Familiarity Breeds Contempt, But Only for Her? Consumer Reactions to CEO Crisis Public Apologies

ABSTRACT Organizational crises place exceptional demands on leaders, yet external evaluations of crisis responses are shaped by both individual and organizational factors. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how gendered expectations within organizations might shape evaluations of CEO crisis effectiveness in real‑world contexts. An online study was used to examine responses to real‐world CEO crisis apologies. Participants from Australia and the United States ( N = 2347) were randomly assigned to view one of two apology videos delivered by either a female or male CEO following an internal crisis caused by their predecessors. Participants rated crisis leadership effectiveness, trust in the leader, and consumer post‑apology purchase intentions. Individuals who were more familiar with the organization evaluated both CEOs as less trustworthy and less effective, even when they reported strong prior loyalty. This familiarity effect was particularly pronounced for the female CEO. Across conditions, participants with a higher general tendency to trust others provided more positive evaluations overall. Although the male CEO received higher ratings of crisis leadership and trust, organizational familiarity exerted a stronger influence on stakeholder perceptions than CEO gender. As the study relied on real‑world cases, the crises differ in theoretically important ways: Qantas reflects an integrity/ethical crisis with greater reputational risk, whereas Defence Health reflects a competence/technical service disruption. Accordingly, the observed gender pattern should be interpreted as interacting with crisis type, organizational familiarity, and perceived responsibility, rather than as a pure CEO gender effect. These limits constrain causal claims but underscore the value of studying gendered crisis leadership in naturalistic corporate settings. Organizational reputation and gendered expectations can influence responses to CEO apologies. Organizations should account for these factors when planning crisis responses.