Harmonizing Dual Identities via Storytelling: An Examination of Social Enterprise Storytelling in Thailand

Storytelling serves as a vital strategic communication tool for social impact organizations, particularly social enterprises that integrate both social and commercial missions within their business models. Despite the importance of storytelling in conveying hybrid identities, research on social enterprise storytelling – particularly in relation to digital communication applications – remains scarce. This study first examines the extent to which business and social narratives are employed in social enterprise storytelling and their relationship with social enterprise legitimacy. Second, it investigates storytelling approaches and the use of digital media for communication. Finally, it assesses how social enterprise legitimacy influences consumers’ perceptions of quality and value, as well as their willingness to purchase social enterprise products. Using a mixed-methods approach involving five social entrepreneurs and 211 consumers, the findings reveal that Thai social enterprises adopt a balanced use of business and social narratives, emphasizing emotional engagement over traditional storytelling elements. Both cognitive and moral legitimacy significantly influence perceived quality, with moral legitimacy exerting a stronger effect. Perceived quality mediates the relationship between legitimacy and willingness to pay. Digital innovations, including the metaverse, emerge as important communication channels. Theoretically, the study positions legitimacy as the strategic communication mechanism linking storytelling to consumer behavior. It is also among the first to combine established legitimacy and storytelling theories into a single framework and to test that framework empirically from both sides of the communication – the social entrepreneurs who craft the narratives and the consumers who receive them. Overall, the results suggest that balanced narratives and emotional engagement effectively communicate hybrid identities while enhancing consumer support.