Fuzzy Cognitive Map of Interactive Storytelling in Digital Marketing: Antecedent and Consequence Analysis

By combining interactive elements and immersive narratives, interactive storytelling offers a powerful tool for engaging target audiences and creating an unforgettable experience that allows brands to break free from the limitations of traditional marketing and connect with their audiences on a deeper level. This approach transforms passive observers into active participants, creating a more memorable and impactful experience. This research aimed to identify and analyze the antecedents and consequences of interactive storytelling in digital marketing. This research is exploratory in terms of its applied purpose and in terms of its data collection method, in which digital business managers and marketing and e-commerce professors were selected as samples. The present study is mixed research with an exploratory approach, in which in the qualitative part, qualitative data collected using the opinions of 19 experts were analyzed using MaxQDA software and content analysis and coding methods. Then, in the quantitative part, the data was provided to the same sample in the form of a paired comparison questionnaire and analyzed using the fuzzy cognitive map method. The results showed that among the antecedents of interactive storytelling in digital marketing, immersion has the highest capacity for impact and persuasive story has the highest capacity for impact. Also, among the consequences of interactive storytelling in digital marketing, awareness of customer interests has the highest capacity for impact and personalization has the highest capacity for impact.