STORYTELLING-DRIVEN PRODUCT DESIGN FOR LANNA COMMUNITY IDENTITY: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND PURCHASE BEHAVIOR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.12822.2026Keywords:
community identity, product design, storytelling, user perception, user purchase decisionAbstract
This research advances theoretical understanding of community-based product design by explicating the mechanisms through which cultural storytelling embedded in product design influences consumer purchase decisions. Drawing on the community identity and user perception frameworks, the study investigates how Lanna cultural narratives shape consumer evaluations through multiple perceptual pathways. Data were collected from 526 tourists and local consumers who purchase community-based products in Chiang Mai and Lamphun Provinces, and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that storytelling exerts significant positive effects on several dimensions of user perception, including creative design, perceived reputation, and product attributes. However, source credibility does not exhibit a statistically significant effect on customer purchase decision. Importantly, the findings reveal that the influence of storytelling on purchase decisions is fully mediated by cost-value assessment, reputation, and user need, rather than operating through direct effects. This study contributes to theory by demonstrating that community identity-based storytelling functions as an indirect value-creation mechanism, shaping consumer behavior through differentiated perceptual evaluations rather than generalized emotional responses. By clarifying these mediation pathways, the research extends existing storytelling and user perception theories and offers a refined explanatory model for understanding consumer decision-making in community-based and culturally embedded product contexts.
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