Punishment by different entities shapes third parties’ forgiveness decisions

Abstract: This research examines third-party forgiveness as a response to different sources of justice restoration efforts. We find that third parties’ forgiveness is engendered in response to organizational sanctioning but not organizationally-relevant karmic punishment. Exploratory results also indicate that third-party forgiveness likelihood is mediated by justice sensitivity and that third parties’ likelihood to punish the transgressor is not necessarily inversely related to their forgiveness. Overall, this work expands our understanding of forgiveness as it occurs beyond the victim-transgressor dyad and builds on the Vigilante Model of Justice by examining third parties’ forgiveness responses following different justice restoration efforts.

Keywords: forgiveness, justice