IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v200y2025i3d10.1007_s10551-024-05838-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Virtue Ethics in Marketing: The Art of Crafting Tragic Brand Stories

Author

Listed:
  • Zafeirenia Brokalaki

    (Queen Mary, University of London)

Abstract

The paper explores the role of marketing stories in cultivating virtue ethics in consumers. Drawing from the philosophy and storytelling tradition of the Aristotelian tragedy along with Kierkegaard’s Either/Or and Castoriadis’ insights, it is illustrated that tragic stories can be a valuable creative resource for marketing professionals who wish to promote virtue ethics in the marketplace. To achieve this, the paper: a) illuminates the value of virtue-oriented stories in marketing; b) critically examines the value of existing brand stories; c) proposes an alternative brand storytelling orientation, based on the tradition of tragedy, which fosters virtue ethics; d) offers a framework and guidelines to brand executives who want to craft tragic brand stories.

Suggested Citation

  • Zafeirenia Brokalaki, 2025. "Virtue Ethics in Marketing: The Art of Crafting Tragic Brand Stories," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 200(3), pages 599-622, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:200:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05838-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05838-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-024-05838-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-024-05838-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George Bragues, 2006. "Seek the Good Life, not Money: The Aristotelian Approach to Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 341-357, September.
    2. Dunfee, Thomas W., 1995. "Introduction to the Special Issue on Social Contracts and Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 167-171, April.
    3. J.J. Brakus & B.H. Schmitt & L. Zarantonello, 2009. "Brand Experience: What Is It? How Do We Measure It? And Does It Affect Loyalty?," Post-Print hal-00799102, HAL.
    4. Singh, Sangeeta & Sonnenburg, Stephan, 2012. "Brand Performances in Social Media," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 189-197.
    5. Murray, Jeff B & Ozanne, Julie L, 1991. "The Critical Imagination: Emancipatory Interests in Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 18(2), pages 129-144, September.
    6. Hosmer, LaRue Tone, 1994. "Why Be Moral? A Different Rationale for Managers," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 191-204, April.
    7. Gabriel, Yiannis, 2000. "Storytelling in Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198297062.
    8. Jennifer Edson Escalas, 2007. "Self-Referencing and Persuasion: Narrative Transportation versus Analytical Elaboration," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 33(4), pages 421-429, December.
    9. Nash, Laura L., 2000. "Intensive Care for Everyone’s Least Favorite Oxymoron: Narrative in Business Ethics," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 277-290, January.
    10. Géraldine Michel, 2017. "From brand identity to polysemous brands: Commentary on “Performing identities: Processes of brand and stakeholder identity co-construction”," Post-Print halshs-01656409, HAL.
    11. Moore, Geoff, 2002. "On the Implications of the Practice–Institution Distinction: Macintyre and the Application of Modern Virtue Ethics to Business," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 19-32, January.
    12. Garcia-Ruiz, Pablo & Rodriguez-Lluesma, Carlos, 2014. "Consumption Practices: A Virtue Ethics Approach," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(4), pages 509-531, October.
    13. Appel, Markus, 2022. "Affective resistance to narrative persuasion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 850-859.
    14. Hamelin, Nicolas & Thaichon, Park & Abraham, Christopher & Driver, Nicholas & Lipscombe, Joe & Pillai, Jayarethanam, 2020. "Storytelling, the scale of persuasion and retention: A neuromarketing approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    15. Matt Statler & David Oliver, 2016. "The Moral of the Story: Re-framing Ethical Codes of Conduct as Narrative Processes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 89-100, June.
    16. Merchant, Altaf & Ford, John B. & Sargeant, Adrian, 2010. "Charitable organizations' storytelling influence on donors' emotions and intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(7), pages 754-762, July.
    17. Meng-Chuan Tsai, 2020. "Storytelling Advertising Investment Profits in Marketing: From the Perspective of Consumers’ Purchase Intention," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-12, October.
    18. David Bright & Bradley Winn & Jason Kanov, 2014. "Reconsidering Virtue: Differences of Perspective in Virtue Ethics and the Positive Social Sciences," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(4), pages 445-460, February.
    19. Tommi Auvinen & Anna-Maija Lämsä & Teppo Sintonen & Tuomo Takala, 2013. "Leadership Manipulation and Ethics in Storytelling," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(2), pages 415-431, August.
    20. Maria A Rodas & Deborah Roedder John & Carlos J Torelli & Margaret C Campbell & Stefano Puntoni, 2021. "Building Brands for the Emerging Bicultural Market: The Appeal of Paradox Brands," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 48(4), pages 633-650.
    21. Tom van Laer & Ko de Ruyter & Luca M. Visconti & Martin Wetzels, 2014. "The Extended Transportation-Imagery Model: A Meta-Analysis of the Antecedents and Consequences of Consumers' Narrative Transportation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(5), pages 797-817.
    22. Barbara J. Phillips & Edward F. McQuarrie, 2010. "Narrative and Persuasion in Fashion Advertising," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(3), pages 368-392, October.
    23. Ferraro, Carla & Hemsley, Alicia & Sands, Sean, 2023. "Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): Considerations and opportunities for brand managers," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 463-479.
    24. Patrícia Dias & Rita Cavalheiro, 2022. "The role of storytelling in the creation of brand love: the PANDORA case," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(1), pages 58-71, January.
    25. Ajit Nayak, 2016. "Wisdom and the Tragic Question: Moral Learning and Emotional Perception in Leadership and Organisations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 1-13, August.
    26. Dessart, Laurence, 2018. "Do ads that tell a story always perform better? The role of character identification and character type in storytelling ads," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 289-304.
    27. Daniel Nyberg, 2008. "The Morality of Everyday Activities: Not the Right, But the Good Thing To Do," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 587-598, September.
    28. Michel, Géraldine, 2017. "From brand identity to polysemous brands: Commentary on “Performing identities: Processes of brand and stakeholder identity co-construction”," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 453-455.
    29. Reaz Hafiz, 2015. "Rethinking Brand Identity to Become an Iconic Brand - A Study on Pepsi," Asian Business Review, Asian Business Consortium, vol. 5(3), pages 97-102.
    30. Audi, Robert, 2012. "Virtue Ethics as a Resource in Business," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 273-291, April.
    31. Maitland, Ian, 1997. "Virtuous Markets: The Market as School of the Virtues," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 17-31, January.
    32. Brian Shapiro, 2016. "Using Traditional Narratives and Other Narrative Devices to Enact Humanizing Business Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 1-19, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dessart, Laurence & Pitardi, Valentina, 2019. "How stories generate consumer engagement: An exploratory study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 183-195.
    2. Grigsby, Jamie L. & Mellema, Hillary N., 2020. "Negative Consequences of Storytelling in Native Advertising," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 61-78.
    3. David Dawson, 2018. "Organisational Virtue, Moral Attentiveness, and the Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business: The Case of UK HR Practitioners," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 765-781, April.
    4. van Laer, Tom & Feiereisen, Stephanie & Visconti, Luca M., 2019. "Storytelling in the digital era: A meta-analysis of relevant moderators of the narrative transportation effect," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 135-146.
    5. Rafael Morales-Sánchez & Carmen Cabello-Medina, 2013. "The Role of Four Universal Moral Competencies in Ethical Decision-Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(4), pages 717-734, September.
    6. Boukis, Achilleas, 2023. "Storytelling in initial coin offerings: Attracting investment or gaining referrals?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    7. David Dawson, 2018. "Measuring Individuals’ Virtues in Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(4), pages 793-805, February.
    8. Karolina Kaczorowska & Jodie Conduit & Steven Goodman, 2024. "Engaging through storytelling: the interplay of engagement with a story, cause, and charity," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(3), pages 265-292, May.
    9. Yang, Zhihao & Wang, Desheng & Li, Tingting & Han, Jie, 2023. "Customizing a consumers’ story for you: The impact of protagonist geographical distance on willingness to share," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Lars Brand & Matthias Anderski & Tim Ströbel, 2025. "Unpacking brand co-creation: a single-case study and empirical consolidation of brand co-creation performances following qualitative meta-synthesis," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 32(2), pages 150-165, March.
    11. Essamri, Azzouz & McKechnie, Sally & Winklhofer, Heidi, 2019. "Co-creating corporate brand identity with online brand communities: A managerial perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 366-375.
    12. Andrew West, 2018. "After Virtue and Accounting Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 21-36, March.
    13. Rosa Chun, 2019. "How Virtuous Global Firms Say They Are: A Content Analysis of Ethical Values," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 57-73, March.
    14. Siano, Alfonso & Vollero, Agostino & Bertolini, Alessandra, 2022. "From brand control to brand co-creation: An integrated framework of brand paradigms and emerging brand perspectives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 372-386.
    15. Cao, Xinyue & Qu, Zhirui & Liu, Yan & Hu, JiaJing, 2021. "How the destination short video affects the customers' attitude: The role of narrative transportation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    16. Hamby, Anne & Orazi, Davide & Moreau, Patrick, 2024. "Whose story is this? Source reveal as a communication tactic to increase consumers’ advocacy for social causes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    17. Andrea Kampmann & Burkhard Pedell, 2022. "Using Storytelling to Promote Organizational Resilience: An Experimental Study of Different Forms of Risk Communication," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 695-725, December.
    18. Abela, Andrew V., 2014. "Appealing to the imagination: Effective and ethical marketing of religion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 50-58.
    19. Antonetti, Paolo & Baines, Paul & Jain, Shailendra, 2018. "The persuasiveness of guilt appeals over time: Pathways to delayed compliance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 14-25.
    20. Li, Shanshi & Huang, Huiling & Liu, Xinyu & Chen, Zhenyu, 2024. "The power of visuals in destination advertising," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:200:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-024-05838-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.