Corporate Storytelling as a Strategic Tool for Brand Authenticity and Employee Identification in Multinational Enterprises: A Conceptual Review
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Abstract
Corporate storytelling has become an important component of contemporary corporate communication, yet existing scholarship has often examined storytelling, brand authenticity and employee identification as relatively separate phenomena. This article examines how authentic corporate storytelling can contribute to brand authenticity and organisational identification, particularly within globally dispersed firms. Drawing on a critical integrative review of the literature and selected empirical cases, the article synthesises evidence on the relationship between corporate narratives, organisational culture, employee identification and stakeholder perceptions. The analysis indicates that storytelling contributes to organisational outcomes when narratives are perceived as authentic, consistent with organisational values, culturally meaningful and supported by organisational practices. However, storytelling may undermine authenticity when corporate narratives are perceived as manufactured, inconsistent with employee experience or disconnected from organisational behaviour. This article offers an integrated framework of concepts to explain how truly realistic stories enhance brand credibility, employee association and solidarity throughout culturally heterogeneous multinational enterprises. It argues that authentic corporate stories need to demonstrate coherence between storytelling, values and conduct to ensure ongoing authenticity and employee bonding.
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