Working Paper

The Brand Backstory and Strategic Performance of Transparency

Cristel Antonia Russell, Anne Hamby, Stephanie Feiereisen and Hope Jensen Schau

Dec 31, 2025

Synthesizes observations from site visits, employee and customer in-depth interviews, surveys and archival material to understand how companies choreograph “backstory” environments such as factory tours or visitors’ centers to build trust, differentiation and engagement.

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