Impacts of storytelling on experiential service assessment

Purpose This study aims to investigate how integrating storytelling into tourism guide services influences customers’ positive word-of-mouth (PWOM). It also examines whether storytelling shapes how customers integrate episode assessments of the experience into the PWOM of the guide tour service. Design/methodology/approach A simulated tour experiment was conducted in which participants experienced guided tours with or without storytelling and with or without common themes. The study measured participants’ service episode assessments and PWOM. It also analyzed how storytelling altered the relative weighting of different service episode assessments. Findings The results show that incorporating storytelling positively influences customers’ PWOM, but the presence of a shared theme does not significantly enhance the effect. Moreover, the inclusion of storytelling encourages a more integrated and balanced assessment of the entire experience; without storytelling, later service episodes have a stronger influence on customers’ PWOM. Originality/value This research highlights the strategic role of storytelling in shaping experiential service evaluations. It is among the first to empirically validate the impact of storytelling on experiential service assessment and customers’ PWOM. It also shows that storytelling can fundamentally alter how customers evaluate experiences over time.