Buffers in Bad News Messages and Recipient Perceptions

Abstract

This article explores the accepted notion of promoting goodwill in a negative message through an “indirect” approach (which delays the rejection by providing buffers). There is a death of empirical work on this proposition. The present project has theoretical as well as managerial implications for organizations communicating internally and externally. The most significant findings suggested that (1) the goodwill of recipients of negative messages can be promoted by providing them with alternatives or solutions to their problems and (2) the placement of rejection had little correlation with recipient self-perceptions as well as their perceptions of the sender of the rejection message.