A scholarly debate has arisen concerning the influence of cuteness on the public's propensity for forgiveness during crises. Theme parks present a unique context where interacting with cute mascots is a central draw for visitors, yet these can become a source of crisis. This study aims to examine the impact of theme park cute mascots on the public's forgiveness in online crises and employs the Shanghai Disneyland LinaBell crisis as a case. Results from social media analysis and interviews revealed that the perceived cuteness of the mascot, combined with crisis attributions and the public's sympathy, influenced their forgiveness. A survey involving 495 participants was employed to test the hypotheses. Results identified a significant moderating role of the perceived cuteness of mascots that weakens the influence of the internal locus attribution on public forgiveness. This study provides insights for theme parks in carrying out emotional marketing campaigns for crisis image recovery.

中文翻译：

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可爱是无辜的吗？公众对主题公园吉祥物的宽恕


关于可爱对危机期间公众宽恕倾向的影响，已经出现了一场学术辩论。主题公园呈现出独特的环境，与可爱的吉祥物互动是吸引游客的中心，但这也可能成为危机的根源。本研究旨在探讨主题公园可爱吉祥物对公众在网络危机中的宽容度的影响，并以上海迪士尼乐园莉娜贝尔危机为例。社交媒体分析和采访的结果显示，吉祥物的可爱感，加上危机归因和公众的同情心，影响了他们的宽恕。一项涉及 495 名参与者的调查被用来检验这些假设。结果发现，吉祥物的可爱感具有显着的调节作用，削弱了内部轨迹归因对公众宽恕的影响。本研究为主题公园开展情感营销活动以恢复危机形象提供了见解。