Stories a world apart: storytelling differentiation in Napa and Stellenbosch

Abstract

This research explores how wineries engage in sensegiving for differentiation by crafting and sharing organisational narratives. We call this storytelling differentiation; it is focused on creating a unique identity for a winery by differentiating through a captivating narrative. We examined the stories wineries tell about themselves on their websites. Our research examines stories from 294 randomly selected wineries - 175 from Napa Valley and 119 from Stellenbosch. We classified the stories by the 12 classical Jungian archetypes to better understand the wineries' differentiation strategies. Our findings identify a remarkable symmetry between the types of stories utilised between regions, even as the terminology within stories differs between Napa and Stellenbosch. Our findings also suggest that more daring story types (explorer, outlaw, and jester) may be underutilised as tools for differentiation. This research provides needed insights for understanding the role of stories and storytelling in product marketing, particularly in the wine industry.