Company spokesperson vs. customer testimonial: Investigating quoted spokesperson credibility and impact in business-to-business communication

•Partial support for greater credibility of customer rather company spokesperson.•Quoting a customer adds credibility to business audience's perception of an article.•Attitude toward product more positive when information quotes customer spokesperson.•Spokespersons trusted more by businesspeople with low expertise than high expertise.

Through the framework of source credibility, this study examines the impact of quoting a company executive versus a customer testimonial in a business communication context. A 2 (spokesperson) × 7 (media channel) full factorial experiment (N = 514) showed partial support for enhanced perceived credibility of information conveyed by a customer testimonial compared to a company spokesperson in independent and controlled media channels online. When evaluated through a measure of media credibility, a customer spokesperson rates higher than a company spokesperson. In addition, a product is viewed more positively by an audience receiving information quoting a customer spokesperson rather than a company spokesperson. An audience with low business expertise considers both types of spokespersons as more trustworthy than a high-expertise audience; however, a customer is considered more trustworthy than a company spokesperson. The study provides public relations professionals with insight in determining the use of spokespersons when communicating to businesspeople.