The impact of market orientation and brand storytelling on Shark Tank evaluations – a B2B and large language modeling perspective

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to determine how signals of market orientation and brand storytelling affect the evaluation of start-ups by Shark Tank judges.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyzed 430 Shark Tank pitches to test their hypotheses. Their expert annotations based on elements of their conceptual model pave the way for them to deploy a large language model that gives us unique psycholinguistic insights into the start-up pitches.

Findings

The authors find that market responsiveness and external disadvantage and passion and determination in brand storytelling have a significant impact on the evaluations of start-ups by investors.

Research limitations/implications

The research is set in an early-stage venture context in the US.

Practical implications

The research findings on business-to-investor interactions can benefit B2B marketers, start-ups and investors.

Originality/value

Their research which draws conceptual inspiration from the resource-based view of the firm and the signaling theory is unique in that the authors use cutting edge large-language model tools to draw psycholinguistic B2B insights from the Shark Tank interactions.

Citation

Jayashankar, P., Roy, T., Chattopadhyay, S., Arshad, M.A. and Sarkar, S. (2025), "The impact of market orientation and brand storytelling on Shark Tank evaluations – a B2B and large language modeling perspective", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 265-280. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-10-2024-0811