Past research on scapegoating argues that this crisis communication strategy is often ineffective because it can be perceived as an unfair attempt at shifting blame. In contrast, a few studies have shown that scapegoating can be effective by increasing the perceived ethicality of the sender relative to the target that is presented as responsible for wrongdoing. Reconciling these inconsistent findings, we show that the relative effectiveness of scapegoating depends on the perceptions of the sender and of the target. Our findings show that both the positioning of the sender as an underdog or a top dog and the positive or negative CSR record of the target contribute to explaining the effectiveness of scapegoating. Following a crisis, scapegoating appears to be most effective when the sender is an underdog and the target has a negative CSR record. The effectiveness of scapegoating for an underdog is however reduced when the target has a positive CSR record. At the opposite end, scapegoating might backfire when the sender is a top dog that attacks a target with a positive CSR record. Finally, when a top dog attacks a target with a negative CSR record, scapegoating reduces negative word of mouth even though this effect does not appear to be mediated by perceived ethicality. The study contributes to research on scapegoating communications and on the consequences of an underdog positioning and a positive CSR record for companies trying to manage the negative fallout from an ethical crisis.

过去关于替罪羊的研究认为，这种危机沟通策略通常是无效的，因为它可能被视为转移责任的不公平尝试。相比之下，一些研究表明，替罪羊可以有效地提高发送者相对于被认为对不法行为负责的目标的道德感。调和这些不一致的发现，我们表明替罪羊的相对有效性取决于发送者和目标的看法。我们的研究结果表明，将发送者定位为弱者或强者以及目标的正面或负面 CSR 记录都有助于解释替罪羊的有效性。危机发生后，当发件人处于劣势且目标公司的 CSR 记录为负面时，替罪羊似乎最有效。然而，当目标具有积极的企业社会责任记录时，为失败者找替罪羊的有效性会降低。另一方面，当发件人是攻击具有积极 CSR 记录的目标的佼佼者时，替罪羊可能会适得其反。最后，当顶级犬攻击具有负面 CSR 记录的目标时，替罪羊会减少负面的口碑，即使这种影响似乎不受感知道德的调节。该研究有助于研究替罪羊的沟通以及失败者定位的后果以及试图管理道德危机负面影响的公司的积极 CSR 记录。当发件人是攻击具有积极 CSR 记录的目标的佼佼者时，替罪羊可能会适得其反。最后，当顶级犬攻击具有负面 CSR 记录的目标时，替罪羊会减少负面的口碑，即使这种影响似乎不受感知道德的调节。该研究有助于研究替罪羊的沟通以及失败者定位的后果以及试图管理道德危机负面影响的公司的积极 CSR 记录。当发件人是攻击具有积极 CSR 记录的目标的佼佼者时，替罪羊可能会适得其反。最后，当顶级犬攻击具有负面 CSR 记录的目标时，替罪羊会减少负面的口碑，即使这种影响似乎不受感知道德的调节。该研究有助于研究替罪羊的沟通以及失败者定位的后果以及试图管理道德危机负面影响的公司的积极 CSR 记录。