DIGITAL STORYTELLING AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AS TOOLS FOR EMPOWERMENT
Indonesia 
Malaysia Malaysia 
Abstract
Digital storytelling has become an increasingly important strategy for social enterprises seeking to communicate social missions, strengthen community visibility, and expand opportunities through creative technologies. This study aimed to examine how digital storytelling supports empowerment by enhancing narrative agency, digital competence, stakeholder engagement, and access to social and economic opportunities. A qualitative multiple-case study design was employed involving six social enterprises and 30 participants, including founders, communication staff, and community beneficiaries. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and analysis of 180 digital storytelling materials, then examined using thematic analysis and cross-case comparison. The findings showed that empowerment was strongest when community members actively participated in selecting themes, producing content, reviewing representations, and determining story dissemination. Increased digital reach did not automatically produce economic empowerment; stronger outcomes emerged when storytelling was combined with transferable digital skills, responsive communication systems, market access, and partnership networks. The study concludes that creative technologies become meaningful tools for empowerment when they are embedded in participatory, ethical, and opportunity-oriented organizational practices. Digital storytelling should therefore be understood not merely as a promotional technique, but as a mechanism for strengthening voice, capability, participation, recognition, and sustainable social value creation within contemporary social enterprise ecosystems and communities.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Vera Selviana Adoe, Amin Zaki, Faisal Razak
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