EXPRESS: More Than Just Words: How Personal Pronouns Influence Social Closeness and Engagement

People tend to support social initiatives when they feel a psychological connection to the beneficiaries. This tendency leads firms to prioritize initiatives that appeal to customers over urgent needs. While prior research has explored cases where people have pre-existing connections, few studies have examined whether intentionally creating perceived closeness can achieve similar effects. This study explored whether linguistic framing using personal pronouns (“they” vs. “we”) can increase perceived closeness and, in turn, boost engagement. Study 1 found that using “we” pronouns enhanced perceived closeness, which increased engagement intentions. Study 2 showed that this pronoun framing effect was moderated by power distance beliefs, the extent to which they perceive hierarchy when services are framed as exclusive. This effect was significant only among those with low power distance beliefs. These findings advance understanding of how psychological distance can be strategically reduced. Practically, they guide managers in designing communication strategies for social initiatives.