Strategic storytelling in the age of sustainability

[en] Sustainability is high on the strategic agenda and is here to stay. While some companies have been sustainable since inception, others are repositioning themselves to be associated with sustainability values. In both situations, communicating about sustainability is key but requires delicate handling to avoid misleading perceptions. Authenticity and emotions are therefore key dimensions of sustainability communication, which match with strategic storytelling elements. Storytelling is discussed in this article as a powerful mechanism to bring about the desired change in individuals, communities, organizations, and society. Drawing from the literature on storytelling, we present, discuss, and illustrate a framework with four strategic elements for companies that want to be successful with sustainability storytelling, which we refer to as the 4 A’s: Aim (the “why” of the story), Actors (actively engaging stakeholders and associating with partners), Aspiration (using an aspirational context), and Action (using the right media to bring your story to life). We also emphasize that a holistic approach is key to doing sustainability storytelling the right way. We conclude with general recommendations that managers must consider when conducting sustainability storytelling.

Disciplines :

Marketing

Author, co-author :

Dessart, Laurence ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > UER Management : Marketing et intelligence stratégique

Standaert, Willem ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > UER Management : Marketing and Strategy

Language :

English

Title :

Strategic storytelling in the age of sustainability

Publication date :

2023

Journal title :

Business Horizons

ISSN :

0007-6813

eISSN :

1873-6068

Publisher :

Elsevier BV

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

371-385

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0007681323000058?httpAccept=text/xml

Available on ORBi :

since 20 January 2023

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