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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 April 2019

Aurik Gustomo, Hary Febriansyah, Henndy Ginting and Imelia Martinovita Santoso

Employee engagement has been directly linked to organizational outcomes, and at present, improving employee engagement has increasingly been a main focus for organizations…

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Abstract

Purpose

Employee engagement has been directly linked to organizational outcomes, and at present, improving employee engagement has increasingly been a main focus for organizations. However, studies evaluating the impact of storytelling interventions on increasing the level of employee engagement are limited. Storytelling is one of the intervention methods that can provide cognitive stimulus to employees, which in turn could change their attitudes toward work including employee engagement. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of storytelling as an intervention tool for increasing employee engagement in one of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in West Java, Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a quantitative method. Employees from a West Java branch of large SOEs were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The research design used a pretest and a post-test with an expressive writing method to identify the extent of employee engagement by comparing participant groups and measuring the increase of employee engagement as a result of the storytelling intervention. The experimental group participated in three storytelling sessions that had been set up by panels of experts, while the control group was not given any treatment. The expressive writing analysis was conducted using software that has been developed and tested for validity and reliability. Furthermore, statistical analysis was used to test the results of expressive writing scoring to determine the impact of storytelling interventions.

Findings

Direct storytelling is proven to be one of the most effective methods of increasing employee engagement in one of the SOEs in the West Java region. The results of this study showed that there were differences between the experiment and control groups after experiencing a direct storytelling intervention where there was a significant increase in the dimensions of employee engagement. Participants in experimental group had higher scores than participants in control group in most of the employee engagement dimensions. Additionally, expressive writing methods are also proven to be able to provide a stimulus for employees in expressing thoughts, perceptions and motivations for employee engagement in the company.

Research limitations/implications

As direct storytelling has not been frequently used, especially to improve employee engagement, more studies should be conducted in various settings, with different measurement tools, and in a more controlled environment to confirm the effects of the intervention.

Practical implications

This paper provides insight into how companies can use direct storytelling to improve the dimensions of employee engagement. Additionally, this research can also be used as a reference by companies in Indonesia, especially SOEs, for applying the same method in an effort to improve work-related attitudes, such as employee satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Social implications

This study raises social implications in which employees enthusiasm increases in improving personal relationships between employees and storytellers, who are middle or upper management employees. In addition, employees also more appreciate their struggles when starting their careers, so they care more about increasing their role and involvement in the company.

Originality/value

This paper provides resources and information for companies and organizations to improve employee engagement through the implementation of direct storytelling. The focus of this paper is to gain information on the role of direct storytelling in improving employee engagement within a company or organization.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2022

Rebecca Bolt and Helen Tregidga

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role and implications of storytelling and narrative as a means of making sense of, and giving sense to, the ambiguous concept of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role and implications of storytelling and narrative as a means of making sense of, and giving sense to, the ambiguous concept of materiality.

Design/methodology/approach

The use of stories was “discovered” through the authors' attempts to “make sense” of data from 16 interviews with participants from the financial and nonfinancial reporting and assurance contexts. The authors analyse the participants' use of stories through a sensemaking/sensegiving lens.

Findings

While participants struggle to define what materiality is, they are able to tell “stories” about materiality in action. The authors find stories are a key vehicle through which participants make sense of and give sense to materiality, for themselves and (an)other. Participants tell three types of stories in sensemaking/sensegiving processes: the lived, the adopted and the hypothetical. The authors further identify “rehearsed” and “ongoing” narratives, which take any of the three story types. The use of stories to make and give sense to materiality reveals a disconnect between the static, technical definitions of materiality currently favoured by standard setters and guidance providers, and the creative authoring processes the participants employ.

Practical implications

The authors argue for a move towards the use of stories and narratives about materiality in standard setting, specifically “materiality in action”, which the findings suggest may assist in creating shared understandings of the ambiguous concept.

Originality/value

While previous research considers what materiality means within financial and nonfinancial reporting and assurance contexts, the authors empirically analyse how people understand and make sense/give sense to materiality. The authors also contribute to the use of sensemaking/sensegiving processes within the accounting literature.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Knowledge Management and the Practice of Storytelling
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-480-7

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Suzanna K. Conrad

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate possible purposes of digital storytelling and discuss practical implementation in a community-based digital storytelling project.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate possible purposes of digital storytelling and discuss practical implementation in a community-based digital storytelling project.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study investigates the function of digital storytelling for archiving local history, specifically by journaling experiences during a digital storytelling grant project at a public library in Southern California.

Findings

This case study details a specific example of the impact digital storytelling can have on a community, both to foster community building and also to encourage documentation of local history. The main goal of the project was to present and archive filmed stories from local community members; however, the project also led to increased awareness of digital storytelling and the associated technology both within the library and the greater community.

Practical implications

This article should provide best practice guidelines for administering a community-based digital storytelling project including suggestions for outreach to the larger community, dealing with technical issues, and tackling operational issues.

Originality/value

Digital storytelling has had a profound impact on the way that society communicates and can be used effectively for purposes of outreach and activism, to educate using technology, or to document micro-histories. This case study provides an assessment of the current uses of digital storytelling and presents a successful implementation of a local history digital storytelling project at a public library.

Details

Library Review, vol. 62 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2003

Michaela Driver

The purpose of this paper is to explore the control of emotions in organizations. An analysis of stories collected from members of different organizations who experienced the…

1159

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the control of emotions in organizations. An analysis of stories collected from members of different organizations who experienced the events of September 11, 2001 (when the USA was attacked by terrorists killing thousands of people) in their workplaces seems to validate previous findings that organizations respond to the expression of strong emotion with equally strong controls. However, organizations seem to differ by the types of emotional control they use and the reactions these controls elicit in their members. All four of Ashforth and Humphrey's organizational control behaviors were used. While buffering, prescribing and normalizing employee emotions seemed to have a somewhat positive effect on employee morale, the use of neutralizing controls seemed to be damaging to employee commitment. A contingency model of organizational control of emotional expression is developed.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 October 2019

Jin-Ae Kang, Glenn T. Hubbard and Sookyeong Hong

This paper aims to explore gender differences regarding how men and women perceive the story of a CEO and a customer of different genders in audio advertising.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore gender differences regarding how men and women perceive the story of a CEO and a customer of different genders in audio advertising.

Design/methodology/approach

A Web-based three-way factorial experiment was designed with three storyteller types (founder’s story, customer’s story vs informational ad), story teller’s gender (male voice vs female voice) and research participants’ gender (men vs women). In total, 549 participants were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.

Findings

Researchers found gender-based differences in how audiences evaluated messages from the founder versus the customer of a company. There was a relationship between a male speaker’s perceived authoritativeness and audiences’ favorability to the ad, but no such relationship when the speaker was a woman.

Practical implications

A female voice elicited more favorable attitudes toward the non-story informational ad. In the customer’s story ad, relatability between the speaker and the audience mattered. Participants perceived the ad as more credible and convincing when the gender of the customer in the ad was the same as their gender.

Social implications

Women showed more favorable attitudes toward the male founder’s story compared to the female founder’s story. In evaluating the credibility of the female founder, audiences cared about her character (likability) rather than authoritativeness (expertise).

Originality/value

This study enriches the gender-related advertising-effect literature based on role congruity theory. The research contributes to the understanding of how gender bias still shapes the audiences’ evaluation of storyteller credibility.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 May 2010

Interview by Juliet Norton

The purpose of this paper is to provide an interview with Alison Esse, Director of The Storytellers Ltd, an organization that has harnessed the power of Storytelling to help

246

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an interview with Alison Esse, Director of The Storytellers Ltd, an organization that has harnessed the power of Storytelling to help business leaders improve organizational performance by connecting employees to strategy, vision, values and change.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent interviewer.

Findings

The Storytellers' innovative engagement programme has proved itself with dozens of blue chip organizations all over the world, and the company is now preparing for significant growth over the next few years. The vision of the company is that: “everyone in business will realise the power of their Story”.

Practical implications

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

Social implications

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that can have a broader social impact.

Originality/value

This interview gives some insight into the Storytellers' innovative engagement programme, which can help business leaders connect their people to strategy, vision, values and change through the power of storytelling.

Details

Strategic Direction, vol. 26 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0258-0543

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Charles Smith

The purpose of the paper is to propose a framework for researching the possibilities for project manager identities: the multiple ways there are of being a performer, as a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to propose a framework for researching the possibilities for project manager identities: the multiple ways there are of being a performer, as a manager, in the world of projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The author's line of enquiry was to seek evidence of project manager identity within real‐life stories told by practitioners, the author's perspective being: that identity is produced through action, that action and identity are framed by social narratives, and that identities and the strategies that create and support them are therefore evident in project stories.

Findings

Two examples are discussed; they validate the proposed research framework, demonstrating how storytellers use their projects as vehicles for the performance of their personal professional “project manager identity”.

Research limitations/implications

The form of the stories is crucial to what their analysis can reveal about identities. The personal stories (narrating the storyteller's own experience) must be, in essence, complete, told by individuals addressing situations that challenge them.

Social implications

The primary purpose of this research is to inform personal learning and educational programmes. An enriched understanding of what it means to be a professional in the project world can enhance the awareness of individuals learning to perform roles, and making choices in this field.

Originality/value

The analysis of stories has been used previously as a research methodology to critique projects and power structures. This paper makes proposals to extend the use of such analysis into the realm of personal identity and its construction.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2010

Jacques Zeelen, Hieke Wijbenga, Marga Vintges and Gideon de Jong

This paper aims to explore the role of a small‐scale project around storytelling as a form of informal education in five health clinics in rural areas of the Limpopo Province in…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the role of a small‐scale project around storytelling as a form of informal education in five health clinics in rural areas of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The aim of the project is to decrease the stigma around HIV/AIDS and to start an open dialogue in local communities about the disease.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an exploratory study using a qualitative approach, which was carried out in 2005/2006, that focused on perceptions of participants from the audience of the project and health practitioners.

Findings

The research findings emphasize the importance of involvement of a storyteller who can play an influential role in local rural communities by breaking the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS and providing people with little or no education with simple but effective messages about the disease. Stories are embedded in local traditions and make use of metaphors, like dialogues between animals. Beside, stories are a form of “edutainment”: education enriched with entertainment.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to budgetary and time constraints insight into the impact of the project on the way the members of the audience protect themselves and deal with the essential issues of sexuality and relationships in their daily life as a result of storytelling was not gained.

Originality/value

Owing to its personal approach a project around storytelling in rural areas in South Africa is vital, because it seems to suit the local context better than nationwide health educational programmes which are normally disseminated through mass education.

Details

Health Education, vol. 110 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2013

Evrim Kuran

The purpose of this article is to address the importance of storytelling in the twenty‐first century business context where the emphasis has shifted from the trainer to the

2016

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to address the importance of storytelling in the twenty‐first century business context where the emphasis has shifted from the trainer to the learner, from the producer to the consumer and from the leader to the follower! The article underlines the human side of management business and introduces the ancient tool “storytelling” for inspirational leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

The article aims to provide the author's insight and practical advice on storytelling in leadership communication rather than a theoretical approach. The insights are also supported exemplifying real life storyteller leaders.

Findings

The article provides insights about how storytelling skill supports leaders in their communication. It suggests that leadership communication should focus not only in the content of the message but also the context as well. It also recommends leaders to excel at the art of metaphor to become a skillful storyteller leader.

Research limitations/implications

The opinions expressed in this article represent the author's own point‐of‐view.

Practical implications

The article includes implications for developing the storytelling skills of leaders which is required in order to establish a sustainable leadership communication in the fast pace of change of the twenty‐first century business context.

Social implications

The article includes implications for authentic leadership with its approach to address the human aspect of management.

Originality/value

This article addresses the need for leaders to study how storytelling can be used as a tool in their leadership communication.

Details

Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 45 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0019-7858

Keywords

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