Applying Ethics of Care-Based Response Strategies to Mitigate AI-Related Corporate Crisis: The Moderating Role of Crisis Involvement

As corporations increasingly adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools, the number of crisis cases where AI application violates social norms and values rises. Research is sparse on the dynamics of ethics of care messaging and crisis involvement in mitigating AI-related corporate crises. To fill this gap, the study employs a 2 (crisis response strategy: excuse vs. apology) x 2 (ethics of care messaging: absence vs. presence) between-subjects experimental design by integrating situational crisis communication theory with ethics of care. Results show that both crisis response strategy and ethics of care messaging, respectively, interact with crisis involvement to affect corporate reputation. Moreover, corporate reputation mediates the interaction effect between crisis response strategy and crisis involvement on product evaluation and purchasing intention. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed.