Communicating social value: An experimental study on credible communication and social enterprises

The management of marketing and communication strategies involves a complex mix of different requirements, particularly for social enterprises, which try to fulfill both social and business aims while operating in a resource-constrained context. Although social enterprises are a rising phenomenon, the research on how these businesses communicate their activities remains in its infancy. This study builds on the theory of planned behavior and the source credibility theory, presenting a conceptual framework that distinguishes between high, moderate, and low credibility of a social enterprise's communication, to analyze its effects on potential customers' behavioral intentions. Through an online experiment with 260 subjects, the authors demonstrate that attitude toward a social enterprise, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and, ultimately, the intention to support a social enterprise by purchasing its products increases with the social enterprise's message credibility. The authors also present practical implications and avenues for future research on the communication of social enterprises based on the empirical findings.