Narrative persuasion by corporate CSR messages: The impact of narrative richness on attitudes and behavioral intentions via character identification, transportation, and message credibility
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: The current study examines the persuasiveness of narrative richness in messages about acts of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Specifically, we apply theory about narrative persuasion to the domain of corporate communication. Focusing on Coca-Cola’s clean water project, a cross-national experiment (n = 659) was conducted in which the narrative richness and the source cue of a CSR message were manipulated, and the effects on (a) message processing (specifically via character identification, transportation, and credibility), (b) attitude towards the company, and subsequent (c) behavioral intention were measured. Considering the global nature of Coca-Cola, the experiment was simultaneously fielded in the United States and the Netherlands to verify the generalizability of our findings. Robust results in both countries suggest that narratively rich CSR messages can indirectly improve the attitude towards the company and thereby encourage behavioral intentions via character identification and transportation, irrespective of the source cue (company vs. news media). Importantly, message credibility was not compromised by the narrative richness, while being the strongest predictor of company attitude.
Source: Public Relations Review
Authors: Mark Boukes, Heather L. LaMarre
Institutions: University of Amsterdam, Temple University
Language: English
Topic: Media Influence and Health
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,640
OpenAlex ID: W3201601326