Relational versus instrumental pathways of apology: The roles of performative sincerity, strategic presentation, and trust restoration in behavioral outcomes of relationship Repair

Abstract

Apologies, as central components of relationship repair after interpersonal or organizational conflicts, are analyzable regarding their effectiveness based on the form and perceived apology intent. Thus, this study investigates how two contrasting forms of apology expression, i.e., performative sincerity (PS) and strategic presentation (SP), affect behavioral outcomes (BO) and to what degree these effects are mediated by trust restoration (TR). Adopting survey data and analyses through structural equation modeling (SEM), this study examines direct, indirect, and total effects of the proposed pathways. According to the results, PS exerts a significant indirect effect on BO through TR, whose mediation accounts for 72.5% of the total effect. In contrast, SP exerts a significant direct effect on BO, without significant mediation through TR. Additionally, the direct effect of PS on BO and the indirect effect of SP on BO via TR are non-significant. These findings offer empirical evidence for two distinct mechanisms of apology effectiveness. Explicitly speaking, PS operates a prompt of a relational-trust, spontaneity-oriented pathway, which can promote sustainable reconciliation through trust rebuilding. In contrast, SP functions as a trigger of an instrumental-behavioral, external-factor-driven pathway, which can drive immediate outcomes without substantial relational healing. This study contributes to theoretical differentiation between relational and instrumental logics of apology effectiveness and practical implications on the consistency between apology strategies and long-term goals of authentic relationship repair.