Organizational authenticity: How craft‐based ventures manage authentic identities and audience appeal

Abstract

AbstractResearch SummaryCommercial success in craft‐based industries requires projecting authentic identities but direct claims of authenticity can backfire and raise suspicions of pecuniary motivation, an antithesis to authenticity. Managing authentic identities is thus central to the success of craft‐based ventures. We argue that organizations can shape their audience's perceptions of authenticity and appeal by tacitly and indirectly conveying a resonant identity meaning with visibility and credibility. Our empirical analysis, set in the US craft beer industry, reveals strong support for the idea that craft ventures can raise authenticity and appeal through managing the content/meaning, visibility, and credibility of their identity claims. We discuss the implications of our theory and findings for the role of organizations in the social construction of authenticity and appeal.Managerial SummaryManagers of craft ventures in identity‐driven markets face a strategic challenge in managing growth—how to maintain the authentic identity of their firm as its scale of operations expands. In modern‐day craft industries, consumers covet offerings from firms that they deem authentic but overt claims of authenticity by producers are ineffective. Our study of the craft beer market suggests that managers can leverage strategic assets like organizational resources (ownership structure), capabilities (investment in technology and product variety) and position (third‐party endorsements) to effectively communicate their firm's identity meaning with credibility and visibility. This holds significant practical implications for how managers can successfully navigate the growth process and their firms can continue to be viewed as authentic craft producers even as they increasingly benefit from scale.