How narrative perspective in luxury brand stories enhances brand preference: the role of self-enhancement motivation and demand-side scarcity

Purpose Luxury brands increasingly use first- and third-person stories in digital and interactive marketing, but which perspective increases brand preference, why and when remain unclear. Drawing on communication accommodation theory and self-discrepancy theory, we propose that third-person (vs. first-person) narratives provide contrastive (vs. assimilative) cues, enlarge ideal-self distance and activate self-enhancement motivation. This effect should be stronger for demand-side scarce products, which signal desirability and attainability, than for supply-side scarce products, which signal restricted access. Design/methodology/approach Six experiments, including eye tracking, manipulated narrative perspective, brand type, self-enhancement motivation and scarcity type. Brand preference, self-enhancement motivation, assimilation and contrast were measured and analyzed with ANOVA/ANCOVA, t-tests and bootstrapped mediation models. Findings Third-person narratives increased preference only for luxury brands. Self-enhancement motivation mediated the effect, and assimilation and contrast formed parallel serial pathways. The advantage of third-person narratives appeared under demand-side scarcity but not supply-side scarcity. Practical implications Luxury managers should use third-person narratives for demand-side scarce products and match narrative perspective to interactive channels and consumer characteristics. Narrative perspective alone should not be expected to offset the inaccessibility signaled by supply-side scarcity. Originality/value The research explains narrative perspective as an interactive marketing language cue rather than merely another story feature. It identifies self-enhancement motivation as the mechanism and demand-side scarcity as the attainability-based boundary condition.