The five phases of SME brand building

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Centeno, Edgar and Hart, Susan and Dinnie, Keith (2013) The five phases of SME brand building. Journal of Brand Management, 20 (6). pp. 445-457. ISSN 1350-231X (https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2012.49)

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Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine how brands are built in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to develop a conceptual model of SME brand-building. The research design is based on an a priori conceptual framework that helped direct the fieldwork, data analysis and findings. A series of semi-structured interviews was conducted among 35 owner/managers from 30 firms. The results indicate that SME brands are built in a non-traditional manner and contrary to large firm brand building, with minimum brand planning and limited resources. SME brand-owner/managers and employees engage in brand exploration phases where they experiment in a spirit of trial and error based on risk-taking, commitment, creativity and willingness to learn. Based on these results, the article develops a model of the five phases of SME brand-building. The five-phase model represents an actionable framework for managers in an SME context. The model also presents scholars with a theoretical foundation upon which to construct further theory development.

ORCID iDs

Centeno, Edgar, Hart, Susan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9406-9273 and Dinnie, Keith;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)