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SenseMaking Presentations: The effect of Storytelling and Knowledge Visualization in B2B Sales Situations on attitudes, knowledge acquisition, and purchase intention
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to combine elements from storytelling and elements from the knowledge visualization field and merge it into a presentation to create a more appealing presentation format, which takes human knowledge structures into account. Method: A B2B sales presentation was reformulated with a story and visual metaphors. The original presentation served as control. Both presentations were analyzed and compared using the knowledge types and the knowledge taxonomy, to ensure comparability of content. 40 young experts participated in this experiment. Results: The involvement with the presentation and the attitude towards the presentation were both significantly higher in the experimental group. The participants also felt less information overload during the experimental presentation. Product knowledge was higher in the experimental group. Notably the attitude towards the presenter was better in the experimental condition. Conclusions: The results from this experimental study demonstrate the positive effect of storytelling in a B2B sales situation. It increased all constructs measured in our study. It also transfers more knowledge from the presenter to the listeners.
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The conceptualization of the Personal Involvement Inventory was a context-free measure applicable to involvement with products, with advertisements, and with purchase situations. The empirical work to develop this measure was mainly validated with respect to product categories. This paper extends the construct validation of the PII to involvement with advertisements and also demonstrates that the PII may be reliably reduced from twenty items to ten items. There is some indication the revised PII may then be broken into two subscales representing a cognitive and affective grouping.
First, we propose a theory of multimedia learning based on the assumptions that humans possess separate systems for processing pictorial and verbal material (dual-channel assumption), each channel is limited in the amount of material that can be processed at one time (limited-capacity assumption), and meaningful learning involves cognitive processing including building con- nections between pictorial and verbal representations (active-processing assumption). Second, based on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, we examine the concept of cognitive over- load in which the learner's intended cognitive processing exceeds the learner's available cogni- tive capacity. Third, we examine five overload scenarios. For each overload scenario, we offer one or two theory-based suggestions for reducing cognitive load, and we summarize our re- search results aimed at testing the effectiveness of each suggestion. Overall, our analysis shows that cognitive load is a central consideration in the design of multimedia instruction.
Processing narratives demands sufficient cognitive resources; therefore, the effectiveness of narrative advertising depends on individuals' cognitive capacities. In contexts where cognitive capacity was constrained by processing narrative editorials, narrative advertising was less likely to transport and "hook" readers or evoke empathy. The relative effectiveness of narrative and argument advertising was also moderated by editorial content. When reading narrative magazine articles, participants failed to take argument strength into account when evaluating a subsequent ad. In addition, the superior effectiveness of narrative advertising compared to argument advertising in terms of generating more favorable cognitive responses, warm feelings, and positive ad and brand attitudes did not emerge when participants read narrative articles. In contrast, when reading facts-based articles, participants elaborated more on the subsequent ad and took argument strength into account. In this condition, narrative advertising was able to be processed and, as a result, was more effective than argument advertising.
In this paper, we describe the effort of defining and com- piling existing visualization methods in order to develop a systematic overview based on the logic, look, and use of the periodic table of elements. We first describe the cur- rent fragmented state of the visualization field. Then we outline the rules and criteria we applied in conducting our research in order to present a revised periodic table of 100 visualization methods with a proposition how to use it.
Narratives represent a powerful and ubiquitous form of communication that influence what individuals believe about the world. While the field of narrative persuasion investigates how narratives affect attitudes and behaviors, it rarely considers structural variables discussed in the field of discourse psychology. This study examines the utility of bridging these fields by testing the persuasive influence of novel science information relative to the internal causal structure of a narrative. Results suggest that information placed at causal locations of a narrative result in greater acceptance of information than the same information placed at noncausal locations within the same narrative. These findings suggest that the within-narrative variable of causality can influence the persuasive impact of information inserted into a narrative. In response, this study identifies a significant source of variance that has thus far been overlooked in studies of narrative persuasion.
The effect on the impact of a message of explicitly stating a desire to persuade can depend on the communicator's physical attractiveness. Experiment 1 confirmed this possibility. Attractive male and female salespersons induced more positive attitudes and stronger intentions to purchase a product when they explicitly stated their desire to influence potential buyers. In contrast, unattractive salespersons were less likely to induce a favorable attitude toward the product under these conditions. Experiment 2 replicated these effects and provided evidence that they are mediated by the attribution of self-serving motives to the salesperson. A 2-step process of impression formation and attribution was used to describe the mechanisms underlying these effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Storytelling is pervasive through life. Much information is stored, indexed, and retrieved in the form of stories. Although lectures tend to put people to sleep, stories move them to action. People relate to each other in terms of stories—and products and brands often play both central and peripheral roles in their stories. To aid storytelling research in consumer psychology, this article develops a narrative theory that describes how consumers use brands as props or anthropomorphic actors in stories they report about themselves and others. Such drama enactments enable these storytellers to experience powerful myths that reflect psychological archetypes. The article includes findings from case study research that probes propositions of the theory. Implications for consumer psychology and marketing practice follow the discussion of the findings. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Creating visual narrative art (VNA) of stories that consumers and brands tell achieves several objectives. First, creating VNA revises and deepens sense making of the meaning of events in the story and what the complete story implies about oneself and others. Second, creating VNA surfaces unconscious thinking of the protagonist and other actors in the story as well as the storyteller (recognizing that in many presentations of stories an actor in the story is also the story teller); unconscious thinking in stories relating to consumer and brand experiences reflect one or more archetype (Jung, 1916/1968) fulfillments by the protagonist and the storyteller; given that almost all authors agree on a distinction between processes that are unconscious, rapid, automatic, and high capacity (System 1 processing) and those that are conscious, slow, and deliberative (System 2 processing; see Evans, 2008), VNA enables and enriches processing, particularly relating to System 1 processing—enabling more emotional versus rational processing. Third, creating VNA of stories is inherently and uniquely fulfilling/pleasurable/healing for the artist; using visual media allows artists to express emotions of the protagonist and/or audience member, to vent anger, or to report bliss about events and outcomes that words alone cannot communicate; VNA provides a tangible, emotional, and holistic (gestalt) experience that is uniquely satisfying and does so in a form that many audience members enjoy over and over again. This article elaborates on the rationales for its central proposition, briefly reviews relevant literature on VNA, and illustrates one mode of VNA for the complementary stories told by a consumer and brand. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This introduction reviews core principles of storytelling theory. The article explains basic propositions of good storytelling. A brief summary of each of the six articles that follow appears. The article extends a note of appreciation to the members of the special editorial board for this issue and to Rajan Nataraajan. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This paper collates eight expert opinions about Knowledge Visualization, what it is and what it should be. An average of 581 words long, topics span from representation, storytelling and criticizing the lack of theory, to communication, analytics for the masses and reasoning, to trendy Visual Thinking and creativity beyond PowerPoint. These individual views provide a picture of the present and the future of a discipline that could not be more timely, aiming for a common understanding of the visualization of knowledge.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore the potential of visualization for corporate knowledge management.
Design/methodology/approach
The employed methodology consists of a taxonomy of visualization formats that are embedded in a conceptual framework to guide the application of visualization in knowledge management according to the type of knowledge that is visualized, the knowledge management objective, the target group, and the application situation. This conceptual framework is illustrated through real‐life examples.
Findings
The findings show that there is much room for knowledge management applications based on visualization beyond the mere referencing of experts or documents through knowledge maps.
Research limitations/implications
The research implications thus consist of experimenting actively with new forms of visual knowledge representation and evaluating their benefits or potential drawbacks rigorously.
Practical implications
The authors encourage managers to look beyond simple diagrammatic representations of knowledge and explore alternative visual languages, such as visual metaphors or graphic narratives.
Originality/value
This paper consists of two elements: first, the systematic, descriptive and prescriptive approach towards visualization in knowledge management, and second the innovative examples of how to harness the power of visualization in knowledge management.
Based on literature from the domains of organization science, marketing, accounting, and management information systems, this review article examines the theoretical basis of the information overload discourse and presents an overview of the main definitions, situations, causes, effects, and countermeasures. It analyzes the contributions from the last 30 years to consolidate the existing research in a conceptual framework and to identify future research directions.
Abstract
Cognitive load theory has been designed to provide guidelines intended to assist in the presentation of information in a manner that encourages learner activities that optimize intellectual performance. The theory assumes a limited capacity working memory that includes partially independent subcomponents to deal with auditory/verbal material and visual/2- or 3-dimensional information as well as an effectively unlimited long-term memory, holding schemas that vary in their degree of automation. These structures and functions of human cognitive architecture have been used to design a variety of novel instructional procedures based on the assumption that working memory load should be reduced and schema construction encouraged. This paper reviews the theory and the instructional designs generated by it.
Knowledge is a broad and abstract notion that has defined epistemological debate in western philosophy since the classical Greek era. In the past few years, however, there has been a growing interest in treating knowledge as a significant organizational resource. Consistent with the interest in organizational knowledge and knowledge management (KM), IS researchers have begun promoting a class of information systems, referred to as knowledge management systems (KMS). The objective of KMS is to support creation, transfer, and application of knowledge in organizations. Knowledge and knowledge management are complex and multi-faceted concepts. Thus, effective development and implementation of KMS requires a foundation in several rich literatures. To be credible, KMS research and development should preserve and build upon the significant literature that exists in different but rzelated fields. This paper provides a review and interpretation of knowledge management literatures in different fields with an eye toward identifying the important areas for research. We present a detailed process view of organizational knowledge management with a focus on the potential role of information technology in this process. Drawing upon the literature review and analysis of knowledge management processes, we discuss several important research issues surrounding the knowledge management processes and the role of IT in support of these processes.
When executives need to persuade an audience, most try to build a case with facts, statistics, and some quotes from authorities. In other words, they resort to "companyspeak," the tools of rhetoric they have been trained to use. In this conversation with HBR, Robert McKee, the world's best-known screenwriting lecturer, argues that executives can engage people in a much deeper - and ultimately more convincing - way If they toss out their Power-Point slides and memosand learn to tell good stories. As human beings, we make sense of our experiences through stories. But becoming a good storyteller is hard. It requires imagination and an understanding of what makes a story worth telling, All great stories deal with the conflict between subjective expectations and an uncooperative objective reality. They show a protagonist wrestling with antagonizing forces, not a rosy picture of results meeting expectations - which no one ends up believing. Consider the CEO of a biotech start-up that has discovered a chemical compound to prevent heart attacks. He could make a pitch to investors by offering up market projections, the business plan, and upbeat, hypothetical scenarios. Or he could captivate them by telling the story of his father, who died of a heart attack, and of the CEO's subsequent struggle against various antagonists - nature, the FDA, potential rivals - to bring to market the effective, low-cost test that might have prevented his father's death. Good storytellers are not necessarily good leaders, but they do share certain traits. Both are self-aware, and both are skeptics who realize that all people-and institutions - wear masks. Compelling stories can be found behind those masks.
In recent years, multimedia learning, or learning from words and images, has developed into a coherent discipline with a significant research base. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning is unique in offering a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of research and theory in the field, with a focus on computer-based learning. Since the first edition appeared in 2005, it has shaped the field and become the primary reference work for multimedia learning. Multimedia environments, including online presentations, e-courses, interactive lessons, simulation games, slideshows, and even textbooks, play a crucial role in education. This revised second edition incorporates the latest developments in multimedia learning and contains new chapters on topics such as drawing, video, feedback, working memory, learner control, and intelligent tutoring systems. It examines research-based principles to determine the most effective methods of multimedia instruction and considers research findings in the context of cognitive theory to explain how these methods work.
PowerPoint is a tool that is very often used in organization to visualize knowledge. It is seemingly simple but a complex tool which is not 'neutral' but has enabling and constraining qualities. Despite its pervasiveness, research on PowerPoint is scarce, fragmented and often polemic. Given its omnipresence and importance, a more appropriate understanding of the tool is needed. This paper aims to contribute toward this goal by conducting a literature review on the constraining qualities of PowerPoint in a systematic manner. The results are synthesized into 12 constraining qualities and classified into two levels: the tool itself and the enactment of the tool in the performance. Through the synthesis and description of the constraining qualities and their negative effects, this paper aims to provide guidance to practitioners for the preparation, performance and reception of PowerPoint presentations, with the ultimate goal to select and use this presentation tool more consciously, or to select other tools for knowledge visualization.
Recent social psychological research demonstrates that certain types of mental simulation are particularly useful for helping individuals reach the future they envision (e.g., Taylor et al. 1998). More specifically, Taylor's recent research indicates that the most successful simulations focus on the process of reaching a goal rather than on the outcomes or attainment of the goal. This paper extends consideration of process- vs. outcome-focus thought to advertising. In studies manipulating the focus of subjects' thoughts while viewing a print advertisement, we find that a process-focus ad condition results in significantly higher behavioral intentions than an outcome-focus ad condition. Additional results demonstrate that the benefit of process-focus occurs when ad arguments are generally appropriate (e.g., strong and credible). However, in the case of inappropriate ad arguments, process-focused thought actually lowers behavioral intentions, compared to thoughts focusing on the end result or outcome of product usage. Thus, in addition to increasing the persuasive power of strong advertising claims, process-focused thinking appears to make individuals better, or more discerning, consumers who do not form behavioral intentions when it is inappropriate to do so. This basic phenomena appears to be robust across the specific form of ad arguments (specifically, whether arguments involve the process or outcome of product usage) and it appears to operate independently of motivational or elaboration processes.
Many business-to-business firms recognise that strong brands can be a valuable resource in today's competitive business environment. To realise the potential of B2B brands, effective communication of brand values is essential. In most B2B markets, the primary form of brand communication is through the sales force and their ability to adapt sales strategies and messages to accommodate customer interactions. There are gaps in the literature regarding the brand value communication process in the customer-salesperson dyad. We argue that successful B2B brand communication requires sales strategies that incorporate brand values appealing to the emotional and the rational concerns of organisational buyers. This paper examines the brand communication process in the salesperson-customer dyad and the extent to which adaptive selling based on a brand platform of rational and emotional brand values could better respond to buying centre members.
This paper provides a narrative framework for writing empirical research papers in consumer psychology. The components of this framework include focusing on the research contribution, maintaining a consistent plot structure, creating a story with constructs and variables as the main characters, minimizing subplots, and polishing the writing. We assert that integrating a narrative within a research paper enhances the likelihood of publication.
The goal of this article is to provide deeper insights into the construct of customer orientation at the individual level.
The article has three main objectives: First, this study provides a two-dimensional conceptualization of customer orientation
that distinguishes between attitudes and behaviors. Second, it explores direct and indirect effects of customer-oriented attitudes
on customer satisfaction. Third, the authors propose and examine a positive moderating effect of empathy, reliability, and
expertise on the link between customer-oriented attitude and customer-oriented behavior and a negative moderating effect of
salespeople’s restriction in job autonomy. The analysis is based on dyadic data that involve judgments provided by salespeople
and their customers across multiple manufacturing and services industries in a business-to-business context. Results support
the authors’ two-dimensional conceptualization of customer orientation. The authors also find that customer-oriented attitudes
have a direct effect on customer satisfaction. The four proposed moderating effects are also in evidence.
Purpose
In this paper, the authors aim to review the benefits of sketching or ad‐hoc , collaborative hand drawings for knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge documentation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a comprehensive literature review in the fields of design, psychology, and computer science that documents the multiple advantages of sketch‐based approaches for managing knowledge in organizations, especially on the team‐level. The authors argue for the complementary use of this “low‐tech knowledge management” approach with existing digital infrastructures and tools. The literature survey is based on a search for the title term “sketching” on the ISI Web of Knowledge online database. After topic filtering and eliminating all articles where sketching was used in the sense of a project proposal or a theoretical sketch, there were only 48 articles left related to the keyword “sketching”. Based on the authors' awareness of important contributions in the field of sketching, which did not appear in the database search, they extended their inclusion criteria to include grey or conference literature and examined the reference sections of highly cited articles. The article concludes with a set of propositions for practitioners regarding the use of sketching in different knowledge management contexts and with implications for future research in this area.
Findings
Knowledge creation contexts, such as innovation management or problem solving sessions, provide participants with the opportunity to jointly devise large scale sketches in order to integrate their views and experiences on joint frameworks. Knowledge sharing situations, such as in team briefings or debriefings, in hand‐over processes, or in strategic alliances, equip all participants with pens and paper tablecloths to augment their knowledge dialogues with visible means that facilitate interaction and turn‐taking, increase vividness and memorability, and allow for an authentic and personal follow‐up documentation.
Research limitations/implications
An implication for research is to study sketching in knowledge management through interdisciplinary research efforts. This could be done by paying attention to the way that digital and hand‐drawn sketches affect interactions differently among professionals and the way that they share, defend, and integrate their knowledge. Specifically researchers with a background in organizational psychology could work jointly with human computer interaction specialists to study differences among analogue and digital sketching activities. In this way one can learn about the respective advantages and risks of hand‐drawn versus computer‐supported sketching for knowledge‐intensive group collaboration tasks.
Originality/value
The literature review resulted in an extended list of benefits which support three relevant tasks in knowledge management, namely knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge documentation. This compilation shows simple and effective ways in which the use of hand drawings can enhance existing knowledge management practices.
This article first reviews three shortcomings in Tuftes argument, then summarizes the booklets well-taken points, before offering guidelines for effective slides, no matter the tool. These guidelines and some of the analysis are based on more than 150 in-depth discussions of slides I have conducted with engineers, scientists, executives, and other professionals at workshops.
Reviews literature on the dual coding theory (DCT) of memory and cognition, beginning with the origin and development of DCT from 1963 to 1986. General and specific criticisms of DCT and research findings are also addressed, focusing on alternative views that emphasize abstract propositional representations as the basis of cognition. The review deals with the origins of DCT in research related to the conceptual peg hypothesis of concreteness and imagery effects on associative memory. The review also discusses empirical and conceptual responses to recent criticisms of DCT and alternative theoretical views in areas related to concreteness effects on memory, schema theory, and conceptual issues in the philosophy of science. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article offers a theoretical framework to explain circumstances under which perceptions of "unrealness" affect engagement in narratives and subsequent perceived realism judgments. A mental models approach to narrative processing forms the foundation of a model that integrates narrative comprehension and phenomenological experiences such as transportation and identification. Three types of unrealness are discussed: fictionality, external realism (match with external reality), and narrative realism (coherence within a story). We gather evidence that fictionality does not affect narrative processing. On the other hand, violations of external and narrative realism are conceived as inconsistencies among the viewer's mental structures as they construct mental models of meaning to represent and comprehend the narrative. These inconsistencies may result in negative online evaluations of a narrative's realism, may disrupt engagement, and may negatively influence postexposure (reflective) realism judgments as well as lessen a narrative's persuasive power.
Visual representations are essential for communicating ideas in the science classroom; however, the design of such representations is not always beneficial for learners. This paper presents instructional design considerations providing empirical evidence and integrating theoretical concepts related to cognitive load. Learners have a limited working memory, and instructional representations should be designed with the goal of reducing unnecessary cognitive load. However, cognitive architecture alone is not the only factor to be considered; individual differences, especially prior knowledge, are critical in determining what impact a visual representation will have on learners' cognitive structures and processes. Prior knowledge can determine the ease with which learners can perceive and interpret visual representations in working memory. Although a long tradition of research has compared experts and novices, more research is necessary to fully explore the expert–novice continuum and maximize the potential of visual representations. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed90:1073–1091, 2006
Over the last few years, cognitive load theory has progressed and advanced rapidly. The articles in this special issue, which
document those advances, are based on contributions to the 3rd International Cognitive Load Theory Conference (2009), Heerlen,
The Netherlands. The articles of this special issue on cognitive load theory discuss new conceptualizations of the different
categories of cognitive load, an integrated research perspective of process-oriented and cognitive load approaches to collaborative
learning, an integrated research perspective of cognitive and social–cognitive approaches to example-based learning, and a
specification of the theory focusing on the acquisition of generalized knowledge structures as a means to facilitate flexible
problem-solving skills. This article provides a short introduction to the theory, discusses some of its recent advances, and
provides an overview of the contributions to this issue.
KeywordsCognitive load theory-Working memory-Integrated research perspectives
This article proposes that narrative processing creates or enhances self-brand connections (SBC) because people generally interpret the meaning of their experiences by fitting them into a story. Similarly, in response to an ad that tells a story, narrative processing may create a link between a brand and the self when consumers attempt to map incoming narrative information onto stories in memory. Our approach rests on the notion that a brand becomes more meaningful the more closely it is linked to the self. We conceptualize this linkage at an aggregate level in terms of SBCs, that is, the extent to which consumers have incorporated the brand into their self-concepts. The results of an experiment show that narrative processing in response to a narratively structured ad is positively related to SBCs, which in turn have a positive relation with brand attitudes and behavioral intentions.
The traditional seven steps of selling is perhaps the oldest paradigm in the sales discipline. The seven steps model has served as a basic framework in sales training, personal selling textbooks, and teaching personal selling classes. Very little has changed in this framework since the turn of the 20th century. This article reviews the traditional seven steps of selling, examines transformative factors that have led to changes in each step, and presents an evolved seven steps process. While the traditional seven steps reflected a selling orientation on the part of a firm, the evolved selling process reflects more of a customer orientation in that the focus is on relationship selling—that is, securing, building, and maintaining long-term relationships with profitable customers.
In this article we examine the difficulties of knowledge communication among experts and decision makers. We begin by outlining where and how the communication of expertise from specialists to managers is crucial. We then review theoretical constructs that highlight knowledge transfer problems among experts and decision makers. On the basis of this review and using the results from six focus groups and thirty interviews with engineers and managers, we categorise these transfer challenges into five major groups. We distinguish among expert- and manager-caused problems, reciprocal problems, problems due to the interaction situation and problems caused by the organisational context. These categories can be used to guide research on the micro-aspects of knowledge transfer. Managers can use these problem categories to identify and reduce knowledge transfer barriers in their interaction with specialists.
We suggest that when readers experience narratives, their expectations about the likelihood of narrative events are informed by two types of analyses. Reality-driven analyses incorporate real-world constraints involving, for example, time and space; plot-driven analyses incorporate concerns about outcomes that emerge from the plot. We explored the interaction of these two types of analyses in the application of temporal situation models. Participants read stories in which the final episode occurred after a minute time shift (i.e., "A minute later...") or hour time shift (i.e., "An hour later..."). Our experiments assessed participants' judgments and reading times for statements describing the state of events (e.g., the possibility that characters could carry out particular behaviors) following each type of time shift. Experiments 1A and 1B demonstrated that readers are appropriately sensitive to the real concomitants of time shifts. Experiments 2A and 2B demonstrated, even so, that plot-driven preferences modify judgments and reading times away from reality-driven expectations. Our results have implications for the role of the reader in theories of narrative comprehension.