Collaborative authenticity

Abstract

PurposeEffective communication of information is central to integrated care systems (ICS), particularly between providers and care-consumers. Drawing on communication theory, this paper aims to investigate whether and why source effects increase positive evaluations of health-related messages among care-consumers. Design/methodology/approachA preliminary online survey (N = 525) establishes the discriminant validity of the measures used in the main experimental study. The main study (N = 116) examines whether identical messages disclosed to be created by different sources (i.e. institutional, care-consumer, collaborative) lead to different message evaluations, and whether source credibility and similarity, and message authenticity, explain this process. FindingsIn comparison to any other source, messages disclosed to be co-created are evaluated more positively by care-consumers. This effect occurs through a parallel serial mediation carried over by perceptions of source credibility and source similarity (parallel, first serial-level mediators) and message authenticity (second serial-level mediator). Practical implicationsThe findings offer guidelines for leveraging source effects in ICS communication strategies, signaling how collaborative message sources increase the favorableness of health message evaluations. Originality/valueThis research demonstrates the efficacy of drawing on marketing communication theory to build ICS communication capacity by showing how re-configuring the declared source of informational content can increase positive evaluations of health-related messages. In so doing, this research extends existing literature on message authenticity by demonstrating its key underlying role in affecting message evaluations.

Investigating the effectiveness of virtual influencers in prosocial marketing

“…From consumers' perspective, authenticity judgments are often subjective and based on their lived experiences and ability to establish connections between the source and themselves (Nunes et al, 2021). Indeed, the literature emphasizes the role of the source in improving the perception of authenticity (Orazi & Newton, 2018) and the perceived similarity between the sender and receiver of the message in increasing trust in the message (Han & Balabanis, 2024). Since consumers' evaluation of authenticity is influenced by whether the influencer's values are aligned with theirs (i.e., homophily) (Shoenberger & Kim, 2023) and authentic messaging is important in influencing consumers' socially responsible behavior (Shoenberger et al, 2021), we propose that perceived homophily between influencers and followers increases the perceived post authenticity, which in turn increases prosocial behavioral intention.…”