Organizational Credibility: The Role of Issue Involvement, Value-Relevant Involvement, Elaboration, Author Credibility, Message Quality, and Message Effectiveness in Persuasive Messages from Public Health Advocacy Organizations

The relationship between receiver characteristics (including issue involvement, value-relevant involvement, and elaboration) and message features (including language intensity, author credibility, message quality, and message effectiveness) on perceptions of organizational credibility were examined in this investigation within the context of public health advocacy messages about the U.S. Farm Bill and various food and food production topics. Undergraduate students (N = 218) completed an online survey that employed a 3 × 2 experimental message design. Results indicated that receiver variables and message features (excluding language intensity) were positively correlated with organizational credibility; message quality, message effectiveness, and author credibility accounted for 30.9% of the variability in perceptions of organizational credibility. The utility of examining organizational credibility in persuasive messages, particularly in the context of public health advocacy messages, is discussed, as well as the implications for including organizational credibility in future theoretical frameworks.