I'm writing MuddyHudson's resource on Story Clarficiation (watch our progress on developing this idea on the wiki).  My research has been leading me in some interesting directions, including neuroscience, psychology, and management theory.  It seems storytelling is really gaining traction in various enterprises like Xerox (PARC), the World Bank, and Executive Development (PDF).

Steve Denning is one of the best innovators in this field.  He has a great page of quotes on why storytelling is important in organizations.  Here's one that I think is especially comprehensive:

Storytelling is often the best way for leaders to communicate with people they are leading. Why? It is inherently well adapted to handling the most intractable leadership challenges of today – sparking change, communicating who you are, enhancing the brand, transmitting values, creating high-performance teams, sharing knowledge, taming the grapevine, leading people in to the future.

- Steve Denning, Organizational Storyteller.