International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

Demystifying Source Credibility (SC) in Social Sciences: An Inescapable Construct towards Effective Communications

Open access
Source credibility is multifaceted in social sciences. In marketing and crisis communication, source credibility leads to fact-based positive behavior and message adherence. The believability of information can be indubitable by the credibility of its source. If the source of an organization’s information is not trustworthy, it can lead to the spread of false information, also known as infodemic. It is not easy to keep someone's attention for a long time, but some leaders and speakers manage to do it efficiently. The key to their success is source credibility (SC) which is determined by how the public perceives them. In crisis/marketing communication SC is very useful. Crisis communication from a trustworthy source builds public trust, promotes effective crisis response strategies, and safeguards reputation. This paper explains the applicability and how important it is to have source credibility in public speaking, advertisements, politics, religions, crisis communication, media communication, and organizational reputation. Fake news on social media during crises has damaged reputations and caused harm. Organizational information source credibility (ISC) is one salient aspect in determining an organization's survival during crises. The perceived trustworthiness of the messages can either strengthen or worsen an organization's esteem and reputation. Despite the indispensable role of ISC in organizations' survival during a crisis, it is still underexplored in crisis communication. This paper is significant because the most inherently complex form of management is human and mind management, and being perceived as a credible source is the key. The concept of source credibility is an essential element in communication within the social sciences branch of knowledge.
Adam, M. (2017). Persuasion in religious discourse: Enhancing credibility in sermon titles and openings. Discourse and Interaction, 10(2), 5-25.
Aladhadh, S., Zhang, X., & Sanderson, M. (2019). Location impact on source and linguistic features for information credibility of social media. Online Information Review.
Almeida, C., Macedo-Rouet, M., de Carvalho, V. B., Castilhos, W., Ramalho, M., Amorim, L., & Massarani, L. (2023). When does credibility matter? The assessment of information sources in teenagers navigation regimes. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 55(1), 218-231.
Ananda, A. F., & Wandebori, H. (2016, September). The impact of drugstore makeup product reviews by beauty vlogger on YouTube towards purchase intention by undergraduate students in Indonesia. In International Conference on Ethics of Business, Economics, and Social Science (Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 264-272).
Badu, J., Kruke, B. I., & Saetren, G. B. (2023). Crisis communication and trustworthiness among crisis actors: towards a typology of crisis management difficulties. Safety in Extreme Environments, 1-12.
Baudhuin, E. S., & Davis, M. K. (1972). Scales for the measurement of ethos: Another attempt.
Bitzer, L. F. (1968). The rhetorical situation. Philosophy & rhetoric, 1-14.
Brinson, N. H., & Lemon, L. L. (2023). Investigating the effects of host trust, credibility, and authenticity in podcast advertising. Journal of Marketing Communications, 29(6), 558-576.
Chatterjee, S., Rakshit, K., & Mandal, P. (2023). Exploring the antecedents for hospitality reviewers’ trustworthiness and its impact on business patronage. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 110, 103448.
Chavadi, C. A., Sirothiya, M., Vishwanatha, M. R., & Yatgiri, P. V. (2021). Analysing the moderating effects of product involvement and endorsement type on consumer buying behaviour: An empirical study on youth perspective. IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, 22779752211009004.
Chu, S. C., & Kamal, S. (2008). The effect of perceived blogger credibility and argument quality on message elaboration and brand attitudes: An exploratory study. Journal of interactive Advertising, 8(2), 26-37.
Cohen, J., Atad, E., & Mevorach, T. (2023). Does it matter who tells the story? An experimental test of the effects of narrative perspective on credibility, identification, and persuasion. Communication Research Reports, 1-10.
Coombs, W. T. (2010). Parameters for crisis communication. The handbook of crisis communication, 17-53.
Cope, E. M. (1877). The rhetoric of Aristotle (Vol. 2). University Press.
Daudt, H;. M., van Mossel, C., & Scott, S. J. (2013). Enhancing the scoping study methodology: a large, inter-professional team’s experience with Arksey and O’Malley’s framework. BMC medical research methodology, 13(1), 1-9.
Dholakia, R. R. (1987). Source credibility effects: A test of behavioral persistence. ACR North American Advances.
DOMINIC, E. D., & MAHAMED, D. M. (2023). Pestilence in Nigeria Education: A Narrative Review. Higher Education and Oriental Studies, 3(2).
Dominic, E. D., Mahamed, M., & Uwadiegwu, I. V. (2023). Examining Nigeria's Political Structure (NPS) as a Vehicle for Criminality, Corruption and Anti-National Development. Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management and Sciences, 12(1), 326-341.
Dominic, E. D., Mahamed, M., Abdullah, Z., & Hashim, N. B. (2021). Rebuilding Crisis Response Strategies: Nigerian University Reputation Sustainability during and after the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(6), 1448-1466.
Dominic, E. D., Mahamed, M., Abdullah, Z., & Hashim, N. B. (2022). Preferred Reporting Items for A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Prisma): The Impact of Covid-19 on University Reputation and Comparative Evaluation. Sciences, 12(8), 1629-1652.
Dominic, E. D., Mahamed, M., Abdullah, Z., & Hashim, N. B. (2022). A Quantitative Study on SCCT: Examining the Relationships Between Crisis Response Strategy, Crisis History, and Crisis Type on Organisational Reputation: Nigerian Perspective.
Dominic, E. D., Mahamed, M., Abdullah, Z., Hashim, N. B., & Victor, I. (2023). Crisis Communication: Conceptualizing the Efficacy of Information Source Credibility on Crisis Message Acceptability and Reputation Sustainability. Studies in Media and Communication, 11(7).
Dubuisson, J. A. (2023). Testing Truth-Default Theory in Public Speaking: Effects of Explicit Credibility Statements Across Levels of Relevance (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Alabama).
Erdogan, B. Z., Baker, M. J., & Tagg, S. (2001). Selecting celebrity endorsers: The practitioner's perspective. Journal of advertising research, 41(3), 39-48.
Fassett, D. L., & Nainby, K. (2021). Empowering Public Speaking. Cognella, Incorporated.
Holmes, W. S. (2011). Crisis communications and social media: Advantages, disadvantages and best practices.
Hong, S., & Len-Riós, M. E. (2015). Does race matter? Implicit and explicit measures of the effect of the PR spokesman's race on evaluations of spokesman source credibility and perceptions of a PR crisis' severity. Journal of Public Relations Research, 27(1), 63-80.
Hoogeveen, S., & van Elk, M. (2019). Preregistration Beliefs & Source Credibility: A Cross-Cultural Study.
Hovland, C. I., & Weiss, W. (1951). The influence of source credibility on communication effectiveness. Public opinion quarterly, 15(4), 635-650.
Hovland, C. I., Janis, I. L., & Kelley, H. H. (1953). Communication and persuasion.
Hu, X., Chen, X., & Davison, R. M. (2019). Social support, source credibility, social influence, and impulsive purchase behavior in social commerce. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 23(3), 297-327.
Hussain, S., Melewar, T. C., Priporas, C. V., & Foroudi, P. (2020). Examining the effects of advertising credibility on brand credibility, corporate credibility and corporate image: a qualitative approach. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 23(4), 549-573.
Ihlen, Ø. (2020). Science communication, strategic communication and rhetoric: the case of health authorities, vaccine hesitancy, trust and credibility. Journal of Communication Management, 24(3), 163-167.
Izogo, E. E., Jayawardhena, C., & Karjaluoto, H. (2023). Negative eWOM and perceived credibility: a potent mix in consumer relationships. International journal of retail & distribution management, 51(2), 149-169.
Jamal, J., & Abu Bakar, H. (2017). Revisiting organizational credibility and organizational Reputation–A situational crisis communication approach. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 33, p. 00083). EDP Sciences.
Jayawardena, N. S., Thaichon, P., Quach, S., Razzaq, A., & Behl, A. (2023). The persuasion effects of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) video advertisements: A conceptual review. Journal of Business Research, 160, 113739.
Jiang, H., Luo, Y., & Kulemeka, O. (2016). Social media engagement as an evaluation barometer: Insights from communication executives. Public relations review, 42(4), 679-691.
Jin, Y., Liu, B. F., & Austin, L. L. (2014). Examining the role of social media in effective crisis management: The effects of crisis origin, information form, and source on publics’ crisis responses. Communication research, 41(1), 74-94.
Kim, Y., & Park, H. (2017). Is there still a PR problem online? Exploring the effects of different sources and crisis response strategies in online crisis communication via social media. Corporate Reputation Review, 20, 76-104.
Krekeler, B. N., Rowe, L. M., & Connor, N. P. (2021). Dose in exercise-based dysphagia therapies: A scoping review. Dysphagia, 36, 1-32.
Levine, R., & Stephenson, L. (2007). Message or messenger? The limits of moral leadership.
Lim, H. S., & Brown-Devlin, N. (2023). The value of brand fans during a crisis: Exploring the roles of response strategy, source, and brand identification. International Journal of Business Communication, 60(4), 1148-1176.
Ma, L., Wang, Y., & Kim, J. (2023). How health organizations communicate about COVID-19 on social media: a comparative content analysis. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 16(1), 83-92.
McCroskey, J. C. (1966). Experimental studies of the effects of ethos and evidence in persuasive communication. The Pennsylvania State University.
McCroskey, J. C., & Young, T. J. (1981). Ethos and credibility: The construct and its measurement after three decades. Communication Studies, 32(1), 24-34.
Molloy, C. (2019). Rhetorical ethos in health and medicine: Patient credibility, stigma, and misdiagnosis. Routledge.
Obama, B. (2021). First inaugural address. In Finding freedom (pp. 157-169). Routledge.
Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers' perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of advertising, 19(3), 39-52.
Ohanian, R. (1990). Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers' perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. Journal of advertising, 19(3), 39-52.
Perloff, R. M. (2021). The dynamics of political communication: Media and politics in a digital age. Routledge.
Pham, M. T., Raji?, A., Greig, J. D., Sargeant, J. M., Papadopoulos, A., & McEwen, S. A. (2014). A scoping review of scoping reviews: advancing the approach and enhancing the consistency. Research synthesis methods, 5(4), 371-385.
Pishghadam, R., Derakhshan, A., Zhaleh, K., & Al-Obaydi, L. H. (2023). Students’ willingness to attend EFL classes with respect to teachers’ credibility, stroke, and success: a cross-cultural study of Iranian and Iraqi students’ perceptions. Current Psychology, 42(5), 4065-4079.
Pusparini, N. W., Suastini, N. W., & Jayantini, I. S. R. (2020). A rhetorical analysis of political discourse barack obama political speech “a more perfect union. Journal of Language and Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 16-24.
Qiu, H., Wang, X., Wu, M. Y., Wei, W., Morrison, A. M., & Kelly, C. (2023). The effect of destination source credibility on tourist environmentally responsible behavior: An application of stimulus-organism-response theory. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(8), 1797-1817.
Rapp, C. (2002). Aristotle’s rhetoric.
Rusdiana, A., Suroso, A., & Suwandari, L. (2020). The Effect of e-WOM Source Credibility on Purchase Intentions with Consumer Involvement as a Moderating Variable. ICORE, 5(1).
Schmidthuber, L., Willems, J., & Krabina, B. (2023). Trust in public performance information: The effect of data accessibility and data source. Public Administration Review, 83(2), 279-295.
Shah, Z., & Wei, L. (2022). Source credibility and the information quality matter in public engagement on social networking sites during the COVID-19 crisis. Frontiers in psychology, 13.
Siebenhaar, K. U., Köther, A. K., & Alpers, G. W. (2020). Dealing with the COVID-19 infodemic: Distress by information, information avoidance, and compliance with preventive measures. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 2981.
Soliha, E., & Widyasari, S. (2020). Message framing and source credibility in product advertisements with high consumer involvement. International Journal of Computers, 5.
Soliha, E., & Widyasari, S. (2020). Message framing and source credibility in product advertisements with high consumer involvement. International Journal of Computers, 5.
Spence, P. R., Lin, X., Lachlan, K. A., & Hutter, E. (2020). Listen up, I've done this before: The impact of self-disclosure on source credibility and risk message responses. Progress in Disaster Science, 7, 100108.
Sun, J. (2021). Research on the credibility of social media information based on user perception. Security and communication networks, 2021, 1-10.
Tkalac Ver?i?, A., Ver?i?, D., & Coombs, W. T. (2019). Convergence of crisis response strategy and source credibility: Who can you trust?. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 27(1), 28-37.
Triantafillidou, A., & Yannas, P. (2020). Social media crisis communication in racially charged crises: Exploring the effects of social media and image restoration strategies. Computers in human behavior, 106, 106269.
Umeogu, B. (2012). Source credibility: a philosophical analysis. Open journal of philosophy, 2(02), 112-115.
Van der Meer, T. G., & Verhoeven, J. W. (2014). Emotional crisis communication. Public Relations Review, 40(3), 526-536.
Van Zoonen, W., & van der Meer, T. (2015). The importance of source and credibility perception in times of crisis: Crisis communication in a socially mediated era. Journal of public relations research, 27(5), 371-388.
Walker, J. (2023). Public Speaking. Keys to Communication: An Essential Guide to Communication in the Real World.
Wheeler, R. T. (2009). Nonprofit advertising: Impact of celebrity connection, involvement and gender on source credibility and intention to volunteer time or donate money. Journal of nonprofit & public sector marketing, 21(1), 80-107.
Whitehead Jr, J. L. (1968). Factors of source credibility. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 54(1), 59-63.
Wilson, M. G., Lavis, J. N., & Guta, A. (2012). Community-based organizations in the health sector: a scoping review. Health research policy and systems, 10(1), 1-9.
Y?lmazdo?an, O. C., Do?an, R. ?., & Alt?nta?, E. (2021). The impact of the source credibility of Instagram influencers on travel intention: The mediating role of parasocial interaction. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 27(3), 299-313.
Yusof, N. (2016). The credibility of Islamic religious institutional websites in Malaysia. Jurnal Komunikasi, Malaysian Journal of Communication, 32(2), 82-104.
Zhang, J., Xie, C., Chen, Y., Dai, Y. D., & Yi-Jun, W. (2023). The matching effect of destinations’ crisis communication. Journal of Travel Research, 62(3), 491-516.
Zhu, L., Anagondahalli, D., & Zhang, A. (2017). Social media and culture in crisis communication: McDonald’s and KFC crises management in China. Public Relations Review, 43(3), 487-492.
Zhuang, G. (2023). Rethinking Ethos: A Comparative Analysis of Persuasive Character Building in Classical Antiquity through the Lenses of Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 178, p. 02016). EDP Sciences.