Crafting an Effective Brand Oriented Strategic Framework for Growth-Aspiring Small Businesses: A Conceptual Study

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to theorize and conceptualize a model that could be used by scholars and practitioners in understanding the contingent roles that certain organizational drivers and/or resources play in shaping the brand orientation strategy of small businesses, especially growth-aspiring small businesses in emerging economies. To this end, this paper explicates the critical roles that decision-making rationality, entrepreneurial capability, enterprise core values, market orientation, Internet technology orientation, and learning climate might play as processual antecedents to brand orientation strategy in the small businesses setting. Furthermore, the author highlights the moderating effects of the twin foci of financial slack and structural capital in respectively attenuating/amplifying the relationship between the aforementioned strategic variables and brand orientation strategy. Consequently, the author asserts that brand orientation strategy is without a doubt, one of the key micro-foundations for small businesses to effectively achieving a high degree of customer-centric performance outcomes.

Brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity in SMEs: an empirical evaluation

“…Our opinion is that this provides a midrange theorization of the phenomenon of brand orientation and consequently an enrichment to prior literature (notably Baumgarth, 2010;Urde, 1999). This entails that an understanding of the complex character of brand orientation is key if we are to develop a (more) meaningful understanding of the concept, thus benefiting for firms, particularly SMEs, which have been long reported to lack a general understanding of brand building (Berthon et al, 2008;Krake, 2005;Osakwe, 2016).…”

“…Added to this, the study complements prior research that is aimed at developing a better understanding of brand building in the SME context (e.g. Krake, 2005;Osakwe, 2016;Renton et al, 2016).…”

“…Overall, the research implications are further enhanced by the specifics of the context, which is that SMEs in a transitional Balkans economy remain scantily investigated to date. Yet, it has been noted in recent times that brand building is highly relevant to SMEs (Agostini et al, 2015;Centeno et al, 2013;Hodge et al, 2018;Osakwe, 2016;Renton et al, 2016).…”

“…Introduction A firm's internal resources are among the most important inputs in the brand-building process and consequently in delivering superior competitive advantage. In this context, brand orientation, similar to market orientation, is an important strategic resource for firms that want to acquire superior competitive advantage through a deliberate differentiation strategy (Gromark and Melin, 2011;Hirvonen and Laukkanen, 2014;Osakwe, 2016;Urde et al, 2013;Wong and Merrilees, 2008). Moreover, from an identity-driven perspective, brand orientation focuses on the internal strategic processes and internal anchorage of a company's brand identity (Urde et al, 2013).…”

Resilience and Economic Intelligence Through Digitalization and Big Data Analytics

“…Since the present study is wholly a qualitative inquiry, the researchers adopted the interview research technique to achieve the overall aim of the study (Osakwe, 2016). An interview is a designed procedure used to obtain information from an individual or persons through an oral inquiry.…”