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This chapter aims to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of an ultraconservative group’s crisis communication. It delves into the communication strategies and narratives of the Taliban as they interact with the international media, particularly in relation to the women residing in Afghanistan. A qualitative content analysis of the Taliban’s initial press conference, subsequent interviews and statements on the women in Afghanistan after the Kabul takeover in August 2021 was conducted to understand how the group constructed its narrative on women. The findings suggest that the Taliban adopt a coherent communication strategy. Overall, the group seems to construct a positive image of free women in Afghanistan under their governance by representing image repair strategies of denying disadvantages and positioning themselves as supportive of women’s rights, embedded in hero narratives. Through an analysis of the data employed in this research, it transpired that the Taliban lay a special emphasis on a promising future for their home country through the implementation of the principles of human rights, with a special focus on their commitment to women’s rights and the respect they accord to women. With regard to the imposition of restrictions on Afghan women, the group can be seen to adopt an image repair strategy, employed by evading responsibility, coupled with a narrative of blaming foreign forces.

When an audience mentally counterargues a spokesperson, the message is backfiring. In such cases, audience members are practically persuading themselves to take the opposite position advocated by the spokesperson. Yet spokespeople who are professional persuaders serving corporations often seem to instill counterargument. This paper examines the role of counterargument as the conduit through which a spokesperson's different message types affect a company during a crisis. The authors explore the paradox of spokespeople's (in)effectiveness by testing divides in research drawn from normative crisis communication theory, narrative persuasion theory and the theory of reporting bias.

Two controlled, randomized experiments are reported. Participants (total N = 828) watch video clips of media interviews of a company spokesperson fielding questions about a scandal.

In the first study, non-narrative information most effectively bolsters purchase intentions and reduces negative word-of-mouth. The effect is mediated by decreased counterargument. The second study replicates the results concerning on-topic narratives compared with spinning, while on-topic narratives and non-narratives perform equally well.

This study addresses conflicts between two distinct traditions of theory as well as between normative crisis communication and its frequent practice. Reducing counterargument matters in the context of non-narrative persuasion, and non-narratives can perform at least as well as narratives in crisis communication.

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of gamifying brand storytelling on user immersion in the brand narrative, a concept referred to as “narrative transportation”. The aim is to comprehend how transportation influences users’ experience and their responses to the brand, with particular focus on brand attitude and WOM. The study also explores the role of interactivity in brand storytelling and its effects on transportation and user engagement.

Four experiments were conducted to sequentially test the proposed hypotheses. Each experiment involves ad hoc gamified brand stories for different product categories (wine, museum, glasses and frozen fruit).

Findings indicate that including gamification elements in brand stories heightens narrative transportation and enhances the information obtained by users as well as their entertainment. Users thus respond more positively to the brand in terms of attitude and WOM. The study also reveals that high levels of interactivity in the game may actually decrease narrative transportation in the story, although this is offset by the perception of greater entertainment.

This research contributes to current understanding of brand storytelling and its impact on branding. It highlights the importance of offering users a gamified experience that can provide them with information about the brand whilst also offering them entertainment. The results also hold implications for gamification literature by emphasizing the need to ensure a balance between game and story vis-à-vis enhancing the impact of gamified storytelling on brand response.

In today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, organizations deal with fragmented publics in contested public spheres. At the core, public opinion is not so much divided by issues per se but by deeply rooted moral concerns. Hence, while normative perspectives on morality prevail in strategic communication research, understanding the moral motives of stakeholders and publics from a descriptive standpoint becomes vital. In this light, the present conceptual paper discusses the implications of moral foundations theory (MFT), as an influential evolutionary-anthropological approach to morality, for strategic communication research and practice.

Adopting micro-, meso- and macro-perspectives, MFT's potential contribution to strategic communication research is explored regarding three foci: (1) moral framing, (2) narratives and (3) public discourse dynamics.

The paper concludes that frames and more complex narratives in strategic communication allude to MFT's five foundations – care, fairness, loyalty, authority and purity – in diverse ways and are given different readings by stakeholders and publics. Building on MFT, novel empirical tools are available to access and understand the complex web of moral meaning infused in public discourses.

For the first time, MFT is discussed systematically and in detail in the context of strategic communication research. The theory contributes to deepening the understanding of the conditions, e.g. for issues management and strategic mobilization. On broader view, this paper adds to the discussion on evolutionary perspectives in strategic communication research.

In this study, the effects are investigated of brand and product storytelling on customer assessments of perceived attitude, quality, experience, recommendation and purchase intention based on narrative transportation theory within the domain of winery e-commerce.

In the research, two distinct constructs are introduced for brand and product storytelling, and multivariate analysis of variance is applied to analyze data collected from 391 respondents from the UK.

It is indicated in the study that embedding storytelling into elements, such as age verification screens on e-commerce sites, notably improves evaluations for both brands and products. Product storytelling broadly boosts customer appraisals in every evaluated aspect, while brand storytelling shows effectiveness in more limited cases. This suggests that narratives focused on products may have a wider appeal in enhancing the online customer experience.

This research underscores the strategic significance of balancing the focus between brand and product in crafting storytelling narratives for e-commerce contexts. It offers new insights into tailoring storytelling to meet individual consumer needs online, enriching the existing body of literature on storytelling’s application in digital commerce. Importantly, the study provides actionable guidance for wineries and other businesses aiming to enhance their online customer engagement through targeted narrative strategies.

Stories are a part of being human. They are powerful tools to create social bonds, elicit emotions, and consolidate personal and shared memories. Their role, characteristics, and effects are studied in a variety of scientific fields. In tourism, they can enhance destination distinctiveness, as well as the tourist experience. However, the cognitive processes through which stories contribute to elicitation of emotions or memorability, the very reasons why they are considered important in tourism, are still little understood. This chapter discusses some of the cognitive processes involved in storytelling drawing insights from cognitive psychology and neuroscience, which may help in better understanding and managing the tourist experience.

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore leader identity development experiences of emerging adults at a large Midwest university and how retrospective family storytelling (Koenig Kellas, 2018) plays a role in the sense-making of the leader identity process. Through a unique, three-phase qualitative and narrative inquiry approach, this research further explores LID sense-making through retrospective family storytelling.

Qualitative phenomenology and narrative inquiry approach. Data collection consisted of three different data sets: (a) two semi-structured interviews, (b) leader artifacts and (c) journals.

The stories told by the emerging adults described how key messages influenced their identity within the context of leader identity development and their college experiences. Furthermore, a key finding in the narratives exhibited the stories emerging adults recalled in the sense-making of their leader identity centered on persevering, overcoming hardships and interpersonal connections and relationships. Findings from this research contribute to LID literature for leadership educators, researchers and practitioners in leader development.

The research presented in this article advances LID by using a narrative approach to explore the role of family narratives in identity development. Further, it approaches qualitative work with rigorous data collection and analysis processing using a cross-case analysis to develop leader identity archetypes. This study directly impacts those who work with emerging adult college students and supports the development of college student leaders.

The ever-evolving landscape of financial technology (Fintech) has revolutionised payment methods and raised questions about what drives user behaviour in adopting these innovative solutions. This study, using narrative transportation theory as an underpinning theory, aims to investigate into the dynamics of green user behaviour in adopting Fintech payments.

This study used a deductive approach, and with data obtained from 635 respondents through the purposive sampling technique, partial least squares structural equation modelling was employed to yield significant insights.

The study found a positive association between green brand positioning and product differentiation. However, it unexpectedly didn't impact user attitudes towards Fintech payments. Green brand image and perceived performance positively influenced product differentiation. Perceived product differentiation fully mediated the association between green brand positioning and user attitudes. The study introduced fear of missing out's (FOMO) moderating role, enriching eco-conscious marketing insights and user behaviour understanding.

This study reveals crucial implications for marketers, policymakers and user experience (UX) designers operating within the Fintech industry. It emphasises green brand positioning's impact on product differentiation, user attitudes and its mediating role. It advocates for sustainability integration, innovation, strategic messaging and user-centric improvements to optimise user perceptions and competitiveness in the evolving Fintech landscape. The study's cross-sectional design may limit the ability to establish causal relationships over time and overlook temporal changes in green Fintech adoption dynamics; thus, longitudinal studies are warranted to better understand the evolving nature of user attitudes and behaviours towards green Fintech payments.

This study adds novelty to the existing body of literature by introducing the dimension of innovation appeal to green brand positioning and employing narrative transportation theory in the Fintech realm. The findings also add novelty by highlighting the moderating impact of fear of missing out in predicting the association between green brand positioning and product differentiation in the realm of green Fintech and green use behaviour.