian Center of Science and Education. 1120 Finch Avenue West Suite 701-309, Toronto, OH M3J 3H7, Canada. Tel: 416-642-2606; Fax: 416-642-2608; e-mail: elt@ccsenet.org; Web site: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01