Does more say more? Organizational heritage storytelling and the amount of historic information

Purpose This preregistered study investigated whether heritage storytelling becomes more effective as more of an organization's past is shared. We tested direct effects of increasing the amount of historic information on heritage, reputation, and legitimacy perceptions, as well as indirect effects mediated by credibility and psychological distance. Design/methodology/approach We conducted an experiment (N = 1,621) using quota sampling to approximate a representative sample. Participants randomly read between one to four heritage frames about one of two fictional companies, thereby exposing them to different amounts of historical information. The frames presented the when (founding time period), where (founding location), who (founder), and how (resilience over time) of the organization's past. Findings Results showed that increasing historic information through heritage framing positively impacted the organizations' perceived heritage and reputation, though effects on perceived legitimacy varied by frame type. Credibility increased with more historic information and positively influenced outcomes, but only with greater amounts of frames. Psychological distance also increased with more historic information, lowering outcomes, and this risk persisted regardless of frame count. The founder frame proved most effective, as it was the only frame that enhanced credibility without increasing psychological distance. Originality/value Previous research has mostly focused on heritage cues in logos or print advertisements such as founding years, leaving storytelling, despite its widespread use in organizational heritage communication, understudied. This study addresses this gap by examining heritage storytelling through a narrative-persuasion lens. By considering story length, the findings identify boundary conditions under which heritage storytelling is effective.