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Corporate storytelling decomposed
Activities, benefits, strategy, emotional: What should they focus on? Natasha Kiburg
University of Amsterdam
Student ID: 10219463 Graduate School of Communication Master’s Programme Communication Science
Master’s Thesis
Supervisor: L.A. Van Oortmerssen Date of completion: 26-06-2015
2 Abstract
The aim of this study was to shed light on the effect of different corporate storytelling themes on organizational image and trust. The four themes that can be distinguished are activities, benefits, strategy and emotional. Besides, the moderating effect of the type of organization on the relationship was tested. This study adds useful inside in the limited storytelling literature. In addition, the study has some practical implications for managers of both profit as well as nonprofit organizations as of which themes will result in the most positive outcomes. An online experiment was conducted among 119 Dutch participants, using a 4 (storytelling themes: activities vs. benefits vs. strategy vs. emotional) x 2 (type of organization: profit vs. nonprofit) mixed-subjects design. The main conclusions of the study are that, in general, the four themes did not differ in their effect on organizational image and trust. However, a significant difference was found in the comparison between profit and nonprofit
organizations. Although the activities, benefits and emotional theme did not have different effect on the main organizational image and trust, the strategy theme turned out to be significantly more effective to use in nonprofit organizations compared to profit
organizations. These results indicate that, for profit organizations, choosing one theme over another in corporate stories does not influence the overall outcomes of the corporate story, while nonprofit organizations benefit most from emphasizing the strategy theme in their stories.
Keywords: Corporate storytelling, storytelling themes, online experiment, profit organization, nonprofit organization, organizational image, trust.
3 Introduction
Have you ever watched a movie, and stopped watching before the end because the story did not catch your attention? Or could you not finish reading a book, because the story was not compelling enough? Stories are all around us. Our thirst for compelling, attention catching stories is a reflection of the basic human need to understand patterns of life, as an emotional experience. Yet, we are used to organizations communicating ideas by using bullet points in PowerPoint and Word documents (Dragon Fly Effect, 2011). In today’s society, the value of a brand is increasingly determined by the public. In order to gain legitimacy by those publics, which is necessary in order to exist, organizations have to show their personality, and foster trust. By telling compelling stories to present the ideas of the organization, instead of spewing content and bullet points, the organizational objectives can be achieved (de Clerck, n.d.). Corporate storytelling can be defined as corporate communications in the form of “emotionally and symbolically charged narratives” (Gabriel, 2000, p. 136). As such, corporate stories are effective in reducing complex information and often include emotional elements to create a bond with audiences (Dowling, 2006). Although a limited amount of scholars have focused on corporate stories and the effects they have, several studies highlight the effect corporate storytelling is expected to have on organizational image and trust (for example Dowling, 2006; Padget & Allen, 1997; Leonidou & Leonidou, 2009).
It can be argued that there exists a huge gap in the storytelling literature. Not only is there little theory focusing on the effects of storytelling as a concept, hardly any theory focuses on the different aspects corporate stories could focus on. For example, corporate stories can focus on the activities and accomplishments of an organization (Riel & Fombrun, 2007). Besides, benefits stakeholders can obtain from those activities (Dowling, 2006) and more emotional, strategic approaches can be emphasized in stories (Dowling, 2006; Roper & Fill, 2012; Woodside, Sood & Miller, 2008).
The little theory that does focus on the different themes is ambiguous about what aspects corporate stories should focus on to positively influence organization image and foster consumer’s trust. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the effect of the different themes in corporate stories on organizational image and trust. In addition, these effects will be specified for both profit and nonprofit organizations. Besides contributing to the limited literature on storytelling, the results of the study might guide organizations in writing corporate stories in helping them decide which themes to include in their stories.
4 The question that will be central in this study is:
RQ: To what degree is organizational image and trust influenced by the different themes in storytelling, and how does the type of organization influence this relationship?
Theoretical Framework Corporate Storytelling Defined
In order to differentiate from others, organizations are nowadays more and more making use of stories. A benefit of stories is that they are perceived to reduce complexity of information and help convey ideas more effectively than using mere facts (Goodman, 2006). Besides, stories are suggested to evoke emotions, and as such generate emotional connections between stakeholders and a brand (Snowden, 2000; Herskovitz & Crystal, 2010). The
importance of emotions in corporate stories is also highlighted in the definition of stories, according to Gabriel (2000) “emotionally and symbolically charged narratives; they do not present information or facts about ‘events’ but they enrich, enhance and infuse facts with meaning” (p. 136).
Corporate storytelling is suggested not only to help a firm bond internally with its employees, but also to reach external stakeholders such as customers and competitors by revealing their unique characteristics (Roper & Fill, 2012). If the story is able to set the organization as authentic, distinctive, sincere, powerful and likeable it is likely that this will enhance the overall evaluation of the company (Dowling, 2006).
Van Riel and Fombrun (2007) distinguished different themes that a corporate story could emphasize, consisting of both informational as well as emotional aspects. First, the activities theme, which comprises the activities of an organization and the accomplishments an organization has achieved. Second, the benefits theme is distinguished. Further, the emotional theme comprises emotions and conflict (e.g. the struggle an organization as gone through; Woodside, Sood & Miller, 2008; Baker & Boyle, 2009). Besides, several authors distinguished a fourth theme, which is the strategy theme. This theme focuses on the vision, mission and values (Dowling, 2006; Driscoll & McKee, 2007; Larsen, 2000). In the following paragraphs those four themes will be discussed in more detail, as well as to what degree the different themes can influence organizational image and trust.
5 Themes in Corporate Stories
Activities theme. According to van Riel and Fombrun (2007), the activities theme comprises an activities- , as well as an accomplishments element. Communicating what a company does, in terms of the activities, is suggested to be an important part of corporate communications in order to differentiate an organization (Merchant et al., 2010). Besides, communicating accomplishments can be seen as self-promoting behavior, which has been found to positively influence the corporate reputation (Srivoravilai, Melewar, Liu & Yannopoulou, 2011). The activities theme in corporate stories, based on informational aspects, can be regarded as a starting point for corporate stories.
Spear and Roper (2013) conducted a study on the prominence of the four themes in storytelling in both profit and nonprofit organizations. Based on this research it can be
concluded that the accomplishments element is most prominent in corporate stories (85.1% in profit stories, and 75% in nonprofit stories). The activities element was used less, in only 36.2% of the companies’ stories and 51.9% of the charity stories.
Benefits theme. Within the benefits theme, the emphasis is on the attractive or beneficial outcomes stakeholders can expect from the organizations’ activities (van Riel & Fombrun, 2007).
Spear and Roper (2013) found that the benefits theme occurred in only 40% of the 100 companies’ stories included in the analysis. This is surprising since it can be argued that especially profit organizations should convey to stakeholders what the company will deliver in terms of products, services and brand experiences (Roper & Fill, 2012). The benefits theme was more present in the stories of nonprofits, namely 75% (Spear & Roper, 2013).
Strategy theme. The third theme corporate stories can convey is the strategy theme, which consists of communications about the organizations strategy, by incorporating the mission, vision and values of the organization (Larsen, 2000). Dowling (2006) argues that the inclusion of the organization’s mission and morality is the most important driver of a
corporate story. This theme is able to establish an emotional bond with stakeholders. The importance of communicating and explaining corporate values is also highlighted by Roper & Fill (2012). They mention the importance of communicating values in order to position the corporate brand in the mind of stakeholders. De Chernatony et al. (2006), in addition, mention the suitability of corporate stories instead of bullet points as a way to communicate values. Spear and Roper (2013) found that the strategy theme is neglected in most corporate
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stories. Only 21.3% of the profit organizations communicated values in their stories, while respectively 8.5% and 4.3% communicated the vision and mission elements. Of the nonprofit organizations, only 5.8% communicated values, 1.9% communicated their vision, and 11.5% communicated their mission in the story.
Emotional theme. Using the emotional theme in corporate stories is suggested to enable the establishment of an emotional bond with stakeholders. Organizations evoking emotions with their communications are better able to motivate employees and to attract customers (Dowling, 2006). Herskovitz and Crystal (2010) argue that only when the unique personality traits of an organization are communicated via a compelling story that will evoke emotions, an organization is able to differentiate from other, somehow similar, organizations. The emotional theme often takes place in communications about the conflict or struggle an organization has gone through. Besides, the emphasis is on how problems within organizations have been handled. Communicating conflicts is supposed to increase the audiences’ emotions and involvement in a story, since it shows the vulnerability of the organization (Woodside et al., 2008; Spear & Roper, 2013).
With their content analysis, Spear and Roper (2013) found that the conflict element was used in 45% of the profit stories, and 51.9% of nonprofit stories. Organizations used several strategies to discuss the conflicts. Some organizations used excuse behavior, through which they blamed external forces for the situation they were in. Others used justification behaviors, through which they minimized the amount of harm the situation caused. Finally, apologies were given in some corporate stories.
The Benefits of Using Corporate Stories
Corporate communications, including stories, aim to influence organizational image or pictures of a company held by its audiences. Since a favorable image is supposed to result in competitive advantages, influencing corporate image through corporate communications is crucial (Gray & Balmer, 1998). In general, it can be argued that corporate stories positively influence evaluations of a company held by its stakeholders.
The effect of stories on organizational image was examined by Padget and Allen (1997). The aim of their review was to examine the effects of stories in advertising. They concluded that narrative advertising is able to create a more favorable brand image compared to argumentative advertising, where no story was used. The aim of narrative advertising (i.e. selling a specific product or service), is different from the aim of corporate storytelling, (i.e. promoting the organization in general). However, both stories provide the public with
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symbolically charged narratives (Gabriel, 2000). Therefore, it can be expected that the effects for narrative advertising are also applicable to corporate storytelling.
The favorable impressions stakeholders hold of the organizations, influenced by the corporate story, will also foster trust in that organization. Trust here is defined as a feeling of security consumers hold by their interactions with a brand, which is based on perceptions that the brand is reliable and responsible for the wellbeing of consumers (Delgado-Ballester, Manuera-Aleman & Yagüe-Guillén, 2003). Especially when a story is able to provide stakeholders with a sense of belonging to the organization the connection stakeholders feel with the organization will result in more positive impressions and greater trust in that organizations’ future behavior (Dowling, 2006). Trust in organizations is important, since greater trust will most likely result in positive conversations between stakeholders on behalf of the organization and turn customers into brand fans (Sashi, 2010).
Although these general effects argue that corporate storytelling is beneficial for several organizational objectives, the question remains whether these effects differ when focusing on different themes.
Benefits of the Storytelling Themes.
Activities theme. The activities theme is supposed to have positive effects on organizational image and trust. Communicating activities can be seen as a useful way to differentiate from other organizations (Merchant et al. 2010). If the organization is able to show all activities and competences it is capable of, this is likely to foster trust.
Communicating accomplishments, on the other hand, can be seen as self-promoting behavior, which is expected to positively influence stakeholders’ impressions of and trust in the future behavior of the organization (Srivoravilai et al. 2010).
However, there are some important limitations when stories solely focus on the activities theme. Activities and accomplishments are based on internally focused facts, providing stakeholders with information. Leonidou and Leonidou (2009) suggest that in building a favorable brand image, emotional appeals are often more successful than
informational appeals. Similar findings were provided by Dens and De Pelsmacker (2010), who concluded that emotional appeals can be used to create or stabilize an organizational image. Thus, for optimizing organizational image, solely using informational appeals is not expected to be the most effective strategy.
Besides, organizations risk putting too much emphasis on past achievements.
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2006). It is thus expected that there will be a positive effect on organizational image and trust when focusing on the activities theme. However, this effect is expected to be limited.
H1a: The activities theme will be the least effective theme in influencing organizational image.
H1b: The activities theme will be the least effective theme in influencing trust. Benefits theme. Especially for profit organizations, communicating to stakeholders what the company will deliver in terms of products and services helps to differentiate a
company (Roper & Fill, 2012). As such, organizations failing to clearly communicate benefits miss the opportunity to show what the organization offers and fail to improve the likeability of the organization (Spear & Roper, 2013). As trust is based on perceptions of the ability of organizations to secure consumers wellbeing (Delgado-Ballester et al., 2003), communicating benefits is supposed to foster trust. After all, communicating the customer promise shows consumers that brands are fulfilling their needs.
Besides positively influencing trust, communicating benefits to stakeholders is argued to be a key part of corporate branding, and as such influencing organizational image (Schultz & Kitchen, 2004). Communicating what the organization has to offer to unique customers is supposed to increase favorable impressions and trust more than solely communicating what an organization does and has achieved. Therefore, the benefits theme is supposed to have a more positive effect on organizational image and trust than the activities theme.
However, Leonidou & Leonidou (2009) argued that informational appeals are less effective in building a favorable brand image than emotional appeals. The definition of informational appeals implies that communicating benefits can also be categorized under this term: “stimulate a logical thinking process in receivers of the message, putting them in a position to clearly measure the advantages (and sometimes the disadvantages) of the product advertised” (p. 524). Emphasizing the benefits an organization can offer focuses on the functional needs of those stakeholders, enabling them to clearly measure the advantages of using the company’s products or services. Since emotional appeals are supposed to have greater effect on image and trust, the effects of the benefits theme are expected to be limited.
H2a: The benefits theme will be more effective in influencing organizational image compared to the activities theme.
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H2b: The benefits theme will be more effective in influencing trust, compared to the activities theme.
Strategy theme. Leonidou and Leonidou (2009) define emotional appeals as “appeals targeting the consumer’s psychological, social, or symbolic needs, aiming to stir up feelings and bring into play an affection mechanism that will ultimately motivate the consumer to purchase the company’s products” (p. 523). Based on this definition, the strategy theme can be regarded as an emotional appeal, since communicating mission and morality is likely to evoke emotions and create an emotional bond with stakeholders, as it targets the intrinsic motives. Herskovitz and Crystal (2010) conclude that the intrinsic, implicit emotional
connection, created through lots of small acts, under which shared corporate stories based on mission and morality, will form the basis of long-term relationships based on loyalty and trust.
De Chernatony et al. (2006), in addition, highlight the favorable effect of corporate stories on organizational image and trust when focusing on organizational strategy. Corporate stories are supposed to be an effective way to communicate values, since they reduce complex information (Snowden, 2000). Including the values in a story, rather than providing static, general statements will result in positive consumer interpretations. In turn, positive consumer interpretations will result in greater involvement and trust (de Chernatony et al. 2006). As the strategy theme is likely to evoke emotions by targeting the intrinsic, symbolic motives of consumers, it is expected that the strategy theme will be more effective in
influencing organizational image and trust compared to the activities and benefits themes. However, since the emotional theme is directly focused on evoking emotions, while the strategy theme is indirectly involved, the strategy theme will be less effective in influencing image and trust than the emotional theme.
H3a: The strategy theme will be more effective in influencing organizational image, compared to the activities and benefits theme.
H3b: The strategy theme will be more effective in influencing trust, compared to the activities and benefits theme.
Emotional theme. The emotional theme is more likely to positively influence image and trust compared to the activities, benefits and strategy theme. First, this theme can be perceived as an emotional appeal as described by Leonidou & Leonidou (2009). Besides, Dowling (2006) concludes that especially when corporate stories are able to evoke emotions,
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the company is establishing deep roots for relationships with stakeholders. These relationships are based on trust and will result in more favorable impressions of the organization.
The great emphasis on emotions in both the definition of storytelling (Gabriel, 2000), as well as general literature on storytelling (Leonidou & Leonidou, 2009; Dowling, 2006; Herskovitz & Crystal, 2010), implies that it can be expected that the emotional theme will have the most favorable effect on organizational image and trust.
H4a: The emotional theme will be most effective in influencing organizational image, compared to the activities, benefits and strategy theme.
H4b: The emotional theme will be most effective in influencing organizational trust, compared to the activities, benefits and strategy theme.
Profit vs. Nonprofit Organizations
In addition to differences in effectiveness within the four themes, it can be expected that the type of organization influences the effectiveness of a theme. A distinction can be made between profit and nonprofit organizations. It can be expected that, since nonprofit organizations are not aimed at making profit, but instead have a more environmental, social focus, the relation between the themes and image and trust is affected by the type of
organization. For example, the willingness of people to donate to non-profitable organizations is based on intrinsic motives such as a desire to cause social change (Radley & Kennedy, 1995) or pure belief in the cause (Webber, 2004). Besides, people tend to help others as a means to repair negative mood states (Merchant et al. 2010). In order to be liked and trusted, nonprofit organizations need to address the intrinsic motivations of consumers. Since the activities and benefits theme consist of informational appeals, addressing more external motives, it is expected that those themes are less effective in influencing image and trust. Profit organizations, on the other hand, benefit more from differentiating themselves through communicating activities and unique benefits they offer consumers. Buying products or services from a profit organization is expected to depend less on intrinsic motives and more on extrinsic motives, compared to nonprofits (e.g. is the product useful for me). Therefore, organizational image and trust is expected to be more positively influenced by the activities and benefits theme used in a profit organizations’ story compared to nonprofits’ stories.
H5a: The activities and benefits theme will more positively influence organizational image when used in stories of profit organizations, compared to stories of nonprofit organizations.
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H5b: The activities and benefits theme will more positively influence trust when used in stories of profit organizations, compared to stories of nonprofit organizations. In addition, for nonprofit organizations it is thought that values can make the direction of the organization clear, necessary to attract and obtain support from people who hold similar values. In profit organizations this is less important (Roper & Fill, 2012). Besides, the strategy theme and the emotional theme are expected to address the intrinsic values people base their choices on. As intrinsic motives are expected to be more important for nonprofit
organizations, the strategy and emotional theme are expected to result in a more favorable image and trust when used in nonprofit organizational stories, compared to profit
organizational stories.
H6a: The strategy and emotional theme will more positively influence organizational image when used in stories of nonprofits, compared to stories of profits.
H6b: The strategy and emotional theme will more positively influence trust when used in stories of nonprofits, compared to stories of profits.
Method Design
This study aims to examine the causal relationship between themes used in corporate stories on corporate image and trust, and the influence of type of organization on this
relationship. In order to test the research hypothesis an experimental design was used. An experimental design is the most suitable method here, since experiments enable causal relationships to be examined (Boeije,‘t Hart & Hox, 2010).
A 4 (storytelling theme; activities vs. benefits vs. emotional vs. strategy) x 2 (type of organization; profit vs. nonprofit) mixed-subject factorial design is used. Participants were exposed to an online experiment with both a story of a profit organization, as well as a story of a nonprofit organization. Within these types of organizational stories, the participants were exposed to one of the four storytelling themes, which resulted in a mixed design. This design is chosen due to limited time to gather a sample big enough for a complete between-subjects design.
Sample and Procedure
First, a pre-test was conducted. A small sample of 5 students was used to pre-test the questionnaire. In this way, misspellings and ambiguities were detected and adjusted before
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A total of 119 Dutch people participated in the online experiment. Everyone older than 18 years was allowed to participate. Through the social media platform Facebook people were asked to participate by using a link that directed them to the online questionnaire (see
appendix A for a table with all scales and measurements of the variables). The questionnaire was designed with the help of the online survey software Qualtrics. After opening the link, they were shown an introductory text to inform them about the research. The real purpose of the experiment was kept as vague as possible to not influence the answers. The introduction story also informed the participants of the fact that there answers will be anonymously and they are allowed to quit the questionnaire at any possible time (see appendix A). After participants agreed with this, the questionnaire started. After answering some demographical questions, the participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions for the profit story. For the profit organization’s story, 28 participants were exposed to the activities theme. Besides, 32 participants were exposed to the benefits theme. Further, 32 participants were exposed to the emotional theme, and 27 participants have read the story emphasizing the strategy theme. After reading the story, participants were asked to answer questions regarding the texts, in order to measure organizational image and trust.
Then, participants were asked to read a second story. Again, they were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions for the nonprofit story. Varying in the combination of themes participants are exposed to is important, as it limits for example sensitization effects. Sensitization effects occur when participants are exposed to the same themes for both stories, resulting in the measurements after the second story being influenced by the measurements after the first story. As each participant here is exposed to a different combination of themes, the measurements are more reliable. Of the total of 119 participants, 9 participants only participated in the first part of the experiment, and didn’t participate in the nonprofit story group. For the nonprofit organization’s story, the activities theme was shown to 28
participants. Further, 26 participants were exposed to the benefits theme, and 28 participants were exposed to the emotional theme. Finally, 28 participants were exposed to the strategy theme. After reading the second story, they were again asked to answer questions about the story they just read. These questions were aimed at measuring image and trust.
Of the total sample of 119 participants, 42% are men (n = 50), and 58% are women (n = 69). Age ranges from 18 to 81, although 80% of the sample (n = 96) is 26 years or younger. The majority of the sample is highly educated, meaning they have completed or are currently enrolled in a university degree (n = 80). The remaining of the participants either completed
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high school (n = 6) or an education at a lower level than university (n = 32). With the use of SPSS Statistics 20 several outliers were detected, which are participants that scored extremely high or extremely low on variables compared to other respondents (three or more standard deviations from the mean score). To keep reliability high, two respondents who were shown to be outliers were therefore excluded from the analysis. Besides, two respondents filled in the real goal of the experiment. Their responses were also deleted, since their results might be biased. This resulted in a sample of 114 participants who were included in the analyses.
Stimuli Material
For the purpose of the present study, the different corporate stories were designed by the researcher. By keeping general content for both the profit organizational stories as well as the nonprofit organizational stories constant, and only differ in the organizational theme emphasized, internal validity is assured. Besides, fictive organizations were used to avoid pre-existing attitudes. This also enhances internal validity, as it increases the likeability that the manipulation causes the effect instead of extraneous variables.
Each version of the corporate story started with a general introduction. This
introduction focused on the foundation of the fictive organizations, and is kept as constant as possible for both the profit as well as the nonprofit organization. For the profit organization, a manufacturer of cheap household equipment was chosen. The content of the four themes for the profit organization’s story is partly based on the activities, customer promise, emotional elements and strategy carried out by an existing, similar Dutch organization, Miele. Their website was used to obtain information that could be used in the corporate stories, to keep the stories as credible as possible (http://www.miele.nl). To give an example, the accomplishment element of the activities theme used in the experiment described that the fictive organization has achieved the best brand award, which is based on the fact that Miele won this price in the past (Miele, n. d.).
Besides, examples provided by Spear and Roper (2013) about what they found in their content analysis were used to make the stories as realistic as possible. An example of where the article inspired the stories is in the emotional theme. Spear and Roper (2013) gave an example of Rio Tinto’s company story, about a disaster that occurred involving the company and how they handled the situation (p. 497). This example is used as a basis for the emotional storytelling theme. The content of the four storytelling themes for the profit organization can be found in appendix B.
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As the cause of the study is to examine the effect of the different themes, as well as whether the organization is a profit or a nonprofit organization, it is important that the content of the stories of both the profit as well as the nonprofit is as equal as possible. Therefore, a nonprofit organization specialized in selling secondhand, cheap household equipment is chosen. This is based on an existing Dutch nonprofit organization, Noppes
(http://www.noppeskringloopwinkel.nl). The general content of the stories for the nonprofit organization is only slightly adjusted to make it more credible. The content of the four stories for the nonprofit organization can be found in appendix C.
Measurements
After reading each corporate story, the dependent variables organizational images and trust were measured using pre-existing scales.
Organizational image. In order to measure organizational image, the corporate character scale developed by Davies, Chun, da Silva and Roper (2004) was used. This scale is perceived as a useful scale to measure perceptions of stakeholders and focus on the corporate character. Corporate character here is defined as “how a stakeholder distinguishes an
organization, expressed in terms of human characteristics” (p. 127). The original scale
consists of 49 items describing 16 facets. However, for the purpose of this study, the 16 facets were regarded as items, to avoid the questionnaire becoming too long and causing exhaustion effects. The 16 facets represent 7 dimensions in the original scale, such as ‘agreeableness’ and ‘competence’. The 16 items, under which for example ‘this organization is a warm
organization’ and ‘this organization is an ambitious organization’ were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 being completely disagree and 5 being completely agree.
Factor analyses for both measurements of organizational image (after the profit story and after the nonprofit story) shows that the 16 items form three dimensions (based on three eigenvalues higher than 1). A table with the factor loadings can be found in appendix D. This differs from the original scale as developed by Davies et al. (2004), who distinguished six dimensions. The first dimension consists of the items ‘warmth’, ‘empathy’, ‘integrity’, ‘non-egotism’ and ‘machismo’. This dimension is internal consistent, with a reliability of α = .80 for the profit story and α = .86 for the nonprofit story. This dimension is named altruistic image. The second dimension consists of the items ‘adventure’, ‘modernity’, ‘technocracy’, ‘drive’, ‘boldness’, ‘conscientiousness’. This dimension is internal consistent, with a
reliability of α = .81 for the profit story and α = .83 for the nonprofit story. This dimension is named innovative image. The third and last dimension consists of the items ‘elegance’,
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‘prestige’, ‘snobbery’ and ‘dominance’. This scale is internal consistent, with a reliability of α = .71 for the profit story and α = .63 for the nonprofit story. This dimension is named elite image. The item ‘informality’ did not fit any of the dimensions, and is therefore excluded from the analysis. A detailed description of the measurements of organizational image can be found in appendix A, where the complete overview of variables and scales is presented. Trust. In order to measure trust in an organization the trust scale developed by Delgado-Ballester, Manuerua-Alemán and Yagüe-Guillén (2003) is used. The original scale consists of eight items. However, the item ‘brand X never disappoints me’ was left out, since the design of the stories with fictive organizations makes it difficult to answer this question. The final scale therefore consisted of seven items, under which ‘with brand X I obtain what I look for in a product’ and ‘I could rely on brand X’. Those items were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 being completely disagree and 5 being completely agree. A detailed description of the items can be found in appendix A. Factor analyses for both measurements of trust (after the profit, as well as after the nonprofit story) shows that the seven items form one dimension (based on one eigenvalue higher than 1). The results of the factor analysis can be found in appendix D. The seven items further form a reliable scale (for both type of organizations α = .87).
Manipulation Check
The questionnaire included two questions per story to check whether the manipulation was successful. First, participants were asked what the main focus of the story was, where each of the four answers represented one of the four themes. For the activities theme (for both type of stories), only 51.9% of the participants (n = 27) perceived the story as focusing on the activities, while the other 48.1% perceived the story as emphasizing on one of the other three themes. For the benefits theme, the manipulation was even less successful. The majority of the participants perceived the story as emphasizing strategy (42.9%). Only 23.3% (n = 13) perceived the story as focusing on benefits, as was intended. The story emphasizing the strategy theme was most successfully manipulated, as approximately two third of participants (66.7%) perceived the manipulation as intended. The other 33.3% perceived the story as emphasizing one of the other three themes. For the emotional theme, the majority of the participants perceived the manipulation as intended, as emphasizing conflict (52.6%, n = 30). The other 47.4% perceived the story as emphasizing one of the other themes.
Second, participants were asked whether the organization in the story was a profit or a nonprofit organization. 27.2% did not perceive the organization of the first story as a profit
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organization. For the other 72.8% the manipulation was clear. For the organization of the second story, only 7.9% did not perceive the organization as a nonprofit organization, while for 92.1% the manipulation was successful.
Results
General effects of corporate storytelling on organizational image and trust
Although the main focus of the results will be on the effects of the different themes on organizational image and trust, it is meaningful to look at the means and standard deviations of the organizational image and trust for both the profit as well as the nonprofit organization, without taking into account the themes. For the profit organization, the mean altruistic image is 3.74 (SD = 0.54). The mean innovative image is 3.71 (SD = 0.65). The mean elite image is 2.95 (SD = 0.73). Taken together, the mean image for the profit organization after reading one of the stories is 3.46. For trust, the mean score is 3.70 (SD = 0.59).
For the nonprofit organization, the mean altruistic image is 4.14 (SD = 0.69). The mean innovative image is 3.58 (SD = 0.67). The mean elite image is 2.75 (SD = 0.65). Taken together, the mean image for the profit organization after reading one of the stories is 3.49. For trust, the mean score is 3.88 (SD = 0.61).
Although these results are descriptive, it can be inferred that the mean image and trust after reading a corporate story in general is positive for both types of organization (based on the assumption that organizational image and trust scores higher than 3 are positive). Differences in Organizational Image and Trust between Themes
Hypotheses 1 until 4 focus on the effect of the four different storytelling themes on organizational image and trust. It is expected that the activities theme will be the least effective theme (H1a & H1b), followed by the benefits theme (H2a & H2b). The strategy theme is expected to be the third most effective theme (H3a & H3b). Finally, the emotional theme is expected to have the most positive effect on organizational image and trust (H4a & H4b). First, the effects of the storytelling themes on organizational image will be described in detail. Second, the effects of the storytelling themes on trust will be presented.
Organizational Image. The differences in image between the four storytelling themes are divided in three parts, which are altruistic image, innovative image, and elite image. Three ANOVA’s are conducted to examine the differences. Levene’s F-test turns out to be not significant for each ANOVA, which becomes clear in table 1.
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Levene’s F-test for all dimensions of image for both types of organizational stories.
Image dimension Type of organization F p*
Altruistic image Profit (3, 110) = 1.418 .241
Nonprofit (3, 99) = .788 .503
Innovative image Profit (3, 110) = 1.172 .324
Nonprofit (3, 99) = .398 .755
Elite image Profit (3, 110) = 1.266 .290
Nonprofit (3, 99) = 2.633 .054
* p = significant at <.05 level.
Altruistic image. To test whether the mean altruistic image can be predicted by
exposure to one of the four storytelling themes, a one-way independent ANOVA, with Profit Themes as predictor and Altruistic Image (profit) as dependent variable, is conducted. The results of the ANOVA show that there is no significant main effect of storytelling theme on altruistic image F(3, 110) = 1.89, p = .137, η2 = .049. The mean altruistic image after exposure to the activities theme (M = 3.63, SD = 0.62), the benefits theme (M = 3.78, SD = 0.44), the strategy theme (M = 3.92, SD = 0.51) and the emotional theme (M = 3.63, SD = 0.57) do not significantly differ from each other. These results indicate that emphasizing one of the four themes in corporate stories has no influence on the extent to which consumers perceive the organization as altruistic.
A second ANOVA with Nonprofit Themes as predictor and Altruistic Image
(nonprofit) as dependent variable is conducted to further examine the relationship between the themes and the extent to which consumers perceive the organization as altruistic. The results of the ANOVA show that there is a significant main effect of nonprofit storytelling theme on altruistic image, F(3, 99) = 3.24, p = .025, η2 = .089. Although only 8.9% of the variance in altruistic image can be explained by the variance in storytelling theme, these results indicate that the storytelling theme used influences the altruistic image. To see which themes
significantly differ, a Bonferroni post-hoc test was conducted. These pairwise comparisons show that the altruistic image after exposure to the strategy theme (M = 4.38, SD = 0.58) significantly differs from the altruistic image after exposure to the emotional theme (M = 3.87, SD = 0.80), p = .040. The strategy theme does not significantly differ in altruistic image from the activities theme (M = 4.30, SD = 0.61) and the benefits theme (M = 4.04, SD = 0.65). The altruistic image after exposure to the activities, benefits and emotional theme did not
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significantly differ. This is remarkable, as it was expected that the emotional theme was most effective in influencing organizational image. These results indicate that the strategy theme significantly more positively influences the extent to which consumers see the organization as altruistic. The activities and benefits theme also result in a more favorable image, compared to the emotional theme. However, this effect is not significant.
It can be concluded that the extent to which an organization is perceived as altruistic is for the main part not dependent on the storytelling theme used. The activities, benefits,
strategy and emotional theme do not differ in their influence on altruistic image when used in a profit story. For the nonprofit story, not the emotional theme is the most effective one, but the strategy theme is shown to be significantly more effective than the emotional theme. For the altruistic image, hypotheses 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a therefore need to be rejected.
Innovative image. To examine the relationship between the storytelling themes and
the extent to which an organization is seen as innovative, a one-way independent ANOVA is conducted with Profit Themes as predictor and Innovative Image (profit) as dependent
variable. The results of the ANOVA show that there is no significant effect of exposure to one of the profit storytelling themes on innovative image, F(3, 110) = .12, p = .948, η2 = .003. The innovative image after exposure to the activities theme (M = 3.68, SD = 0.12), the benefits theme (M = 3.76, SD = 0.75), the strategy theme (M = 3.72, SD = 0.65) and the emotional theme (M = 3.67, SD = 0.58) do not significantly differ from each other. These results indicate that the theme emphasized in the profit corporate story does not influence the perceived innovativeness of an organization by consumers.
To get a complete image of the relationship between storytelling themes and
innovative image, another ANOVA was conducted with Nonprofit Themes as predictor, and Innovative Image (nonprofit) as dependent variable. The results of this ANOVA show that there is no significant effect of the nonprofit storytelling themes on innovative image, F(3, 99) = .98, p = .407, η2 = .029. The innovative image after exposure to the activities theme (M = 3.76, SD = 0.68), the benefits theme (M = 3.49, SD = 0.68), the strategy theme (M = 3.60, SD = 0.69) and the emotional theme (M = 3.48, SD = 0.70) do not significantly differ from each other. These results indicate that the extent to which consumers see an organization as innovative is not influenced by the theme emphasized in corporate stories.
As there are no significant main effects of storytelling theme on innovative image for both types of organizations, it can be concluded that the extent to which an organization is
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perceived as innovative does not depend on the storytelling theme emphasized. For the innovative image, hypotheses 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a need to be rejected.
Elite image. To examine the relation between storytelling theme and the extent to
which consumers perceive an organization as elite, first a one-way independent ANOVA was conducted with Profit Themes as predictor and Elite Image (profit) as dependent variable. The results of the ANOVA show that there is no significant main effect of the theme emphasized in a profit story on the extent to which an organization is seen as elite, F(3, 110) = 2.56, p = .059, η2 = .065. The elite image of participants exposed to the activities theme (M = 3.27, SD = 0.58), the benefits theme (M = 2.83, SD = 0.76), the strategy theme (M = 2.92, SD = 0.85) and the emotional theme (M = 2.79, SD = 0.64) do not significantly differ from each other. These results indicate that the themes emphasized in the profit corporate story do not influence the extent to which consumers see the organization as elite.
Further, a second ANOVA was conducted with Nonprofit Themes as predictor and Elite Image (nonprofit) as dependent variable. The results of this ANOVA show that there is no significant effect of the theme emphasized in a nonprofit story on the extent to which an organization is seen as elite, F(3, 99) = .54, p = .653, η2 = .016. The elite image after exposure to the activities theme (M = 2.64, SD = 0.52), the benefits theme (M = 2.73, SD = 0.46), the strategy theme (M = 2.87, SD = 0.82) and the emotional theme (M = 2.78, SD = 0.71) do not significantly differ from each other. These results indicate that the themes emphasized in a nonprofit corporate story do not influence the extent to which consumers see the organization as elite.
These results show that the extent to which an organization is seen as elite is not influenced by the theme emphasized in a corporate story. The activities, benefits, strategy and emotion theme do not differ in their influence on elite image. For the elite image, hypotheses 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a therefore need to be rejected. Thus, for both the altruistic image, innovative image as well as elite image (i.e. general organizational image), the hypotheses are rejected.
Trust. For trust, Levene’s F-test turned out to be not significant for both types of organizations, meaning that groups are equal, respectively F(3, 108) = .386, p = 764 and F(3. 99) = .311, p = .817. Therefore, to examine the effect of the four different themes on
organizational trust, a one-way independent ANOVA with the Profit Themes as predictor and Trust (profit) as dependent variable is conducted. The results of the ANOVA show that there is no significant main effect of organizational theme for the profit story on trust, F(3, 108) = 1.33, p = .269, η2 = .036. The mean trust of participants exposed to the activities theme (M =
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3.59, SD = 0.57), the benefits theme (M = 3.84, SD = 0.56), the strategy theme (M = 3.80, SD = 0.59) and the emotional theme (M = 3.60, SD = 0.66) did not significantly differ from each other. These results indicate that the theme emphasized in a profit corporate story has no influence on the amount of trust consumers have in the organization.
Besides, a one-way independent ANOVA with the Nonprofit Themes as predictor and Trust (nonprofit) as dependent variable is conducted to examine whether the four different themes used in the nonprofit story had an effect on organizational trust. The results of the ANOVA show that there is no significant main effect of organizational theme for the nonprofit story on trust, F(3, 99) = .93, p = .430, η2 = .027. The mean trust of participants exposed to the activities theme (M = 3.91, SD = 0.65), the benefits theme (M = 3.96, SD = 0.56), the strategy theme (M = 3.95, SD = 0.59) and the emotional theme (M = 3.71, SD = 0.63). These results indicate that the theme emphasized in a nonprofit corporate story has no influence on the amount of trust consumers have in the organization.
The results for the dependent variable trust show that the activities, benefits, strategy and emotional theme did not significantly differ in their influence on trust in an organization. Therefore, hypotheses 1b, 2b, 3b and 4b need to be rejected as they expected different
influences of the four themes on trust.
Differences between Profit and Nonprofit Organizational Stories
Hypotheses 5 and 6 focus on the differences in organizational image and trust between the storytelling themes for a profit organization and a nonprofit organization. The following paragraphs will describe the influence of type of organization on the relation between storytelling themes on organizational image and trust.
In order to examine the differences between the image and trust after exposure to the profit themes with the image and trust after expose to the nonprofit themes, new groups were created with the different themes (both profit and nonprofit) as one variable.
Organizational Image. As the groups for all dimensions of organizational image turned out to be equally distributed based on Levene’s F-tests, this was not tested again for the ANOVA’s to examine the effect of the type of organization.
Altruistic image. To examine whether the type of organization influences the relation
between the themes and altruistic image, one-way dependent ANOVA’s were conducted with Storytelling Themes as predictor and Altruistic Image as dependent variable for each of the themes. By means of the select cases demand in SPSS, the relevant themes were selected. The
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means and p-values for each of the ANOVA’s are presented in table 2.
The results of the first ANOVA show that the altruistic image after exposure to the activities theme in the profit story is significantly lower than the altruistic image after exposure to the activities theme in the nonprofit story, F(1, 49) = 15.03, p < .001, η2 = .474. These results indicate that nonprofits emphasizing activities in their corporate stories will be perceived as more altruistic than profits emphasizing activities.
For the benefits theme, the results of the ANOVA reveal that there is no significant difference in altruistic image between both types of organizations, F(1, 54) = 3.14, p = .082, η2
= .055. These results indicate that the influence of the benefits theme on altruistic image is not dependent on the type of organization.
These results are in contrast with hypothesis 5a, in which it is stated that the activities and benefits themes will be more effective in influencing organizational image when used in profit stories compared to nonprofit stories. For the altruistic dimension of image however, the activities theme more positively influences this image when used in a nonprofit story compared to a profit story (which is thus in contrast with the hypothesis). The effect of the benefits theme did not differ. Therefore, hypothesis 5a needs to be rejected.
For the strategy theme, the ANOVA reveals that the altruistic image after exposure to the nonprofit story is significantly higher than the altruistic image after exposure to the profit story, F(1, 51) = 9.06, p = .004, η2= .151. These results indicate that nonprofits
communicating strategy in their corporate story will be perceived as more altruistic, than profits communicating strategy in their corporate story.
For the emotional theme, the ANOVA reveals that the altruistic image for the story of the profit organization does not significantly differ from the altruistic image for the story of the nonprofit organization, F(1, 55) = 1.67, p = .202, η2 = .029. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is perceived as altruistic after exposure to the emotional theme.
These results partly confirm hypothesis 6a, in which it is stated that the strategy and emotional theme will more positively influence organization image when used in a nonprofit story compared to a profit story. For the strategy theme, the altruistic dimension of image is more positively influenced in the nonprofit story compared to the profit story. However, the effect of the emotional theme did not differ.
Innovative image. To examine whether the type of organization influences the relation
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each of the themes, with the Storytelling Themes as predictor and Innovative Image as dependent variable. The mean scores and p-values of the ANOVA’s are presented in table 2. The results of the first ANOVA for the activities theme show that the innovative image after exposure to the activities theme in a profit story does not significantly differ from the
innovative image after exposure to the activities theme in a nonprofit story, F(1, 49) = 0.21, p = .647, η2 = .292. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is seen as innovative after exposure to the activities theme. For the benefits theme, the results of the ANOVA show that there is no significant difference in the extent to which an organization is seen as innovative in a profit organization and a nonprofit organization, F(1, 54) = 2.25, p = .139, η2 = .040. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is seen as innovative after exposure to the benefits theme.
These results reject hypothesis 5a, as there is no significant different effect of the activities and benefits theme on innovative image when controlling for type of organization. For the strategy theme, the ANOVA reveals that there is no significant difference in innovative image after exposure to a profit story and after exposure to a nonprofit story F(1, 51) = 0.43, p = .517, η2 = .008. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is seen as innovative, after exposure to the strategy theme.
For the emotional theme, the ANOVA reveals that there is no significant difference in innovative image after exposure to the profit story and the nonprofit story, F(1, 55) = 1.26, p = .267, η2 = .022. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is seen as innovative after exposure to the emotional theme. These results reject hypothesis 6a, as there is no significant different effect of the strategy and emotional theme on innovative image when controlling for type of organization. Elite image. To examine whether the type of organization influences the relation
between the themes and elite image, one-way dependent ANOVAS were conducted, with Storytelling Themes as predictor and Elite Image as dependent variable. The mean scores and p-values are presented in table 2.
For the activities theme, the result of the ANOVA show that the elite image after exposure to the activities theme in a profit story is significantly higher than the elite image after exposure to the same theme in a nonprofit story F(1, 49) = 16.79, p < .001, η2 = .344. These results indicate that profits emphasizing activities more positively influence the extent
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to which an organization is seen as elite, than nonprofit organizations. These results partly confirm hypothesis 5a, which stated that the activities and benefits theme more positively influence image when used in a profit story compared to a nonprofit story.
For the benefits theme, the results of the ANOVA reveal that there is no significant difference in elite image for the profit story and the nonprofit story, F(1, 54) = 0.34, p = .565, η2
= .006. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is seen as elite after exposure to the benefits theme. This is in contrast with hypothesis 5a.
For the strategy theme, the results of the ANOVA show that there is no significant difference in elite image for the profit story and the nonprofit story, F(1, 51) = 0.05, p = .824, η2 = .001. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is seen as innovative after exposure to the strategy theme.
The results of the ANOVA for the emotional theme reveal that there is no significant difference in elite image after exposure to the profit story and the nonprofit story, F(1, 55) = 0.01, p = .927, η2 = .000. These results indicate that the type of organization has no influence on the extent to which an organization is seen as elite after exposure to the strategy theme. These results indicate that hypothesis 6a needs to be rejected for the elite image. The type of organization does not influence the effect of the strategy and emotional theme on elite image.
Trust. To examine whether the type of organization influences the relation between the storytelling themes and trust, one-way dependent ANOVA’S were conducted for each of the themes, with Storytelling Themes as predictor and Trust as dependent variable. The mean scores and p-values can be found in table 3.
The results of the ANOVA for activities theme shows that the influence of
emphasizing activities on trust does not depend on the type of organization, F(1, 49) = 3.58, p = .064, η2 = .068. For the benefits theme, the ANOVA reveals that there is no significant difference in trust for a profit story and the nonprofit story, F(1, 53) = 0.64, p = .426, η2 = .012.
Hypothesis 5b stated that the activities and benefits theme will result in more trust when used in a profit organization, compared to a nonprofit organization. However, the results of the ANOVA’s reveal that there are no significant differences between both organizations. Therefore, hypothesis 5b needs to be rejected.
24 Table 2
Mean scores and F-values for influence of type of organization on the relation between the themes and image
Altruistic Image Innovative Image Elite Image
profit nonprofit F profit nonprofit F profit nonprofit F
Activities M 3.63 4.30 15.03** 3.68 3.76 0.21 3.27 2.64 16.79** SD 0.62 0.61 0.64 0.68 0.58 0.52 Benefits M 3.78 4.04 3.14 3.76 3.49 2.25 2.83 2.73 0.34 SD 0.45 0.65 0.75 0.59 0.76 0.46 Strategy M 3.63 3.87 9.06* 3.71 3.60 0.43 2.91 2.87 0.05 SD 0.57 0.80 0.65 0.69 0.85 0.82 Emotional M 3.63 3.87 1.67 3.57 3.48 1.26 2.79 2.77 0.01 SD 0.57 0.80 0.58 0.70 0.64 0.71 Note. * = p <.01, ** = p <.001
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For the strategy theme, the ANOVA shows that trust in a profit organization is not significantly different than trust in a nonprofit organization, F(1, 50) = 1.10, p = .299, η2 = .020. For the emotional theme, the ANOVA shows that trust in a profit organization does not significantly differ from trust in a nonprofit organization, F(1, 55) = 0.62, p = .434, η2 = .011. These results indicate that the type of organization does not influence the relation between the strategy and emotional theme in a story and trust in the organization. Hypothesis 6b, which stated that the strategy and emotional theme will result in more trust when used in a nonprofit organization compared to a profit organization, therefore needs to be rejected. Table 3
Mean scores and F-values for influence of type of organization on effect of the themes on trust trust profit nonprofit F Activities M 3.59 3.91 3.58 SD 0.57 0.65 Benefits M 3.84 3.96 0.64 SD 0.56 0.56 Strategy M 3.77 3.95 1.10 SD 0.66 0.59 Emotional M 3.60 3.72 0.62 SD 0.60 0.63
Conclusion and Discussion Conclusion
The present study aimed to shed light on the effect of different storytelling themes on organizational image and trust. Four storytelling themes were distinguished, according to Spear and Roper (2013). First, organizations can emphasize activities and accomplishments. Second, stories can focus on the benefits for stakeholders, both internal and external. Third, strategy elements can be emphasized such as vision, mission and values. Finally, the
corporate story can be used to communicate conflicts an organization has had to deal with in order to evoke emotions.
The research question focused on the effects these four different themes have on organizational image and trust. Besides, the effect of the type of organization on this relationship was examined. It was expected that the least effective theme would be the activities theme, followed by the benefits theme. The strategy theme was expected to be the
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second most effective theme, and the emotional theme as the most effective one. Further, it was expected that the activities and benefits themes would be more effective when used by profit organizations compared to nonprofits. In contrast, the strategy and emotional themes were expected to be more beneficial when used by nonprofits compared to profits.
Although, in general, it can be inferred from the results of the present study that corporate storytelling results in a favorable image and trust, there was no evidence found for different effects as a result of the four themes. Thus, whether organizations emphasize activities, benefits, strategy or emotions in their corporate stories does not influence the impressions people have of an organization or the amount of trust in an organization.
However, the conclusion can be drawn that there is an effect of type of organization on the relationship between the themes and organizational image for the strategy theme. When nonprofits emphasize strategy elements in their corporate stories, this results in a more positive image, or at least the altruistic dimension of image, compared to profit stories emphasizing strategy elements.
In addition, the activities theme was shown to result in mixed results. For the altruistic dimension of image, it can be concluded that nonprofits benefit more from emphasizing activities, while for the elite dimension profit organizations are shown to benefit more. Taken in general, the type of organization does not influence the relation between the activities theme and organizational image. The same conclusion can be drawn for the benefits and emotional themes, which didn’t show any significant differences in image when controlling for the type of organization.
The final conclusion that can be drawn from the present study is that besides the earlier described conclusion that the four themes do not differ in their effect on trust from each other in general, the type of organization does not change that. The effect of the four themes on trust is the same for profit organizations as for nonprofit organizations. Discussion
The conclusion that choosing one theme over another does not influence
organizational image and trust is in contract with existing literature. Leonidou and Leonidou (2009) and Dens and De Pelsmacker (2010) for example state that using emotional appeals in corporate stories, which can be found in the strategy and emotional theme, would be more effective than using solely informational appeals, which can be found in the activities and benefits theme. The present study did not find evidence for this statement, as all themes were found to be equally effective. Besides, Herskovitz & Crystal (2010) conclude that especially
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trust is fostered by creating intrinsic emotional connections. This assumption is not supported by the results of the present study. A possible reason for this difference is that Leonidou & Leonidou (2009) didn’t look at appeals in corporate stories, but in newspaper advertisements. Besides, Dens and De Pelsmacker (2010) also focused on appeals in advertisements rather than stories.
The assumption of Dowling (2006) that especially when corporate stories are able to evoke emotion, the organization is establishing deep roots for relationships with consumers based on trust is also not supported. However, an important reason for this can be that those relationships are difficult to measure since participants had only read one story of a fictive organization.
The present study infers that, in contrast to the literature indicating the emotional theme to be the most effective theme in influencing organizational image and trust, this theme is the least effective theme. However, this assumption is based on not significant differences in mean scores for the four themes. It is not clear whether this result is caused by the
manipulation or is due to, for example, the way the stories are comprised (i.e. the content of the stories). Future research should therefore examine this relation in more detail.
Regarding the influence of the type of organization on the relation between the themes and organizational image and trust, the conclusions of this study do not support the literature. Radley and Kennedy (1995), Webber (2004) and Merchant et al. (2010) argued that the impressions of a nonprofit organization and trust in the organization is based on more intrinsic motives, while image and trust of a profit organization are more based on extrinsic motives. It was expected that the activities and benefits theme triggered more extrinsic motivations, resulting in a more positive image and trust for profit stories. The strategy and emotional theme were expected to trigger more intrinsic motivations, resulting in a more positive image and trust for nonprofit stories. Even though the strategy theme turned out to be indeed more effective when nonprofits use this theme, compared to profits, the results of the other three themes do not support these assumptions.
Limitations and Future Research
This study has several limitations. First, although exposure to the storytelling theme was randomized for both types of organizational stories, the order of the stories was the same for each participant. As such, participants were exposed to two manipulations and therefore it is hard to say whether the results of the measurements of image and trust after the second, nonprofit story are caused by the manipulation of the themes, the manipulation of the type of
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organization or other effects (e.g. exhaustion). Therefore, future research should control this by using for example a between-subjects design to get more reliable results for the
measurements after the second story.
Besides, even though the different stories are carefully compound from other stories and examples from the literature, the results of the manipulation check variables show that the participants not always perceived the stories as intended. Although the profit/nonprofit
distinction was clear, especially the benefits theme was not manipulated successfully. The other themes were more successful, but also not 100%. The content of the themes could use some more attention in future research to improve the generalizability and reliability of the results. For example, future research could consider a pre-test of the stories, to be able to adjust the stories before sending out the questionnaire.
Another important limitation of this research is the fact that the themes are measured as single themes, while in practice themes are often combined in corporate stories. Future research should therefore focus on the effects of combination of themes on image and trust, to add these results to the results of the present study.
The used sample in this study also led to several limitations. First, only 119
participants participated, which is a quite small sample. Besides, age and education was not representatively distributed, since the vast majority of the participants were between 20 and 25 years old and had a university degree. Perhaps the small differences found between the themes and types of organization could be more emphasized when a bigger, more
representative sample is used. Future research should therefore include a bigger, more representative sample.
Managerial Implications
The conclusions drawn from this research have several implications for managers concerned with writing a corporate story. First, when deciding the content of the story, managers should keep in mind that the themes do not differ in their positive outcomes for the organization. As such, which theme they choose to lay emphasis on should not depend on the aim to influence impressions of or trust in the organization.
Even though in general managers don’t have to pay attention to the effect of choosing one theme over another, for nonprofit organizations the strategy theme turns out to be important when the aim of the story is to influence image. Managers of nonprofit
organizations should therefore consider including vision, mission and values elements in their corporate stories.
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Although the study shows that the themes as single elements are not responsible for differences in organization image of and trust in an organization, this does not mean
organizations can just do whatever they want. As a corporate story in general is perceived as important, being genuine and making sure the content of the story has a strong fit with the organization seems like the most important advice for every organization. If organizations fail to be genuine to create a nicer story, sooner or later they will be unmasked.
30 References
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