An Empirical Study on the Impact of Personality on Consumer Forgiveness from the Perspective of Perceived Apology Sincerity

Abstract：From the perspective of perceived apology sincerity，and under the background of quality problem with smart phones bought through online shopping，the author carries out the empirical research on the relationship among personality， perceived apology sincerity，and consumer forgiveness. It is found that：consumers’personality，both religiosity and spirituality， has significant positive influences on consumers’forgiveness；perceived apology sincerity has a direct positive effect on consumers’forgiveness，and plays a mediating role in the impact of personality on consumers’forgiveness；and the impact of perceived apology sincerity on consumer emotional forgiveness and decision- forgiveness is greater than that of consumer personality. Enterprises should not only concern about the religious belief characteristics and spiritual characteristics of consumers in crisis management of brand or service，but also strive to recognize mistakes，express remorse and assume responsibility. Consumers' forgiveness should further enhance consumers' perception of the company's apology and sincerity by comforting and compensating consumers，so as to successfully obtain consumers’forgiveness，regain their trust in corporate brands as well as their repurchase behavior.

Key words：consumer forgiveness；personality；religiosity；spirituality；perceived apology sincerity