Received: 27 July 2022
|
Accepted: 10 November 2022
DOI: 10.1002/mar.21758
REVIEW ARTICLE
A story to sell: The influence of storytelling on consumers'
purchasing behavior
João Ricardo de Oliveira Júnior1
| Ricardo Limongi1
| Satish Kumar5
Jacqueline K. Eastman4
1
Faculty of Management, Accounting, and
Economic Sciences, Federal University of
Goias, Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil
|
Weng Marc Lim2,3,6
|
Abstract
Storytelling can arouse consumers' emotions and affect purchasing behavior through
2
Sunway Business School, Sunway University,
Sunway City, Selangor, Malaysia
desires and attitudes. While the marketing literature discusses storytelling, there is a
3
lack of consensus because of the diverse conceptual and operational definitions
School of Business, Law and
Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of
Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
4
Department of Marketing, Lutgert College of
Business, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort
Myers, Florida, USA
5
Department of Management Studies,
Malaviya National Institute of Technology
Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
6
Faculty of Business, Design and Arts,
Swinburne University of Technology, Kuching,
Sarawak, Malaysia
used. To untangle the complexities and consolidate the fragmented knowledge
about storytelling in marketing, this research examines how the marketing literature
has addressed the influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior.
The findings aid in understanding how the topic has been discussed from a
marketing perspective in consumer behavior studies. Through a systematic literature
review using a bibliometric analysis, we demonstrate that the marketing literature
features four strands about the uses of storytelling to influence consumers'
purchasing behavior. First, storytelling stimulates the consumer's identification with
the brand. Second, storytelling allows consumers to experience emotional value.
Correspondence
Jacqueline K. Eastman, Department of
Marketing, Lutgert College of Business,
Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL
33965, USA.
Email: jeastman@fgcu.edu
Third, storytelling supports engagement behaviors. Finally, storytelling has a
downside in that it also propagates harmful speech. This study concludes with a
roadmap for future research about how storytelling impacts consumers' purchasing
behavior.
KEYWORDS
consumer purchase behavior, review, storytelling
1
| INTRODUCTION
(Sultan, 2018) that aid in building meaningful experiences and relationships with a brand (Klaus, 2013). Emotions triggered by a narrative can
Stories are meaningful and actively utilized in marketing (Mora &
create a positive or negative evaluation of the brand or product (Mora &
Livat, 2013). Using narration or narrative as a communication
Moscarola, 2012), which can change the probability of (re)purchase
technique can be an effective instrument of persuasion and a form
(Olson et al., 2020). However, storytelling does not always promote an
of connection with consumers through shared values and sub‐
emotional response, and the consumer can differentiate a good story
cultural group identity (Boldosova & Luoto, 2019), but a lecture
from a bad one. McKee (2003) argues that bad stories have inadequate
cannot evoke emotions like storytelling (Mora & Livat, 2013). To
content and structure, while good stories include a protagonist, an
understand storytelling as a marketing tool, it is essential to consider
antagonist, and different dimensions and actions. A good story that
evokes emotions (Brechman & Purvis, 2015) and brings consumers value
how consumers respond to messages.
Consumers' cognitive and emotional responses are separate but
(Boldosova & Luoto, 2019) can change consumers' attitudes more easily
closely linked, as emotions frequently occur with cognitions (Kuuru &
(Grace & Kaufman, 2013), making the consumer stay in the marketplace
Närvänen, 2019). Consumers perceive positive and negative emotions
and spending more time and money (Wade Clarke et al., 2012).
Psychol Mark. 2023;40:239–261.
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© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
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In sum, storytelling arouses consumers' emotions (Lee et al.,
This study investigates how the marketing literature has
2016; Padilla‐Zea et al., 2014; Woodside et al., 2008), directly
discussed the influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing
affecting their desires and attitudes (Mora & Livat, 2013) and
behavior using a systematic literature review that adopts a biblio-
indirectly impacting their purchasing behavior (Lee et al., 2016; Mora
metric methodology. This research responds to the need to
& Livat, 2013; Padilla‐Zea et al., 2014; Woodside et al., 2008).
“constantly evaluate mainstream definitions, categories, and concepts
Consumer purchase behavior is a multidimensional concept, and the
concerning those offered by new constructs” (Gummesson, 2006;
influence of storytelling is linked to processes that interconnect the
p. 18) as well as the call for a retrospective review of storytelling in
exchanges involved in acquiring, consuming, and disposing of goods,
marketing (Pitt & Treen, 2019). The following questions guide this
services, experiences, ideas, and values (Saling & Baharuddin‐
inquiry:
Semmaila, 2016).
Though the marketing literature has suggested the effect of
storytelling on purchasing behavior, the conceptual and operational
(1) What are this domain's most influential authors, papers, and
institutions?
definitions of storytelling are diverse, and the body of knowledge
(2) What are the research trends in this domain?
remains fragmented (Walls, 2013). This scenario is still predominant
(3) Which research method is the most often used to study the
in the field of consumer behavior in psychology and marketing
research and is a reason for pressing calls to develop new research
storytelling approach in the consumer behavior domain?
(4) What are the gaps and areas for future research?
about the construct (Rowles, 2022). The research on the benefits of
storytelling illustrates this diversity of conceptual and operational
Our examination of the influence of storytelling on consumers'
scope, such as the exploration and development of brand stories
purchasing behavior also has practical value for brand owners and
(Delgado‐Ballester & Fernández‐Sabiote, 2016), the creation or
marketing managers. Storytelling is a critical marketing strategy that
analysis of the characteristics and intrinsic elements belonging to
seeks to curate interactions with the public and convince them to
the story (Sanders & Van Krieken, 2018), and the communication
engage in desired behaviors (e.g., purchase; González Romo et al.,
techniques of storytelling (Chiu et al., 2012), among others.
2017). The digital era presents broad opportunities to enhance
Progress in the research on storytelling in psychology and
customer engagement through advanced technologies that can
marketing has a structure that hinders knowledge of what we have
facilitate storytelling (Lim et al., 2022; Van Laer et al., 2019).
learned and what needs further examination. Such a state warrants
Recognizing this, brands are updating their marketing practices to
review studies, which can advance knowledge by mapping current
keep up with the latest changes in the contemporary marketplace
understanding, noting the gaps in recent research, and recommend-
and stay connected and relevant to their target markets (Zambrano,
ing ways forward (Lim et al., 2022). Efforts have been made in the
2018). There is a need to focus specifically on the influence of
literature to try to address this. van Laer and colleagues (2019)
storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior to support the return
explain the moderation of story domain on the narrative transporta-
on investment of its use in marketing (Rowles, 2022). These research
tion effect using commercial and noncommercial story domains
findings can assist marketing managers by equipping them with
through a meta‐analysis approach. However, they only focus on
current insights from the academic literature and suggesting new
narrative transportation, a specific part of analysis within storytelling
frontiers for storytelling research. They can also assist brand owners
used in marketing. Our study contributes by specifying the existing
and marketing managers in developing stories that directly impact the
relations between marketing, storytelling, and purchasing behaviors
purchasing behavior of their consumers, which can bring financial
discussed in the literature over the past decade. In this sense, the
returns through identification and engagement of their customers
guiding question of our study is: “How does storytelling influence
with the brands.
consumers' purchase behavior?”
Our paper consists of five main parts following this introduction.
Scholars have recently issued a call to take stock of the state of
The first part explains the conceptual background of storytelling. The
storytelling in marketing (Pitt & Treen, 2019). Van Laer et al. (2019)
second part presents the methodology of our review. The third part
also call for additional research to help understand how stories work
consists of a bibliometric analysis of studies on storytelling and its
and how they should be formulated in an evolving environment. This
influence on consumers' purchasing behavior. The fourth part
study answers these calls. More importantly, the diversity and
analyzes the knowledge clusters identified in the review of those
fragmentation of knowledge in a field indicate the need for
studies. The final part offers a roadmap for future research on the use
consolidation efforts, which can typically be undertaken through a
of storytelling to influence consumers' purchasing behavior.
systematic review of the literature in that field (Gummerus, 2013; Lim
et al., 2022; Paul et al., 2021). In light of the expectation of objectivity
in review studies, the use of bibliometric methodology has emerged
2 |
CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND
as an established and mainstream method for reviewing the literature
with greater objectivity due to its reliance on quantitative techniques
Stories can consciously or unconsciously arouse emotions linked to
to reveal the intellectual structure of a scientific field (Donthu et al.,
affective memories among the audience (McGaugh, 2003). When
2021; Lim et al., 2022).
applied to marketing, storytelling is a strategy utilizing narratives to
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240
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ET AL.
241
persuade consumers through both commercial (e.g., sponsored posts)
(beginning, middle, and end), and structural chronology, which
and noncommercial (e.g., community posts) stories (Shavitt &
involves causality and personality development (Escalas et al.,
Barnes, 2020).
The value of prolonged consumer attention and emotional
2013). The marketers' challenge is to develop the “right” brand story
(Rosen, 2000).
engagement with storytelling has been shown with neuroscience.
Brand stories serve different functions: entertainment, stimulat-
Anker et al. (2015) explain that a sufficiently engaging narrative can
ing sales, offering support, moral education, and justifying or
cause the brain to reorient itself and become transfixed, retaining full
explaining positions (Gabriel, 2000). Studies illustrate the role of
attention and being wholly transported by the narrative. They further
storytelling in management (Denning, 2006), operations (Klein et al.,
find that attention is key to emotional resonance, with the outcomes
2007), information systems (Boldosova & Luoto, 2019), people
of emotional involvement being stronger connection and identifica-
management (Yang, 2013), and marketing (Spear & Roper, 2013).
tion. To create attention‐grabbing storytelling, Rosen (2000) pro-
Storytelling is a tool for brands to produce meaning that supports
poses using a dramatic arc and deconstructs the narrative into five
interpretations of past, present, and future events and communicates
parts: exposure, rising action, climax, falling, and stripping. Mora and
socially constructed meanings to others (McGaugh, 2003). Research
Livat (2013) argue that a narrative must be mentally engaging and
on storytelling has examined it from the perspective of sensemaking,
emotionally compelling. The individual can distinguish a good story
providing insight into how stories can be used for purposes of
from a bad one, which is why following a story structure is important
interpretation, as well as influence and persuasion (Gabriel, 2000).
for a purely literary effect and for persuasion (Woldarsky, 2019);
In Woodside's (2010) perspective, the story can trigger behaviors
thus, it is understood that a good story needs a development process
among the audience and enhance the individual's awareness and
(Woodside, 2010). Morgan and Dennehy (1997) state that for a story
emotional understanding. When storytelling is utilized as a marketing
to be powerful enough and to remain in the consumer's memory, it
and communication technique, it helps create a direct connection
must be concrete, have some common‐sense connotation, be
with the consumer, building their brand trust and empathy toward
credible to the point of impacting the listener, have a connection
the brand (Woldarsky, 2019). Woldarsky affirms that consumers
with social dogmas, and be unique. However, knowing the right story
choose brands based on self‐identification to reflect their identity or
is only half of compelling storytelling (Denning, 2006). Denning
desired identity and consume products based on the meanings
highlights four factors to consider for the development of story-
attributed to them. In addition, consumers notice how “authentic,”
telling: the style (the way the story is told), the truth (the truth of the
“real,” or “true” a brand and its story are, which aids in attributing
story), the preparation, and finally, the delivery (tone of voice, facial
symbolic value to the brand. This strengthening of brand authenticity
expression, and the gestures used).
and shared values is vital in the brand‐consumer relationship
Regarding the content of the narrative, McDonald (2009)
(McGaugh, 2003). Woldarsky notes that authenticity contributes to
highlights three principles that the storytelling must include: conflict,
brand‐consumer relationships affecting consumer behaviors and
authenticity, and entertainment. Conflict is the phase where the
identity construction through brand clarity, brand equity, brand
characters' goals or desires collide; it motivates action in all good
marketing, brand nostalgia, brand social commitment, legitimacy,
stories (McDonald, 2009). Authenticity is the sense of credibility
employee passion, production method, and quality compromises. The
created when characters show genuine emotions and react believa-
consumer can also romanticize authenticity (Gabriel, 2000).
bly; this principle promotes empathy between the audience and the
Consumers have identifiable brand perceptions of specific
characters (McDonald, 2009). Finally, entertainment refers to the
product characteristics or ideas associated with the brand (Aaker,
ability of the story to attract the attention/interest of the public
1996). These associations represent the basis for purchasing
(McDonald, 2009). In this sense, Adamson et al. (2006) claim that a
decisions, differentiating brands, and building positive brand attitudes
good story always captures the individual's imagination and makes
(Lang et al., 2022). These brand associations are essential for brand
them feel.
loyalty, creating value for the company and its customers (Aaker,
The narrative can be judged through the audience's thoughts
1996; Lang et al., 2022). Stories can make and reinforce positive
that create a greater or lesser involvement with the character
associations about brands through loyalty, notoriety, perceived
(protagonist), building high and low moments in the story experience.
quality, brand associations, and other brand assets, modifying the
This evaluation is known as the theory of narrative quality (Escalas
behavior of consumers toward brands and making them willing to pay
et al., 2013). Based on this theory, Escalas (2004) developed an
more for the product (Lundqvist et al., 2013).
instrument to evaluate the level of consumer immersion in story-
Storytelling not only serves to arouse consumer emotions but
telling. The items in Escalas et al. (2013) instrument assess the
can also communicate the brand's values and how they relate to the
narrative structure, confirming that the narrative involved in story-
consumer (Anaza et al., 2019). Gilliam and Flaherty (2015) contend
telling influences the individual's thought process, similar to encoding
that storytelling plays a role in information, persuasion, and
information in learning. The codification of the narrative makes it
connection in interactions between consumers and brands. Lacoste
possible to measure the audiences' involvement with storytelling
and La Rocca (2015) propose that consumers play an active role in
characters by way of the relationship with their personality
storytelling by co‐creating value with a brand. This fits with the
characteristics, notions of narrative chronology, temporal dimension
service‐dominant logic presented by Vargo and Lusch (2004),
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showing the central position of the consumer as a cocreator of value,
the conceptual framework of this study—storytelling AND marketing
a departure from the prior mentality of brands creating value
AND consumer. Papers were included if they were (a) written in
unilaterally. Anaza et al. (2019) highlight that storytelling positively
English (due to the authors' language proficiency; n = 414), (b)
relates to consumers' trust in brands, advancing a personal connec-
published within the last decade at the time of review (January
tion that speaks in favor of the brand. Thus, storytelling is a powerful
2011 to January 2022) to focus on current knowledge (n = 318), and
and influential mechanism marketers can leverage to enhance brand‐
(c) indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) Social Sciences Citation
consumer relationships.
Index (SSCI) and Scopus as final articles published in journals because
they provide bibliometric data for peer‐reviewed papers in the
marketing field (n = 159). Papers were excluded if they did not meet
3
| M E T H O D O L O GY
any one of the criteria. The search filters in WoS and Scopus used the
search string. The rationales supporting the established criteria are in
To fulfill the purpose of this study, exploratory and descriptive research
line with authoritative literature review guides (Paul et al., 2021) and
was carried out through a systematic literature review procedure with a
past reviews (Zhang et al., 2021; Zhu et al., 2019). A total of 118
bibliometric analysis (Donthu et al., 2021; Kraus et al., 2022; Paul et al.,
papers were returned from the search based on the keyword search
2021; Whittemore & Knafl, 2005). Researchers have enhanced the
string and search criteria (64 papers from WoS and 54 papers from
literature review process through a systematic, reproducible, and
Scopus, without duplicated documents).
transparent research synthesis (Tranfield et al., 2003) and encouraged
Step three is gathering, reading, and analyzing the literature
additional research (Denyer & Neely, 2004; Donthu et al., 2021; Paul
(Cronin et al., 2008). All papers were read to ensure that only those
et al., 2021). Filippi et al. (2019) suggest that systematic literature
dealing with the influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing
reviews present critical and quality materials that provide importance
behavior were included, in line with Paul et al. (2021). A total of
and relevance to articles from different areas of knowledge. Systematic
27 papers not related to the focus of this study were disqualified
literature reviews differ from traditional literature reviews in their more
from the review process in this step. Most excluded papers were
rigorous and well‐defined searches and the methodological rigor of their
concerned with education (n = 11) and health (n = 13). Some papers
execution (Cronin et al., 2008; Paul et al., 2021).
were not entirely in English, though their abstracts were in English
Every systematic literature review follows an implementation
(n = 3). The bibliographic data of the remaining 91 articles were
protocol guiding the researcher throughout the review process
retrieved and analyzed using bibliometric analysis to reveal the
(Cronin et al., 2008; Ouro‐Salim & Guarnieri, 2022). The review
knowledge clusters in the field, in line with Donthu et al. (2021).
procedure for the systematic literature review in this study follows
Cronin et al.'s five‐step protocol (Table 1).
Step four is writing the review (Cronin et al., 2008). Since we
adopted a bibliometric methodology, we organized the reporting of
Step one is selecting a review topic (Cronin et al., 2008). Our
review results corresponding to performance analysis and science
review topic is the influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing
mapping. Performance analysis sheds light on the operation of critical
behavior. Hence, the guiding research question for the review is:
contributors, while science mapping reveals the knowledge clusters
How does storytelling influence consumers' purchase behavior?
in the field. The literature in each knowledge cluster is read, and
Step two is searching for relevant literature, which includes
content is analyzed per the recommendation of Bardin (1977) to
defining the criteria by which papers are included (Cronin et al.,
clarify existing emphases and inclinations of the literature and
2008). Our investigation was conducted from the “abstract, title and
identify research gaps and opportunities to guide future studies in
keywords” using the following keyword search string representing
the field (Cronin & George, 2020).
TABLE 1
The review procedure
Step
Description
1
Selecting a review topic: “The influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior.”
2
Searching the literature: Keyword search string in the “title, abstract and keywords” is defined as “(storytelling AND marketing AND
consumer).” Scientific papers were included if they were (a) peer‐reviewed, (b) written in English, (c) published within the last decade at
the time of review (January 2011 to January 2022), and (d) indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and
Scopus as final articles published in journals and excluded if they did not meet these criteria.
3
Gathering, reading, and analyzing the literature: The full texts of 118 papers were downloaded. A reading of all the studies indicated that 27
papers did not address the review topic. Thus, 91 papers were included for further review using “bibliometric analysis” in the “Bibliometrix
in R” software.
4
Writing the review: The main conclusions and theoretical articulations of the papers were used to support the analysis of the thematic clusters.
5
Reporting the references: Summaries of all papers are reported in a table with description of year, author(s), paper title, and scope.
Source: Adapted from Cronin et al. (2008).
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TABLE 2
TABLE 2
Summary of scientific papers
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
Food safety infosheets
design and refinement of
a narrative‐based
training intervention
Develop a food safety
communication tool (storytelling
infosheets) targeted specifically
to foodservice food handlers
(Chapman et al., 2011)
Can you hear me now?
Learning from customer
stories
Describe a controlled, exploratory
approach a company might take
to develop its own engagement
with customer storytelling (Gorry
& Westbrook, 2011)
Korean beauty in a global
cultural context
Identify the intrinsic values of
Korean beauty from ideological,
religious, and aesthetic
perspectives and backgrounds
(Ko et al., 2011)
Co‐creation of meaning as a
prerequisite for market‐
focused strategic
flexibility
Introduce the perspective of shared
meanings as a prerequisite for
the formation of market‐focused
strategic flexibility (Gylling
et al., 2012)
Brand performances in
social media
Explain the uses of the metaphor of
improvisation theater to show
that in social media, brand
owners do not tell brand stories
alone but co‐create brand
performances in collaboration
with consumers (Singh &
Sonnenburg, 2012)
Ethnographic stories for
market learning
Describe how ethnographic stories
give executives a unique means
of understanding market realities
(Cayla & Arnould, 2013)
Appealing to the
imagination: Effective
and ethical marketing of
religion
Define and develop the concept of
“appealing to the imagination,” a
type of marketing
communication designed to
engage the imagination of the
target audience, which presents
aesthetic, poetic, and truthful
characteristics (Abela, 2014)
The magic of storytelling:
How curiosity and
aesthetic
preferences work
Explain what makes storytelling in all
its forms a source of pleasure
(Bianchi, 2014)
Storytelling and brand
identity in cultural digital
archives industry
Identify a causal relationship among
storytelling marketing strategies,
consumer identity, and consumer
intentions toward cultural and
creative brands (Chen
et al., 2014)
Storytelling the
internationalization of
the multinational
enterprise
Explain how multinational
enterprises create narratives of
internationalization to mitigate
the risks of foreign direct
investment (Haley & Boje, 2014)
(Continues)
243
(Continued)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
Storytelling as a means to
increase consumers'
processing of financial
information
Investigate whether a narrative
compared to a traditional fact‐
related format of financial
information elicits more involved
processing of such information
by consumers and therefore
more informed choices about
retirement savings (Carlsson
Hauff et al., 2014)
Luxury goes digital: How to
tackle the digital luxury
brand‐consumer
touchpoints
Explain how to tackle digital channels
successfully, based on an expert
survey and a discussion of case
studies for each major digital
touchpoint (Heine &
Berghaus, 2014)
Implementation of
storytelling promotional
video using color
marketing
Uses of color marketing
representation techniques for the
production of promotional video
(Kim et al., 2014)
Celtic marketing: Assessing
the authenticity of a
never‐ending story
Explain the Celtic Feeling that
consumers identify with that
marketers can utilize (McAuley &
Pervan, 2014)
Empowering the new
traveler: Storytelling as a
co‐creative behavior in
tourism
Investigate how storytelling is a
powerful co‐creative behavior in
tourism (Pera, 2014)
Building self‐brand
connections: Exploring
brand stories through a
transmedia perspective
Explain the types of brand stories
that consumers know and desire
to hear and the media in which
they prefer to find these stories
(Granitz & Forman, 2015)
Storytelling by the sales
force and its effect on
buyer‐seller exchange
Explore the role that storytelling
plays in the exchange between
salesperson and buyer (Gilliam &
Flaherty, 2015)
Consumer–brand
relationships: A contrast
of nostalgic and non‐
nostalgic brands
Examine how consumer‐brand
relationships change when
consumer contrasts brands'
storytelling in nostalgic versus
non‐nostalgic ways (Kessous
et al., 2015)
The western brands in the
minds of Vietnamese
consumers
Explore the process of negotiation
and re‐negotiation of brand
associations within a Vietnamese
cultural context (Pham &
Richards, 2015)
Transformative stories: A
framework for crafting
stories for social impact
organizations
Provide a framework to guide the
construction of transformative
stories by social impact
organizations including nonprofit
organizations, public policy
entities, and for‐profit social
(Continues)
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TABLE 2
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(Continued)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
benefit enterprises (Bublitz
et al., 2016)
Exposing Pinocchio
customers: Investigating
exaggerated service
stories
Service quality and brand
loyalty: The mediation
effect of brand passion,
brand affection, and self‐
brand connection
Explore the nature and scope of
exaggerated customer word‐of‐
mouth storytelling and the
intended targets of such
communications (Harris
et al., 2016)
Examine the extent to which service
quality affects the three
components of emotional brand
attachment (brand passion, brand
affection, and self‐brand
connection) and how these three
components influence brand
loyalty, highlighting the
importance of brand storytelling
in the process (Hemsley‐Brown &
Alnawas, 2016)
Storygiving as a co‐creation
tool for luxury brands in
the age of the internet: A
love story by Tiffany and
thousands of lovers
Introduce the concept of storygiving
as a co‐creation tool and provide
a guideline for its successful use
by luxury brand managers (Üçok
Hughes et al., 2016)
Family‐based travel
narratives: Confirmatory
personal introspection of
children's interpretations
of their journey to three
destinations
Examine how visitors are likely to
interpret the stories of places,
people, and situations that they
experience while traveling to
three destinations: Dubai, Hong
Kong, and Macau (Kozak, 2016)
Digitalised health, risk and
motherhood: Politics of
infant feeding in post‐
colonial Hong Kong
Explain how digital media contribute to
changes in individuals' experiences
with breastfeeding, perceptions of
risk and health, as well as social
relations, norms, values and
identities in contemporary Hong
Kong (Mak, 2016)
Exploring how video digital
storytelling builds
relationship experiences
Explore how digital storytelling enables
a consumer relationship experience
in online peer‐to‐peer communities
(Pera & Viglia, 2016)
Who am I? How compelling
self‐storytelling builds
digital personal
reputation
Explore whether self‐storytelling is a
powerful predictor of personal
reputation in a collaborative
community of the sharing
economy realm (Pera et al., 2016)
Possessions and storytelling:
The props used in the
stories people tell
Explain how the exploration of
possessions and their role in
storytelling may strengthen the
bond between consumers and
brands (Rapier, 2016)
Marketing to millennials:
Best practices in
promoting nutraceuticals
and functional foods to
the influential consumer
Explore which best practices to use
to promote nutraceuticals and
functional foods (Carnett, 2017)
ET AL.
(Continued)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
Cross‐cultural folk‐tale‐
elicitation research on
the perceived power,
humanistic and religious
symbolism, and use of
money
Examine money's symbolic meaning
to consumers (Merchant
et al., 2017)
“Artisan” as brand: Adding
value in a craft chocolate
community
Suggest that “artisan” functions
similarly to brands for value
addition (Leissle, 2017)
The new visual testimonial:
Narrative, authenticity,
and subjectivity in
emerging commercial
photographic practice
Examine the ramifications of the
networked information economy
on professional photographic
practice and consider the
concomitant implications for the
photographic classroom
(Morton, 2017)
Storytelling and meal
experience concepts
Explore how storytelling with local
and regional origin can be used to
develop meal experience
concepts in restaurants
(Mossberg & Eide, 2017)
Assessing the effect of
organic‐food short
storytelling on consumer
response
Explore the influence of organic food
storytelling on consumer
response (Nie et al., 2017)
Charity appeal story with a
tribal stigma anticlimax
twist – Consequences of
revealing unanticipated
information in storytelling
Examine the reactions of charity
donors when storytelling
introduces an anticlimax plot and
unanticipated information
(Nguyen, 2017)
Factors determining value
and consumption of Thai
food: A structural model
Identify factors that affect Thai food
value and consumer behavioral
intentions (Tohtubtiang &
Anuntoavoranich, 2017)
Rapha and its embedded
storytelling
Explore how British cycling brand
Rapha innovatively embeds
stories throughout its
touchpoints and in its garments
(Glover, 2018)
Brand management in
mergers and
acquisitions: Emerging
market multinationals
venturing into advanced
economies
Investigate brand management
during post‐acquisition
integration from a multi‐level
perspective and identify how a
brand management strategy can
be constructed (Liu et al., 2018)
The power of social media
storytelling in
destination branding
Explain how a combination of
consumers' performative acts,
mobilities, and storytelling
competencies enable stories to
spread and influence narratives,
discourses, and perceptions
(Lund et al., 2018)
A qualitative investigation of
e‐tail brand affect
Investigate various factors
associated with e‐tail store brand
affect (Sarkar et al., 2018)
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ET AL.
TABLE 2
TABLE 2
(Continued)
245
(Continued)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
Story versus info: Tracking
blog readers' online
viewing time of
sponsored blog posts
based on content‐
specific elements
Compare the influence of a
storytelling message appeal and
an informational message appeal
on consumers' real‐time
attention in a blog context
(Stubb, 2018)
A study on the effect of
storytelling marketing on
brand image, perceived
quality, and purchase
intention in ecotourism
Discuss ecotourists' reaction to
stories and understand the effect
of emotional appeal to
ecotourists by delivering external
information to ecotourists (Pan &
Chen, 2019)
Introducing the storytelling
analysis methodology in
marketing: Principles,
contributions, and
implementation
Explain the contributions of the
storytelling analysis methodology
and how it can be operationalized
for the marketing area (Chautard
& Collin‐Lachaud, 2019)
Open conflict as
differentiation strategy
in geographical
indications: The Bitto
Rebels case
The making of healthy and
moral snacks: A
multimodal critical
discourse analysis of
corporate storytelling
Examine how snack brands represent
themselves as producers of
healthy food through corporate
stories on their websites (Chen &
Eriksson, 2019)
Investigate how open, mediatized
conflict in geographical
indications can provide the basis
for differentiation strategies for
heritage producers based on both
functional and symbolic benefits
(Rinallo & Pitardi, 2019)
Meaning and future of
emotion‐based
marketing
communication in new
marketing era
Scrutinize the meaning and future of
emotion‐based marketing
communication in new marketing
era (Choi, 2019)
Retail tales and tribulations:
Transmedia brands,
consumer products, and
the significance of
shop talk
Explore storytelling devices used in
telling Frozen and Sesame Street
stories at Target and how shop
talk among retailers, brand
owners, and manufacturers
shapes the kinds of stories that
entertainment properties can tell
at retail (Santo, 2019)
Long‐duration storytelling:
Study of factors
influencing retention
ability of brands
Investigate factors, including
storytelling, that can influence
the retention ability of brands in
commercials above the 60 s
(Dhote & Kumar, 2019)
Branding in the age of social
media firestorms: How
to create brand value by
fighting back online
Crafting extraordinary
stories: Decoding luxury
brand communications
Analyze how the symbolic meaning
of luxury brands is constructed in
print advertisements (Gurzki
et al., 2019)
Investigate the escalation strategy as
a way to build brand value,
explain how brands can activate
supporters, and provide guidance
on how to assess these morally
steeped events (Scholz &
Smith, 2019)
Active and wealthy Brazilian
older adults: Identity and
consumption
motivations
Explore the relationship between
identity construction and
consumption motivation of socially
active and wealthy Brazilian older
adults (Fregolente et al., 2019)
The strategic, shifting work
of market devices:
Selective stories and
oriented knowledge
Explain the vital processes of
interacting and storytelling for
the producers of food products
originating in the tropics
(Singer, 2019)
The Vegetarian Butcher: On
its way to becoming the
world's biggest ‘meat'
producer?
Showcase Vegetarian Butcher as a
provocative communication
strategy that relies on storytelling
and social media (Ingenbleek &
Zhao, 2019)
Short brand stories on
packaging: An
examination of
consumer responses
Report findings from two
experiments comparing
consumer responses to fast‐
moving consumer good (FMCG)
packages with and without short
brand stories (Solja et al., 2018)
A Cinderella story: How past
identity salience boosts
demand for repurposed
products
Examine how a product's past
identity salience boosts demand
across a variety of repurposed
products (Kamleitner et al., 2019)
When do customers engage
in brand pages? Effects
of social presence
Entrepreneurship by design:
The construction of
meanings and markets
for cultural craft goods
Examine how markets for cultural
and aesthetic goods are created
despite the opposing production
logics of the two different realms
of craft/culture and rational
markets (Khaire, 2019)
Propose three social presence
variables in the storytelling‐
empowered brand page context
(the brand page as a medium,
the presence of other
customers, and interaction with
the brand page manager) and
test their effects on customer
engagement behavior and
customer‐brand identification
(Song et al., 2019)
The effects of consumers'
perceived values on
intention to purchase
upcycled products
Investigate consumers' value
perceptions and their intentions
to purchase upcycled products
that are storytelled (Yu &
Lee, 2019)
The role of gamification in
brand app experience:
The moderating effects
of the 4Rs of app
marketing
Examine the relationships between
several sub‐factors of gamification
(i.e., fun, rewards, competition, and
storytelling) and brand app
experiences (Lee & Jin, 2019)
(Continues)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
(Continues)
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TABLE 2
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TABLE 2
(Continued)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
Effectiveness of storytelling
in agricultural marketing:
Scale development and
model evaluation
Conceptualize a construct of the
effectiveness of storytelling in
agricultural marketing and
develop a measure with further
validation (Yueh & Zheng, 2019)
(Re)storying sustainability:
The use of story cubes in
narrative inquiries to
understand individual
perceptions of
sustainability
Capture reflections on individual
experiences of sustainability over
time using story cubes (Weder
et al., 2019)
Ordinary celebrities related
criteria to harvest fame
and influence on social
media
Explore why consumers engage with
ordinary celebrities on social media
by identifying the influential
characteristics that have engaged
followers and have led to opinion
leadership on visual platforms, such
as Instagram and Facebook (Al‐
Emadi & Ben Yahia, 2020)
Bringing heritage sites to life
for visitors: Towards a
conceptual framework
for an immersive
experience
Explore how heritage sites can be
storytelled and brought to life for
visitors through an immersive
experience (Dogan & Kan, 2020)
Consumer storytelling as an
element of word‐of‐
mouth communication of
nostalgic brands:
Evidence from Poland
Evaluate the possibility of using
consumer storytelling as an
element of word‐of‐mouth
communication of nostalgic brands
(Grębosz‐Krawczyk, 2020)
Negative consequences of
storytelling in native
advertising
Explore the effectiveness of
storytelling in a native advertising
context on social media (Grigsby
& Mellema, 2020)
Storytelling, the scale of
persuasion and retention:
A neuromarketing
approach
Examine storytelling styles for their
effectiveness in terms of attitude
change and retention (Hamelin
et al., 2020)
Popularity of branded
content in social media
Examine the popularity of branded
storytelled messages in social
media (Karpinska‐Krakowiak &
Modlinski, 2020)
So distant, yet useful: The
impact of distal stories
on customers' service
expectations
Investigate how the near or far
feeling ‐ psychological distance ‐
influences service expectations
(Lee et al., 2020)
Visual storytelling on
Instagram: Branded
photo narrative and the
role of telepresence
Investigate the impact of a photo's
narrative elements on self‐brand
connection through viewers'
transportation and emotional
responses (Lim & Childs, 2020)
When brands take a stand:
the nature of consumers'
polarized reactions to
social narrative videos
Examine themes behind the
polarized consumer response,
aiding brands in the development
of social narrative videos (Milfeld
& Flint, 2021)
ET AL.
(Continued)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
A picture is worth a
thousand words! How
visual storytelling
transforms the aesthetic
experience of novel
designs
Provide a holistic understanding of
how visual storytelling influences
the objective and subjective
cognitive responses of
consumers (Seifert &
Chattaraman, 2020)
Storytelling advertising
investment profits in
marketing: From the
perspective of
consumers' purchase
intention
Explore the resonance of advertising
benefits of storytelling in
marketing from the perspective
of consumers' purchase intention
(Tsai, 2020)
The will for terroir: A
communicative approach
Discuss the concept of terroir in light
of communication practices
(Castelló, 2021)
Conversation, storytelling, or
consumer interaction
and participation? The
impact of brand‐owned
social media content
marketing on consumers'
brand perceptions and
attitudes
Identify the relationships among
consumers' perceptions of brand
personality, consumers' brand
attitudes and brand‐owned social
media content marketing (He
et al., 2021)
Generational differences in
food‐management skills
and their impact on food
waste in households
Explore food‐management skills,
including intergenerational
storytelling, among different
generational groups (Karunasena
et al., 2021)
Storytelling in online shops:
The impacts on explicit
and implicit user
experience, brand
perceptions and
behavioral intention
Examine how the use of storytelling
with parallax technology can
influence the user experience
(UX) in online shops as well as
brand‐ and behavior‐relevant
variables (Karampournioti &
Wiedmann, 2021)
The impact of storytelling in
creating firm and
customer connections in
online environments
Examine how small businesses
leverage the use of storytelling to
engage with customers and drive
revenue and online reputation
management (Kemp et al., 2021)
Sport consumers' motivation
for live attendance and
mediated sports
consumption: A
qualitative analysis
Examine the similarities and
differences of consumption
motivation between mediated
sports consumption and live
attendance (Kim & Mao, 2021)
When brands take a stand:
the nature of consumers'
polarized reactions to
social narrative videos
Examine themes behind the
polarized consumer response,
aiding brands in the development
of social narrative videos (Milfeld
& Flint, 2021)
Telling a different story:
How nonprofit
organizations reveal
strategic purpose
through storytelling
Examine the organizational
communication strategy through
storytelling (Mitchell &
Clark, 2021)
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TABLE 2
TABLE 2
(Continued)
Paper title
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
Tales of Georgian wine:
Storytelling in the
Georgian wine industry
Identify elements used to
differentiate Georgian wines
from the current market division
into the ‘old' and the ‘new world',
with a product that embodies an
ancient heritage, opening a
market for historical wines
(Rytkönen et al., 2021)
Branding and advertising on
social networks: Current
trends
Study the main trends of branding
and advertising, including
storytelling, on social networks to
develop a new approach to brand
promotion (Trachuk et al., 2021)
Storytelling beyond the
ivory tower
Explain how can gender scholars in
our field translate our research in
a way that engages the public
(Tuncay Zayer, 2021)
Story‐telling in the digital
space ‐ A ploy to
communicate with
Millennials
Explore storytelling as a digital
marketing strategy with special
reference to millennials (Ahuja &
Loura, 2022)
What's the story, allegory?
Consider the character and
characteristics of allegorical
storytelling (Brown et al., 2022)
The role of storytelling in the
creation of brand love:
The Pandora case
Understand the role of storytelling in
the creation of brand love when
it is used as a brand
communication technique (Dias
& Cavalheiro, 2022)
Experiential marketing
strategies used by luxury
cosmetics companies
Sharing consumers' brand
storytelling: Influence of
consumers' storytelling
on brand attitude via
emotions and cognitions
Augmented reality filters on
social media. Analyzing
the drivers of playability
based on uses and
gratifications theory
Storytelling in
advertisements:
Understanding the effect
of humor and drama on
Investigate the strategies of
experiential marketing used by
luxury cosmetics companies for
influencing consumer perception
(Dhillon et al., 2022)
Examine whether consumers' brand
storytelling leads to increased
favorable brand evaluations and
compare its effects on consumer
cognition and emotions to a
brand story generated by a firm
(Hong et al., 2022)
Use the theory of uses and
gratifications to examine the
playability of AR filters, focusing
on the satisfaction that users
derive from the experience and
their making of electronic word‐
of‐mouth recommendations
(Ibáñez‐Sánchez et al., 2022)
Understand the attitudes of
consumers toward storytelling
video advertisements that
contain humor and drama as their
principal elements and how they
247
(Continued)
Paper title
the attitude toward
brands
Scope, author(s) and year of
publication
translate to brand attitudes
(Kasilingam & Ajitha, 2022)
Social storytelling in a post‐
pandemic world: Four
content pillars to build
relevant authenticity
with today's social
consumer
Examine the recent shift in consumer
expectations vis‐à‐vis brands in
the social media space, with a
focus on how brand authenticity
influences brand loyalty and
purchasing decisions
(Morrow, 2022)
What drives technology‐
enhanced storytelling
immersion? The role of
digital humans
Investigate consumer responses to
technology‐enhanced storytelling
marketing via augmented digital
humans in two different contexts
(Sung et al., 2022)
Step five is reporting the references (Cronin et al., 2008), which is
necessary to establish the review's transparency and replicability. To
present the articles meaningfully, Table 2 shows the focus of each
paper included in the review.
4 |
FIN D IN GS
Figure 1 outlines the established links between the constructs as a
starting point for our analysis. This figure shows the data retrieval
process, the bibliometric map framework, and the description of the
thematic cluster.
4.1 |
Profile of the papers
The pool of 91 relevant papers that shed light on the influence of
storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior indicates that the
construct is relatively niche compared to larger marketing fields such
as customer engagement (Lim et al., 2022). Van Laer et al. (2019) had
a similar finding in their study with 64 papers to develop their meta‐
analysis about the narrative transportation effect.
The papers are presented chronologically in Table 2. Most papers
in the field (n = 41) emerged between 2019 and 2020; 45% of all
studies published in the past decade were published in these 2 years.
The predominant theoretical orientation among the papers in this
systematic review is consumer culture theory (48%). The studies
linked to this research orientation are divided into intrinsic perspectives related to (a) the consumer's identity construction, (b) market
cultures, (c) socio‐historical patterns of consumption, and (d) market
ideologies and consumer interpretation strategies. Other papers are
based on the assumptions of service‐dominant logic (23%) or
intrinsically linked to the industrial perspective inherent to issues of
competitive advantage (14%). Papers that focus on the narrative
(Continues)
structure of storytelling are related to the orientation of the
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TABLE 3
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Most prolific research constituents
Most prolific research constituent
Most‐cited scientific papers
(global citations)
Most prolific journals
Most prolific countries
Most prolific institutions
FIGURE 1
ET AL.
Research layout
Performance
Brand performances in social media (Singh & Sonnenburg, 2012)
144 citations
Ethnographic stories for market learning (Cayla & Arnould, 2013)
90 citations
The power of social media storytelling in destination branding (Lund et al., 2018)
62 citations
Psychology & Marketing and Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing
4 publications each
Journal of Brand Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing
and Journal of Product and Brand Management
3 publications each
United States of America
24 publications
China and United Kingdom
8 publications each
Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro University
4 publications
Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Bournemouth University, Technical University Carola‐Wilhelmina at
Brunswick, University of Bath, CQUniversity Rockhampton North, University of
Warwick, and Gothenburg University
3 publications each
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ET AL.
249
multimodality theory (15%), which encompasses strands of studies
brand stories alone but cocreate on social media with consumers.
about (a) the representational structure of the characters in the story,
Cayla and Arnould (2013) were next (90 citations); they discuss the
(b) social meaning (ethics), and (c) the value of the information
power of ethnographic stories to understand market realities. The
(compositional meaning).
third most‐cited paper was by Lund et al. (2018) (62 citations), who
Studies on the influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing
investigated how online social networks generate engagement and
behavior have relied on a variety of methodologies, including case
stimulate the circulation of brand stories. These papers establish the
studies (n = 16), conceptual models (n = 13), interviews (n = 11),
importance of storytelling for brands and the prominence of digital
netnographies (n = 23), storytelling as a method (n = 4), surveys
means (social media) for storytelling, implying that storytelling,
(n = 7), and mixed methods (n = 17). Papers of a bibliographic nature
utilizing technology‐mediated storytelling, is a valuable strategy for
or literature reviews were excluded from this review because
brands to reach consumers and convert them into customers.
systematic literature reviews presuppose the inclusion of empirical
However, assessing the influence of a paper based only on the
research only (Cronin et al., 2008). Figure 2 shows the proportions of
number of citations is a limited heuristic indicator because good
the various study methods used in the research on the construct.
papers that have been recently published have a low number of
citations compared to earlier works that have been available for a
longer time.
| Performance of research constituents
4.2
Using bibliographic data from the 91 papers, we present a
4.2.2 |
Most prolific journals
performance analysis of the most prolific research constituents in
the field: most‐cited papers, most prolific journals, most prolific
Journals are natural homes for papers, and their productivity can be
countries, and most prolific institutions. This summary is presented in
measured by the number of articles they publish (Donthu et al.,
Table 3.
2021). Considering the influence of storytelling on consumers'
purchasing behavior, the two highest‐publishing journals were
Psychology & Marketing and Journal of Research in Interactive Market-
4.2.1
| Most‐cited papers
ing (four papers each). Journal of Brand Management, Journal of
Business Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing, and Journal of
The influence and impact of any paper can be reflected by the
Product and Brand Management published three papers each. The
number of times it is cited (Donthu et al., 2021). Review procedures
number of papers per journal affirms that the field is niche while
work with two types of citations: global and local. Global citations
revealing its diversity and relevance.
imply the number of times a paper is cited across all databases,
including other research fields. Local citations specify the number of
times other journals cite a paper within the same database and scope
4.2.3 |
Most prolific countries
(Goyal & Kumar, 2021). Our study addresses global citations because
we worked with different databases.
Countries of research origin reflect the geographical representation
The most frequently cited paper (144 citations) was by Singh and
of research in the scientific field (Donthu et al., 2021). The United
Sonnenburg (2012). Their study concentrates on the metaphor of
States (US) has contributed most to the marketing debate about the
improvisational theater to illustrate that brand owners do not tell
influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior, with 24
national authors in papers published. The United States was followed
by the United Kingdom (UK) and China (13 authors each). This
illustrates the global interest in storytelling research.
4.2.4 |
Most prolific institutions
Institutions represent the home of research expertize (Donthu et al.,
2021). The Piemonte Oriental Amedeo Avogadro University was the
institution that most discussed the influence of storytelling on
consumers' purchasing behavior in marketing (four papers published).
Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Bournemouth University, Technical University
Carola‐Wilhelmina at Brunswick, University of Bath, CQUniversity
Rockhampton North, University of Warwick, and Gothenburg
FIGURE 2
examined
Classification of methods adopted in the studies
University were institutions with three papers published about the
topic.
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4.3
| Knowledge clusters in the scientific field
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ET AL.
keyword, content analysis, and reading of the papers in each
cluster (Figure 3).
Science mapping helps ascertain the significant themes or
Next, we discuss the influence of storytelling on consumers'
research streams in studies in a particular field (Donthu et al.,
purchasing behavior based on the four knowledge clusters revealed
2021). Bibliographic coupling is a science mapping technique
through science mapping. We divide the discussion into two sections
used in this research to reveal knowledge clusters in the area. The
(i.e., the “what” and the “how”). The first section concentrates on the
method assumes papers with shared references are likely to be
theoretical emphasis and the second section reveals the noteworthy
similar in content and thus clusters papers into homogeneous
methods used to develop insights into the field. This division fits past
segments given the co‐occurrences of shared connections (Aria &
recommendations from Donthu et al. (2021), Mukherjee et al. (2022),
Cuccurullo, 2017; Budler et al., 2021; Castriotta et al., 2019;
and Paul et al. (2021) to provide a rich discussion of the body of
Weinberg, 1974). The keywords listed in papers are also valuable
knowledge in the field.
for determining the themes of knowledge clusters (Callon et al.,
1983; Donthu et al., 2021). Bibliographic coupling performed by
the Bibliometrix package in R software revealed that the 91
4.3.1 |
Theoretical emphases and inclinations
papers on the influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing
behavior could be segmented into four knowledge clusters,
The knowledge clusters reveal that storytelling can influence
whose themes were assigned based on the most prominent
consumers' purchasing behavior in four ways: (1) through the
FIGURE 3
Knowledge clusters classified by most prominent keyword, theme and paper's reference
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250
|
ET AL.
251
consumers' identification with the brand/product, (2) through the
2014), and new technologies and methods (Kim & Mao, 2021) also
emotional values present in the relationship between the consumer
help to determine brand identity.
and the brand/product, (3) through the consumer's engagement, and
Brand stories should purposefully unite consumers and brands as co‐
(4) through the consumer's hostile discussions about the brand/
protagonists in the purchase process of a particular product (Santo, 2019)
product. The theoretical articulations for each are described next.
as brands cocreate in collaboration with their consumers (Singh &
Sonnenburg, 2012). These calls to consumer action (Bublitz et al., 2016)
4.3.1.1
|
Storytelling as a stimulus for consumer identification
result in stories infused with the tensions, contradictions, and emotions of
with the brand/product
people's everyday lives (Cayla & Arnould, 2013). Nevertheless, most
Some branded products give consumers actual meaning, and
brand stories are built by firms based on their perceptions of consumers'
customers use them to signal fundamental aspects of their
needs, desires, and concerns (Santo, 2019).
personalities to others (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2018). Belk
Consumers can understand a “good story” that they think is
(2013) developed the “extended self” theory to explain this brand/
relevant (Weder et al., 2019). A factual story that directly encourages
product‐consumer identification situation. As per the extended self,
consumers to buy or use a product negatively impacts purchase
consumers define themselves through possessions. Thus, some
intent (Karpinska‐Krakowiak & Modlinski, 2020), a phenomenon
purchases are not just a manifestation of a consumer's self‐image;
called perceived realism activation (Milfeld & Flint, 2021). For a
they are an integral part of self‐identity. Forehand et al. (2021) clarify
narrative to encourage the consumer to buy or use a brand, the story
specific concepts of consumers' identities: the network of multiple
needs to transport the consumer to a place different from the real
identities, identity association, identity abstraction, associations of
world (Dhote & Kumar, 2019), creating physical and virtual
external groups, social hierarchy associations, identity inconsistency,
performative spaces that facilitate communicative modalities (Lund
and identity balance. These concepts are relevant to understanding
et al., 2018). If consumers find relevance in the content produced (He
consumers' behaviors (Fregolente et al., 2019) and self‐associations
et al., 2021), their ability to remember and connect with the brand/
(Forehand et al., 2021).
product for an extended period is enhanced (Dhote & Kumar, 2019).
Stories build identities, realities, and relationships between
The relevance of storytelling lies in the story's ability to achieve
brands and consumers (Lund et al., 2018). Narratives help consumers
an emotional connection with the consumer (Lim & Childs, 2020). For
identify with the brand, evoking their empathy and values (Song et al.,
this dynamic connectivity, stories must be structured similarly to an
2019), facilitating engagement behaviors (Morton, 2017), and
allegorical (Brown et al., 2022) or classic (Mitchell & Clark, 2021)
creating brand love (Dias & Cavalheiro, 2022). Understanding
pattern, with elements such as a protagonist, an antagonist, incidents,
consumers' identification with specific values offers a means by
inflection points, goals to be achieved by a character, and obstacles to
which a brand may reinforce its genuine connection with these values
be overcome (Karpinska‐Krakowiak & Modlinski, 2020). The protag-
and enhance its significance for consumers (Rapier, 2016). The
onist has the function of highlighting the similarity between the
desired response of a compelling story can be achieved through a
company and the consumer. As per Lund et al. (2018), if consumers
combination of salience, relevance, distinctiveness, credibility, and
personify the brand's narrative, this situation can create spaces for
purpose (Mitchell & Clark, 2021).
relationships and engagement. An exciting protagonist who repre-
Lund et al. (2018) explain that the personal affective creation
sents pleasurable assets as part of their social role triggers
bonds between brand and consumer enable trust and commitment,
identification (Lund et al., 2018) and a mirroring process (Karunasena
generating ambassadors and allies who defend the brand. To achieve
et al., 2021). Storytelling about the brand relies on narratives of
this, storytelling must communicate the brand's culture and allegiance
typical (Song et al., 2019) or actual (Lund et al., 2018) people or even
with the myths, traditions, heritage, and experiences of consumers'
the product itself (Kamleitner et al., 2019).
social identities (Glover, 2018). Brand identity and self‐identity
However, how and when the story is told can build or
positively influence consumer brand opinions (Chen et al., 2014).
deconstruct the image of a brand or a product in the consumer's
Marketers can improve consumer‐brand relationships through story-
mind (Ingenbleek & Zhao, 2019). Consumers with stronger brand
telling narratives that incorporate aspects of consumer self‐identity,
connections prefer stories focused on the brand's experiential value
such as cultural values (Ko et al., 2011), self‐experiences (Mossberg &
and will access this value through interactive media (Granitz &
Eide, 2017), leisure activities (Lee & Jin, 2019), generational
Forman, 2015). Consumers with weaker brand attachments prefer
interfaces (Ahuja & Loura, 2022; Carnett, 2017), family arrangements
stories about the utilitarian aspects of the brand communicated with
(Mak, 2016), lifestyle (Tohtubtiang & Anuntoavoranich, 2017), and
more traditional media (Granitz & Forman, 2015). The impact of
intergenerational context (Karunasena et al., 2021). Narratives about
embedded story messages may increase if stories are integrated with
local consumption preferences (Pham & Richards, 2015), production
other communications (Solja et al., 2018).
models (Leissle, 2017), country‐of‐origin (Liu et al., 2018), territorial
|
identity (Castelló, 2021; Rytkönen et al., 2021), regionality (Rinallo &
4.3.1.2
Pitardi, 2019), niche market (Gurzki et al., 2019), specialty market
value
Storytelling allows consumers to create emotional
(Singer, 2019), market tendencies (Kim et al., 2014), market growth
Cognition, emotion, and behavior are the primary elements of
(Haley & Boje, 2014), product differentiation (Heine & Berghaus,
consumers' experiences (Karampournioti & Wiedmann, 2021) and their
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relationship with a brand or organization (Payne et al., 2008). Through
Furthermore, consumers' attitudes and trust in the product must
storytelling, marketers can impact consumers' cognition, beliefs, affect,
be addressed to explain the impact of emotional value on purchasing
attitudes, and intentions (Yueh & Zheng, 2019). Consumers often utilize
behavior (Yu & Lee, 2019). This is needed as loyalty derives from this
stories to understand future consumption experiences (Bahl & Milne,
positive evaluation (Morrow, 2022). Warm feelings toward the brand
2010) and build a personal connection with a brand or an organization
(Hemsley‐Brown & Alnawas, 2016) can be developed using humor
(Kemp et al., 2021). The consumer's experience begins with involve-
and drama in storytelling (Kasilingam & Ajitha, 2022). Hamelin et al.
ment and behavioral action intentions, such as when purchasing a
(2020) suggest a limit to the level of emotion utilized, so marketers
product (Tsai, 2020). Storytelling allows for a transfer of protagonism to
should avoid being overly sentimental during storytelling. Excessive
the consumer (Woodside et al., 2008), which could improve consumer
sentimentality can trigger negative emotions, resulting in a loss of
welfare (Tuncay Zayer, 2021). In addition to this stored cognitive
credibility and trust (Hamelin et al., 2020).
component, protagonism triggers an emotional connection (Escalas,
Finally, a story can also arouse negative emotions in consumers.
2004) that moves consumers toward a behavioral action (Woodside
Emotions such as envy, guilt, regret, and shame impact consumers'
et al., 2008). Consumers must be mentally involved with the product
decisions (Bianchi, 2014) and purchasing behavior (Chapman et al.,
before they can form an accurate cognitive‐based aesthetic evaluation
2011). When storytelling introduces an anticlimax, the story arrives at
(Seifert & Chattaraman, 2020).
a chain of many possible and unexpected outcomes, with inflection
The role of emotions in shaping consumer behavior based on
points and multiple endings (Nguyen, 2017). Nguyen warns that an
their interaction with other motivations is gaining more scholarly
anticlimax signal may force consumers to withdraw from the story,
attention thanks to the contributions of behavioral economics
undoing their emotional connection to it.
(Bianchi, 2014). The emotional value derived from the consumer's
|
purchase experience is part of a product's value (Yu & Lee, 2019). In
4.3.1.3
studying consumers' purchasing behavior, one needs to anticipate
behaviors
possible behavioral changes that determine the level of interaction
Connections with other consumers can influence engagement in the
with the brand, its content strategy, and its effectiveness (Trachuk
form of social influence (Bouncken et al., 2015). If a consumer is not
et al., 2021) for a customer‐oriented approach (Hemsley‐Brown &
engaged or is unwilling to cooperate in an interaction, the brand
Alnawas, 2016; Trachuk et al., 2021).
Storytelling supporting consumer engagement
cannot enhance its value (Chandler & Lusch, 2015). Creating and
From the customer‐oriented perspective, storytelling is an
sharing stories is strategic for any social or managerial environment
effective communication strategy (Chapman et al., 2011) because
(Lee et al., 2020). Storytelling reinforces consumers' growing
personal and emotional communication provides fun immersion by
involvement with the environment (Pera, 2017). By promoting
presenting a personal story in the product rather than just the
attentiveness to customer storytelling, brands and organizations
product itself (Choi, 2019). Storytelling develops the consumer
can become part of customers' lives (Gorry & Westbrook, 2011) and
experience based on symbolic and meaning‐making values (Khaire,
understand their needs (Pan & Chen, 2019). Consumers have more
2019), entertainment (Sung et al., 2022), and emotional aspects
positive emotions and attitudes when they read consumer brand
(Hemsley‐Brown & Alnawas, 2016). Brands must consider the
storytelling than a firm‐created brand story (Hong et al., 2022). They
consumer's mood and emotions to increase interaction and brand
share their stories to be part of a group (Üçok Hughes et al., 2016).
value (Trachuk et al., 2021). Affective storytelling is more effective in
Storytelling becomes a collective process that enables social
changing consumers' attitudes (Hamelin et al., 2020), as each plot in a
interactions by creating a shared emotional experience (Pera, 2017).
story can be treated as a symbolic sign, subject to interpretation by
Telling stories is a means to develop one's experience and impact
the consumer (Nguyen, 2017). A brand can appeal to consumers'
other consumers (Pera, 2017). The meaningfulness of one's individual
imagination (Abela, 2014) and curiosity (Ibáñez‐Sánchez et al., 2022)
experiences is recognized by illustrating how one functions as part of
to engage with affective storytelling through aesthetic, poetic, and
the group (Gylling et al., 2012). Living a good story and retelling it
truthful means (McAuley & Pervan, 2014) if the narrative is intriguing
offers a captivating emotional experience (Pera, 2017). The story's
and exciting to consumers (Carlsson Hauff et al., 2014).
audience is emotionally transported to the storyteller's world,
Consumers relate positive storytelling with their experiences,
internalizing the stories through narrative transport and connecting
invoking memories in this process (Grębosz‐Krawczyk, 2020).
with the protagonist (Pera & Viglia, 2016). Storytelling works on
Kessous et al. (2015) suggest that nostalgic memories are primarily
consumers' senses, thinking, feelings, and behavior, which builds
favorable. Indeed, storytelling about past experiences is ubiquitous in
relationships and encourages interaction (Dhillon et al., 2022).
social interaction (Grębosz‐Krawczyk, 2020). For consumers, nostal-
An emotive narrative aims to engage consumers (Hong et al.,
gia is a way to reconnect with the past, communicate a particular
2022), awaken their emotions (Sarkar et al., 2018), build credibility
image, and publicize one's values in telling one's “story” to others. In
(Gilliam & Flaherty, 2015), and connect them to other consumers (Pan
this way, nostalgia significantly affects storytelling (Kessous et al.,
& Chen, 2019), enhancing their understanding, imagination, and
2015). So, nostalgic storytelling serves to express one's identity and
experience (Dogan & Kan, 2020). The consumer understands story-
create interpersonal bonds based on a sense of shared history and
telling through both intra‐story (meaning, structure, and internal
stories (Grębosz‐Krawczyk, 2020).
aspects) and inter‐story (organization, society, and relationship)
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253
analysis (Chautard & Collin‐Lachaud, 2019). When consumers
engage consumers and result in opinion leadership are credibility, content
assimilate the information conveyed by storytelling, they are willing
quality, communication skills, actual and aspired image homophily, and
to pay more (Nie et al., 2017).
consistency (Al‐Emadi & Ben Yahia, 2020).
Storytelling is a value co‐creation behavior for the consumer
Negative consumer voices can clarify a brand's positioning
(Pera & Viglia, 2016). Co‐creative storytelling offers consumer delight
because negative comments can enhance the brand story (Scholz &
and helps them reach deeply satisfying meaning‐making levels (Pera
Smith, 2019). The literature suggests that marketers could develop
& Viglia, 2016). This co‐creation behavior has intra‐story factors,
the “right” stories for their brands using a moral discourse story (Chen
including the attitudes and personality of the consumer, and inter‐
& Eriksson, 2019) with an informational execution, high brand
story factors, such as cultural attributes (Kozak, 2016). The first
presence, and prominent disclosure labeling to counter hostile
dimension of this behavior (intra‐story) is interpersonal communica-
speech (Grigsby & Mellema, 2020).
tion built on trust and admiration (Pera & Viglia, 2016). The second
From our research about the influence of storytelling on consumers'
dimension (inter‐story) is storytelling, as stories portray unconscious
purchasing behavior theoretical emphases and inclinations, we can
memories and cultural values related to the meaning of purchase and
identify an underlying theoretical axis that runs through the mapped
beliefs ingrained in the social environment (Merchant et al., 2017).
clusters: the meaning of consumption. The pleasure of consumption
The literature suggests that marketing researchers should determine
needs to be studied not only as an economic aspect but also as a
means to generate consumers' desire to express their individuality
phenomenon with a symbolic and social dimension reflected in everyday
and drivers that impact the reputation (Pera et al., 2016).
practices and contemporary society (Sarreta, 2012). The act of consuming
becomes an act of satisfying desires, which produces intense and unique
4.3.1.4
|
Storytelling as a propagator of hostile speech
sensations. Consumption is a central concept not only of the economic
A social identity is part of a person's self‐concept (social self) resulting
sphere but also of human expression and social relationships, as Belk
from their perceptions of belonging to a group (Hawkins &
(2013) points out. In such a scenario, consumption is not a necessary
Mothersbaugh, 2018). As per Champniss et al. (2015), when it comes
action for survival but a structuring central social order in which conflicts
to purchasing, the group the consumer identifies with at the time of
and inequality arising from the productive structure unfold (and deepen)
the transaction is a significant factor in their buying decision. Social
(Belk, 2013). The meanings of products, brands, and advertisements are
identity helps people understand how to act in a context that
not necessarily directly and similarly perceived by consumers but are
enhances their distinctiveness and status (Champniss et al., 2015).
interpreted according to the personal life of each person and the groups
The consumer's social identity formation is context‐dependent, such
to which they belong (Sarreta, 2012). Thus, so‐called individual
as who is around them and what is being said (Hawkins &
preferences are a mix of interpretations, discourses, and structures used
Mothersbaugh, 2018). Thus, social identity shapes consumer pur-
by consumers to link a brand to social and personal situations experienced
chase decisions (Champniss et al., 2015).
daily (Belk, 2013), such as through storytelling. In this sense, storytelling
When someone's social identity is threatened—for example,
branches out into psychology and marketing studies focusing on
through negative discourse about a particular brand/product—
consumer behavior. This research finding allows us to understand
consumers are motivated to protect their self‐image and use
storytelling as a symbolic artifact of consumption that directly influences
defensive behaviors and attitudes (Champniss et al., 2015). Negative
consumer behavior.
storytelling can influence a consumer's purchase decision, whether
delivered by similar consumers (peer‐to‐peer) or social authorities
(influence within a social group).
4.3.2 |
Methodological emphases and inclinations
In peer‐to‐peer communities, consumers utilize their storytelling
abilities to build the communities' needs for products (Harris et al.,
Literature reviews allow for analyses of the methods authors use in
2016). Harris et al. (2016) emphasize that exaggerating consumer
their research (Cronin & George, 2020). We identified netnography
experiences is motivated by their psychological characteristics and
as the most often used method to determine the influence of
perceptions of distorted communications about their own experi-
storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior. In marketing,
ences with a particular brand. This exaggeration does not arise from
netnographies are now an accepted research tool that addresses
the cognitive distortion of bad experiences but from the rhetorical
various topics, from applied questions about online advertising to
objective of the consumer's storytelling. The brand's relational
research on identity, social relations, purchasing behavior, learning,
behavior can impact exaggerated negative consumer discourse, with
and creativity (Kozinets, 2014). Netnography supports qualitative,
reflective assessments of the brand‐consumer situational social
quantitative, or mixed analysis tools (Creswell, 2010) and offers an
dynamics determining consumers' willingness to exaggerate.
opportunity to understand consumers' daily social behavior, as digital
Social authorities in specific communities can influence the purchas-
networks are increasingly part of everyday life (Lund et al., 2018).
ing behavior of consumers because individuals seek to “hear the voice” of
The growth of digital media provides new means of storytelling
social influencers (Stubb, 2018). Negative storytelling about brands/
(Scholz & Smith, 2019). In the digital world, stories utilize words,
products that social influencers engage in often resonates among social
sounds, images, and videos that impact how messages materialize
community members (Stubb, 2018). The influential characteristics that
and are received (Bianchi, 2014). Storytelling operates in an
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interactive dimension (Heine & Berghaus, 2014), like blogs (Stubb,
purchasing behavior. Through a systematic literature review with
2018), social media (Grigsby & Mellema, 2020), web pages (Kemp
cluster analysis using a bibliometric approach, we find that the
et al., 2021), visual narratives (Lim & Childs, 2020), and collaborative
literature follows four strands of understanding: (a) storytelling as a
stories (Glover, 2018), all of which allow new genre and subgenre
stimulus for consumer identification with the brand/product, (b)
narratives to proliferate (Bianchi, 2014). Social media platforms offer
storytelling that allows consumers to create emotional value, (c)
new means to communicate, participate, and interact, supporting the
storytelling that supports consumer engagement behaviors, and
relationship between consumers and encouraging them to share their
(d) storytelling as a propagator of hostile speech. Most of the
consumption experiences through stories (Pera, 2017). Pera and
storytelling literature focuses on the positive aspects of storytelling;
Viglia (2016) note that e‐storytelling (stories conveyed digitally) is a
only six articles address the negative. Netnography is the most‐used
powerful value generator for consumers and companies. As a result,
methodology to understand the relationship between storytelling and
marketers have been actively transforming branding strategies
consumer behavior and its influence on purchases. The theoretical
through digital networks (Trachuk et al., 2021).
perspective of consumer culture theory emerges as the most
Netnographic studies take a behavioral perspective to conduct
prominent and often‐used theoretical inclination in studies of the
marketing analysis of brands' virtual pages (Song et al., 2019). Online
intrinsic aspects of the influence of storytelling on consumer
users leave traces of their behavior on virtual platforms (Stubb,
behavior. The elucidations from the theoretical tendencies and
2018), allowing a scientific look at their actions. In netnography, the
emphases made it possible for us to understand storytelling as a
artifacts—communicative and interactional virtual spaces that com-
symbolic artifact of consumption that directly influences consumer
municate storytelling—provide the necessary materials to examine
behavior.
digital media (Trachuk et al., 2021) through searching general
The literature addressing how storytelling influences consumer
websites (Chen & Eriksson, 2019; Leissle, 2017; Pera, 2017), business
behavior is scarce. Even using a generic search string, the number of
websites (Ingenbleek & Zhao, 2019), social media (Al‐Emadi & Ben
studies was relatively low compared to other topics. We noticed that
Yahia, 2020; Karunasena et al., 2021), online blog platforms (Stubb,
the interest of researchers in the construct (marketing—storytelling—
2018), YouTube (Pera & Viglia, 2016), and Facebook (Karpinska‐
consumer) has been increasing gradually, making it a scientific field
Krakowiak & Modlinski, 2020; Lund et al., 2018; Nguyen, 2017; Song
with enormous potential for developing research with different
et al., 2019), among others.
emphases and methods.
This delimitation of artifacts facilitates the identification of papers
Moreover, our findings contribute to the practice of marketing in
that focus on storytelling analysis with the netnography approach, such as
organizations by emphasizing that the use of storytelling in company
videos (Dhote & Kumar, 2019; Nguyen, 2017). Videos are simple, concise,
communications can directly influence the purchasing behavior of
explicit, and creative means to convey storytelling (Trachuk et al., 2021).
individuals. It is evident from the study results that marketers can use
Pera (2017) stated that video storytelling has tremendous power
storytelling to bring the brand closer to its customers (through
compared to written storytelling as it favors the emotional dimension
identification), bring out the emotions of their consumers, and
of consumer relationship experiences, transforming individual consump-
promote engagement. These factors are directly linked to persuasion
tion experiences into collective ones. Consumers' comments are another
(Van Laer et al., 2019), which favors the purchase process and the
source of information for netnographic research (Harris et al., 2016;
consumer's willingness to pay more for the product (Lundqvist et al.,
Stubb, 2018) because they make it possible to understand consumer
2013). This study also highlights the role of influencers in the
behavior better.
purchase process (through negative discourse) and offers insights
Papers that relate to storytelling can be analyzed by techniques
into how companies can act when negative storytelling arises. In
inherent to quantitative or qualitative approaches, such as text mining
addition, the importance of storytelling for brands and the promi-
(Pera, 2017), narrative context (Pera & Viglia, 2016), content analysis
nence of digital means (social media) for storytelling imply that
(Stubb, 2018), and observational participation (Lund et al., 2018). In the
storytelling, utilizing technology‐mediated storytelling, is a valuable
literature, there has been a growing use of data collection techniques in a
strategy brands can use to reach consumers and make them
virtual environment (Harris et al., 2016; Hemsley‐Brown & Alnawas,
customers.
2016; Karpinska‐Krakowiak & Modlinski, 2020; Kessous et al., 2015;
Lund et al., 2018; Stubb, 2018; Yu & Lee, 2019), highlighting it as a valid
option for scientific data collection, even for qualitative research.
5.2 |
Future research agenda
To structure the future research agenda, we used the criteria of
5
| C ONC LUS I ON
credibility, authenticity, criticality, and integrity (Whittemore et al.,
2001) to select the primary research constructs from the theoretical
5.1
| Key takeaways
and methodological apparatus of those articles that comprise this
systematic literature review. Science mapping allowed us to under-
The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how papers in
stand the emphases and inclinations of the storytelling approach from
marketing have addressed the influence of storytelling on consumers'
a marketing perspective, which clarified the possible contexts and
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constructs that can be utilized to highlight the role of storytelling in
• How does storytelling benefit social hierarchy associations?
future psychology and marketing studies. So, from the retrospective
• How is value created when storytelling is used?
insights of this review, we propose a research agenda (Figure 4) built
• How does the consumer perceive values using storytelling?
255
on the theories, contexts, and methods (TCM) framework recommended by Paul et al. (2021) to guide future research in the field.
In terms of context, researchers could explore areas in which
Regarding theory, researchers could explore the co‐creation
storytelling can be employed to influence consumers' purchase
processes that brands and consumers collaboratively leverage for
behavior. This includes storytelling as a relationship building and
storytelling and its value. The emotional experiences, multi‐identity
customer management strategy, a marketing strategy, and a means to
networks, out‐group associations, self‐identities, social hierarchy
generate brand insights and drive sales. This could also compare
associations, and value perceptions shaped through storytelling
storytelling to other messaging strategies. Therefore, a series of
deserve additional scrutiny to enrich our understanding of the
essential questions predicated on contextual perspectives are
influence of storytelling on the processes behind consumers'
proposed for future research:
purchasing behavior. Similarly, the story itself in storytelling could
be further explored in tandem with the complexities of identity
inconsistency using prominent theories such as service‐dominant
• In what circumstances can storytelling be considered an effective
marketing strategy?
logic and narrative manifestation (intra‐story, inter‐story, narrative
• How can we understand consumer behavior with storytelling and
structure, narrative transport). Several critical questions are proposed
apply that understanding to build and manage good customer
for future research:
relationships?
• How can consumers perceive the brand using storytelling?
• Which co‐creation processes are constructed using storytelling?
• How does storytelling drive sales across channels?
• How are emotions and feelings articulated with storytelling?
• How does storytelling act on identity inconsistency?
• How do consumers assimilate intra‐story and inter‐story narrative
aspects?
In terms of method, researchers could explore the theoretical and
contextual perspectives of the influence of storytelling on consumers'
purchasing behavior using a range of powerful methods. These
• What kinds of relationships exist between storytelling and the
multiple‐identity network?
• Which storytelling narrative structure is best suited for different
brands?
include the prevalent netnography method, technology‐powered big
data, machine learning methods, rigorous multimethod, and storytelling itself as a method to develop causal insights. Therefore,
several pertinent questions predicated on methodological perspec-
• Which narrative transport is most effective in stimulating sales?
tives are proposed for future research:
• How does storytelling connect with out‐group associations?
• How does the use of storytelling influence self‐identities?
• How does storytelling work with service‐dominant logic precepts?
FIGURE 4
Roadmap for future research
• Which big data and machine learning tools are most effective for
analyzing storytelling?
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Suggested future research for the four strands identified in this study
• Which attributes in mixed methods are the most efficient for
measuring the results of studies that address storytelling?
interest of young researchers in scientific attributes linked to the
marketing agenda.
• Which netnographic attributes are the most efficient for measuring the results of studies that address storytelling?
• How can storytelling be narrated compellingly to derive causal
5.3 |
Limitations
insights?
Our systematic literature review should help scholars and practitionIn addition to the TCM suggestions above, we propose a research
ers comprehensively recognize the different uses of storytelling to
articulation specifically for each of the four strands found in the
understand consumers' purchasing behavior. We acknowledge that
literature that explains how storytelling can influence consumers'
our research may be limited due to the inclusion and exclusion
purchasing behavior (i.e., through the consumers' identification with
criteria established and that other search criteria could shed light on
the brand/product, through the emotional values present in the
different aspects of the literature. We also cannot rule out the
relationship between the consumer and the brand/product, through
possibility of missing journal data in the platforms or the existence of
the consumer's engagement, and through the consumer's hostile
papers on the topic published in outlets not indexed by them. We
speech about the brand/product) that we believe will advance the
hope that future reviews will build on these insights by seeking to
literature on storytelling in the marketing agenda (Figure 5).
address these limitations in tandem with providing a timely update on
The suggestions for future research directly related to the four
the field. A review with more years of observation in the databases
strands of marketing literature about the uses of storytelling to
may bring new insights into the topic. As a foundation for future
influence consumers' purchasing behavior (Figure 5) are based on the
study, this research contributes by offering future researchers four
theoretical and methodological articulations described in the re-
knowledge clusters in storytelling to pursue in terms of theory,
viewed studies. These suggestions were chosen due to (i) the need
context, and method.
for clarification aimed at scientific development, (ii) the interest of
journal editors in publications about the research topic, (ii) relevance
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
to corporate marketing management practices, and (iv) the growing
Data available from authors upon request.
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ET AL.
ORCID
João Ricardo de Oliveira Júnior
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-
0311-0868
Ricardo Limongi
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3231-7515
Weng Marc Lim
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7196-1923
Jacqueline K. Eastman
Satish Kumar
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4006-8080
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5200-1476
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How to cite this article: Júnior, J. R. d. O., Limongi, R., Lim, W.
M., Eastman, J. K., & Kumar, S. (2023). A story to sell: The
influence of storytelling on consumers' purchasing behavior.
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