The Impact of Emotional Storytelling on Narrative Transportation, Parasocial Interaction and Engagement Intentions in Influencer Marketing

This thesis examines the impact of emotional storytelling (ES) by social media influencers on audience engagement intentions, focusing on narrative transportation and parasocial interaction (PSI), as sequential mediators that explain how emotionally engaging stories first draw people into the narrative, then help them feel connected to the influencer, and in turn, increase their willingness to engage. Although previous studies have emphasised the impact of PSI on outcomes such as trust, authenticity and purchase intention, little attention has been given to how PSI is activated, particularly through emotionally immersive narratives by social media influencers. Furthermore, there is an empirical gap in the psychological process from emotional storytelling to engagement intentions, and investigating how influencer popularity moderates this process. Based on Narrative Transportation Theory, Parasocial Interaction Theory and Influencer Marketing, this study proposes a sequential mediation model in which emotional storytelling enables narrative transportation, thereby increasing PSI. This study also investigates whether the type of influencer (micro vs. macro) moderates this process, based on the assumption that micro-influencers may build stronger relationships. The following research question is explored: How does emotional storytelling by micro vs macro social media influencers affect engagement intentions through narrative transportation and parasocial interaction? A 2×2 between-subjects online experiment was conducted using a fictional influencer called "Zara". Participants were shown either an emotionally charged or a storytelling absent Instagram post from a micro- or macro-influencer versionof Zara. Narrative transportation, PSI and engagement intentions were measured using validated multi-item scales. Hayes' PROCESS macro was used to conduct the main analyses: Model 6 tested sequential mediation and Model 7 tested moderated mediation. The results indicated that emotional storytelling significantly improved narrative transportation and PSI. Narrative transportation also consistently predicted PSI, which in turn positively influenced engagement intentions. Emotional storytelling didn't directly impact engagement intentions, which suggests that the effect is completely mediated by narrative transportation and PSI. Contrary to expectations, moderated mediation was not significant; that is, the influencer type (micro vs. macro) did not significantly moderate this indirect effect. Although PSI and engagement scores were descriptively higher in the micro-influencer condition, these differences were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that emotional storytelling affects engagement through narrative immersion and parasocial interaction regardless of the reach and popularity of the influencer. This study builds on influencer marketing research by showing how emotional storytelling increases engagement intentions and addresses PSI as a dynamic, situational process that is activated when people get absorbed in a story and feel personally connected to the influencer.