Brand Forgiveness Scale

What it measures

Measures the willingness of consumers to forgive a brand following a transgression or failure. Brand forgiveness is increasingly important in crisis management and service recovery research — brands with strong emotional bonds and high consumer identification receive more forgiveness after failures. Related to but distinct from forgiveness of persons.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

• I can forgive [brand] for what happened.
• I am willing to give [brand] another chance.
• I would excuse [brand] for its past mistakes.
• I can let go of my negative feelings toward [brand].
• I do not want to hold a grudge against [brand].
• I am willing to forget about what [brand] did.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Score = mean. Higher = greater willingness to forgive. Brand forgiveness is moderated by brand love, brand identification, and perceived transgression severity. Consumers with stronger brand relationships are more forgiving — but repeated transgressions erode this buffer. Widely used in brand crisis management and corporate scandal research.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Hegner, S.M., Beldad, A.D., & Kamphuis op Koele, S. (2014). In automatic we trust: Investigating the impact of brand trust on purchase willingness following brand transgressions. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23(2), 93–101.

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