Strategic and Operational Perspectives of SME Brand Management: A Typology

Journal of Small Business Management 2017 00(00), pp.
00–00
doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12387
Strategic and Operational Perspectives of SME Brand

Management: A Typology
by Simon M’zungu, Bill Merrilees, and Dale Miller
This paper seeks a holistic understanding of brand management in SMEs, incorporating both
strategic and operational perspectives. The aim of the study is theory-building, contributing a
typology of SME brand management. The typology has two dimensions, namely a primary strategic
focus (internal or external) and a brand management capability/operational capability (strong
or weak). Four SME brand management types emerge: organization brand identity-driven, opera-
tions-driven, organization brand image-driven, and opportunistic. The results have practical
implications for SME owner–managers, who can utilize them for planning purposes, to develop the
most appropriate strategic orientation and brand management processes to enhance the SME
performance.
Introduction founders who rely on small management teams

Corporate (organization) brands are recog- for support (Inskip 2004). Research shows that
nized as key intangible strategic assets that can SMEs concurrently manage internal and external
facilitate sustainable competitive advantage brand building (Abimbola and Kocak 2007),
(Barney 1991) for both large firms and small-to- unlike large organizations who treat them sepa-
medium enterprises (SMEs). However, corporate rately (Urde 2003). Despite these findings,
branding research has focused on large (for- research on SME brand management from both
profit and not-for-profit) organizations (Balmer strategic and operational perspectives is cur-
2012; Hankinson 2001; Urde 2003), and has rently not available.
barely reached SMEs (Centeno, Hart, and Dinnie This study aims to develop a mid-range
2013; Krake 2005) despite their economic con- theory in the form of a typology, to structure
tribution (Knight 2000). While some researchers the emergent knowledge of SME brand manage-
argue that corporate branding is not a priority ment (Doty and Glick 1994). Several SME mar-
for SMEs due to their resource limitations keting typologies are available, including of the
(Keller 2013), other researchers point to the strategic behavior of exporting firms (Julien
relevance of corporate branding to SMEs (Agos- et al. 1997), the role of information in interna-
tini, Filippini, and Nosella 2015; Berthon, tionalization (Cafferata and Mensi 1995) and of
Ewing, and Napoli 2008; Centeno, Hart, and service firms in international markets (Patterson
Dinnie 2013; Horan, O’Dwyer, and Tiernan and Cicic 1995). However, few SME branding
2011). However, corporate branding in SMEs is typologies are available (Krake 2005; Wong and
relatively simple compared to that in large Merrilees 2005). Although they offer useful
organizations (Abimbola 2001; Inskip 2004). knowledge, they do not delve into both the stra-
Central to SME branding is the role of the tegic and operational perspectives of SME brand
Simon M’zungu is lecturer in the Department of Marketing at Griffith University.

Bill Merrilees is professor of marketing in the Department of Marketing at Griffith University.
Dale Miller is senior lecturer in the Department of Marketing at Griffith University.
Address correspondence to: B. Merrilees, Department of Marketing, Griffith University, Gold Coast
Campus, QLD 4222, Australia. E-mail: bill.merrilees@griffith.edu.au.
M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 1

management. This study seeks to close this Brand-building efforts have a positive effect
knowledge gap. on the sales performance of SMEs (Agostini,
Taking a holistic perspective can enhance Filippini, and Nosella 2015). Although SME
our understanding of SME brand management. branding is considered an important strategic
Specifically, the typology, which emerged from entrepreneurial strategy to foster innovativeness
our case study research, has reflected the strate- and demand for products, it is relatively simple
gic positioning aspect and operative implemen- compared to branding in large organizations
tation aspect of SME corporate branding. This (Abimbola 2001). SME branding simplicity is
structured knowledge can improve the corpo- attributed to limited financial resources to
rate brand management competency of SME undertake relevant market research (Merrilees
managers, to develop and safeguard brand 2007). SME branding is often limited to visual
equity in the long term (M’zungu, Merrilees, and identity elements and simple marketing meth-
Miller 2010), and enhance the economic contri- ods (Inskip 2004; Ojasalo, Natti, and Olkkonen
bution of the SME sector. 2008; Rode and Vallaster 2005). Internal and
The research question for this study is: How external SME brand-building processes are pur-
is the SME brand managed from both strategic sued simultaneously (Abimbola and Kocak
and operational perspectives? The study contrib- 2007), unlike in large organizations where they
utes a new typology that extends SME brand can be treated separately (Urde 2003). Research
management knowledge. Two dimensions struc- suggests that the sophistication of SME branding
could be improved by adopting brand orienta-
ture the typology, representing strategic and
tion (Wong and Merrilees 2005), placing impor-
operational perspectives, respectively, namely
tance on employee-SME culture fit and
primary strategic orientation (either internal or
communicating the essence of the brand to
external) and brand management capability
stakeholders (Rode and Vallaster 2005). When
(either strong or weak). Four SME brand man-
implemented together, market orientation and
agement types emerge from data analysis. The brand orientation, improve the performance of
findings have practical implications for SME SMEs (Laukkanen et al. 2015; Reijonen et al.
owner–managers, who can use them to make 2012). Some research suggests that low-
better-informed brand management decisions to performing SMEs employ simplistic branding,
develop and sustain SME brand equity. while high-performing ones utilize relatively
A review of the SME branding literature to sophisticated branding, similar to that found in
canvass the salient themes within the domain large firms (Berthon, Ewing, and Napoli 2008).
leads the paper. This review shows a domain in Founders play a central role in SME brand-
an emergent phase, where a sound theoretical ing. They imbue their firms with their vision,
framework for investigating both strategic and espoused values and passion, which influence
operational perspectives of SME brand manage- the strategy formulation, corporate culture and
ment is still missing. Therefore, developing the structure (Boyle 2003; Krake 2005; Merrilees
conceptual framework for this study is the next 2007). The innovative personality of the founder
task. A multiple case study research design can be leveraged to build the SME brand, such
adopted is then outlined, followed by the pre- as Dyson Appliances using the personality of its
sentation of the research findings and their dis- founder to position as a highly innovative brand
cussion. Theoretical contributions and (Boyle 2003). Founders start their firms in
managerial implications are discussed in the industries where they have previous experience
concluding sections of the paper. and use small management teams for support
(Inskip 2004; Spence and Essoussi 2010). The
pursuit of growth is calibrated to the internal
SME Branding Literature capabilities of the enterprise, so that the integ-
Review rity of the SME market positioning, brand
There is consensus among SME branding image, and reputation is not compromised
researchers that the field is under-researched. (Spence and Essoussi 2010).
Table 1 depicts the emerging research in the Several SME branding typologies are cur-
field in chronological order, to show its evolu- rently available (Krake 2005; Wong and Merri-
tion. The review highlights SME brand building lees 2005). The Wong and Merrilees (2005)
approach, role of the founder and discusses the typology is based on brand orientation, brand
current SME branding typologies. distinctiveness, brand barriers, and level of
2 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1
SME Branding Literature
Author Research Context
Abimbola (2001) SME brand building conceptual guidelines

Boyle (2003) A single case study of entrepreneurial brand building in Dyson Appli-
ances, a U.K. manufacturer
Inskip (2004) A multiple case study of corporate branding in 15 U.K. B2B SME cases
of unspecified type
Wong and A multiple case study of brand orientation in eight Australian SMEs in
Merrilees (2005) service industry
Rode and A multiple case study of corporate branding in eight SME entrepre-
Vallaster (2005) neurial start-ups in Germany
Krake (2005) A multiple case study of brand management in 10 medium-sized con-
sumer goods manufacturers in the Netherlands
Mowle and A multiple case study of functional and symbolic perspectives of
Merrilees (2005) branding in eight Australian SME wineries
Merrilees (2007) Brand-led SME new venture development model
Abimbola and A multiple case study of strategic brand management in 10 entrepre-
Kocak (2007) neurial SMEs in the United Kingdom
Ojasalo, Natti, and A multiple case study of brand building in 20 software SMEs
Olkkonen (2008)
Berthon, Ewing, and A survey of 263 New Zealand-based B2C SMEs to study SME brand
Napoli (2008) management
Horan, O’Dwyer, and A case study of five SMEs in Ireland to explore management perspec-
Tiernan (2011) tives of branding in service SMEs
Juntunen (2012) A multiple case study of three B2B software start-up companies
Reijonen et al. (2012) A quantitative study investigating how growing SMEs differ in terms
of market orientation and brand orientation
Centeno, Hart, and A multiple case study investigating brand-building in 30 SMEs across
Dinnie (2013) several unspecified sectors
Hirvonen and A quantitative study investigating brand orientation in small firms
Laukkanen (2014)
Agostini, Filippini, and A quantitative study investigating the association between brand build-
Nosella (2015) ing efforts and SME sales performance
Laukkanen et al. (2015) A quantitative study investigating whether market orientation pays off
without brand orientation in entrepreneurial small businesses
marketing. It consists of three SME branding SME branding sophistication, is considered the
archetypes, namely the minimalist, embryonic, least common.
and integrated. The minimalist branding The Krake (2005) typology has two dimen-
approach exhibits very low level of brand orien- sions, namely the role of brand management
tation, limited brand distinctiveness, high brand (either small or large) and the level of brand rec-
barriers, and low-key marketing. The embryonic ognition in the market (either low or high) con-
approach shows much more marketing and sisting. It has four types: (1) beginning and
business expertise than the minimalist type but underprivileged brands (small role of brand
exhibits limited understanding of branding and management and low brand recognition), (2)
marketing. Wong and Merrilees (2005) consider emerging brands (large role of brand manage-
the embryonic branding approach the de facto ment and low brand recognition), (3) accepted
SME branding strategy. The integrated branding brands large role of brand management and
approach, which shows the highest level of high brand recognition), and (4) historic brands

Figure 1
The Conceptual SME Brand Management Framework
(1a) (3a) Internal

Outside-In Brand
Strategic Communication
Input
(1) (2b)
Corporate (2a) Brand Brand (3b) Brand
Strategy Orientation Promise Enabling
(1b)
Inside-out (3c)
Strategic Consistent
Input Brand
Delivery
Stage (5) Environmental Stage (4) Assess

Feedback Performance
(small role of brand management but high and Strauss 1967), case study research, con-
brand recognition). The third type represents versely, can employ a theoretical framework
the highest level of sophistication in Krake’s and a case study protocol with questions that
(2005) typology. serve as reminders regarding information that
Both the Wong and Merrilees (2005) and the needs to be collected and the reasons for collect-
Krake (2005) typologies are deliberately strate- ing it (Yin 2009). Thus, the purpose of the theo-
gic. However, the focus was not intended to retical framework is not to preempt the
include the operational perspective. emergent theory of SME brand management.
This study draws on the corporate strategy
Gap in the SME Branding and corporate brand management literatures,
and synthesizes them into a unified framework
Literature of brand management, which includes both stra-
The SME branding literature offers some rele-
tegic and operational perspectives. The frame-
vant contributions. However, knowledge of how
work, depicted in Figure 1, links corporate
the SME brand is managed from both strategic
strategy and operations/internal brand manage-
and operational perspectives is missing. Such
ment via an interface stage and consists of five
knowledge could enrich the field and provide
stages. The stages are (1) corporate strategic
SME managers with some guidance to improve
front end; (2) corporate strategy-operations
their brand management competency, to create
interface; (3) operations/internal brand manage-
and safeguard SME brand equity. To close this
ment comprising: (a) internal brand communica-
gap, the study seeks to answer the research
tion, (b) brand enabling, and (c) consistent
question: How is the SME brand managed from
brand delivery; (4) performance assessment;
both strategic and operational perspectives?
and (5) environmental feedback. The rationale
for including each stage is discussed, beginning
Conceptual Framework with the corporate strategy, the front end of the
Prior to our study, there was no existing SME corporate brand management process.
brand management framework that could be
employed to guide data collection and prelimi- Stage 1: Corporate Strategy
nary data analysis. Unlike pure grounded theory This stage is necessary for understanding the
which requires the theory to emerge from the strategic orientation of the SME brand. Levitt
data with no prior conceptualization (Glaser (1960) cautions against marketing myopia, which

ignores the changing dynamics of the marketing the content of the corporate brand promise are
environment while Gummesson (1998) warns of included to reveal the role the SME brand plays
another danger, that is, uncritically reacting to in the execution of the SME corporate strategy.
the needs and wants of customers. Thus to avoid
these concerns, arguably an effective corporate Stage 3: Operations/Internal Brand
strategy should incorporate both inside-out/inter- Management
nal and outside-in/external perspectives. This stage refers to the implementation of the
Incorporating the inside-out perspective corporate strategy to deliver the brand promise.
ensures that the firm places strategic importance It consists of three internal brand management
on the capabilities needed to exploit the opportu- processes, namely internal brand communica-
nities in the market place. This perspective is tion, brand enabling, and consistent brand deliv-
informed by strategic management literature on ery, which are integrated into a coherent system
resource-based view (RBV), competence, dynamic rather than implemented discretely.
capabilities, and organizational learning (Barney
1991, 2001; Eisenhardt and Martin 2000; (a) Internal brand communication. This pro-
Mahoney 1995; Prahalad and Hamel 1990; Teece cess informs employees of the purpose, val-
2007) and corporate branding literature con- ues, and promise of the corporate brand
cerned with corporate identity-building (Balmer (Harris and de Chernatony 2001), to facili-
2001; de Chernatony 2001; Urde 2003). The inter- tate their intellectual and emotional buy-in
nal perspective places strategic importance on (Thomson et al. 1999) and commitment to
employees, fostering the firm with a brand- the corporate brand (Burmann and Zeplin
supportive corporate culture (de Chernatony 2005). Internal brand communication is an
1999; de Chernatony, Drury, and Segal-Horn essential component of successful internal
2003; Hatch and Schultz 2001; Ind 2003), instil- brand building to deliver the brand promise
ling appropriate values (Urde 2003), through (Chong and Chian 2007; Punjaisri and
transformational leadership (Morhart, Herzog, Wilson 2007) and bridging the gap between
and Tomczak 2009; Vallaster and de Chernatony management’s corporate brand vision and
2005) and developing branding capabilities (de the lived corporate culture (Hatch and
Chernatony, Drury, and Segal-Horn 2003). Incor- Schultz 2001). Committed employees live
porating the outside-in perspective ensures that the brand values in their interactions with
the voices of the customer and other external customers and other external stakeholders
stakeholders inform the corporate strategy. This (de Chernatony 2002; de Chernatony and
perspective is informed by market orientation, Cottam 2006).
viewed as customer and competitor orientations (b) Brand enabling. This process is included to
(Deshpande, Farley, and Webster 1993; Hult, prepare the organization to deliver the brand
Ketchen, and Slater 2005) and by stakeholder ori- promise. It involves having senior manage-
entation (Balmer and Greyser 2006; van Riel and ment that fosters a brand-supportive corpo-
Fombrun 2007). rate culture, organizational structure and
provides systems and operational proce-
Stage 2: Corporate Strategy-Operations dures to deliver the brand (de Chernatony
Interface and Segal-Horn 2001; Vallaster and de Cher-
The interface stage is included in the frame- natony 2005, 2006). Also involved is imple-
work to link corporate strategy and operations/ menting brand-centered human resource
implementation. The interface consists of brand management, to recruit employees who buy
orientation and brand promise, which serve as into corporate brand values (Burmann and
the platform for business activities (Balmer Zeplin 2005; Burmann, Zeplin, and Riley
2013; Urde 1999) and strategy execution (Wong 2009), training them to deliver the brand
and Merrilees 2007). Corporate brand orienta- promise (King and Grace 2008; Punjaisri and
tion treats the corporate brand as the platform Wilson 2007, 2011; Roper and Davies 2010)
to inform and guide the execution of the firm’s and having proper incentives to maintain
activities (Balmer 2013) and the espoused cor- their on-brand behavior (Gulati 2007).
porate brand values are enshrined in the corpo- (c) Consistent brand delivery. Implicit in the
rate brand promise/covenant and underpin the branding literature are the suggestions that
firm’s core philosophy and culture (Balmer keeping promises facilitates strong relation-
2013). Thus, corporate brand orientation and ships with customers (Bitner 1995), enhances

brand credibility and trust (Delgado-Ballester management (Eisenhardt 1989). Cases were
and Munuera-Aleman 2005), and creates a selected from a large Eastern Australian city in
favorable reputation with stakeholders two stages. Both business-to-business (B2B) and
(Argenti and Druckenmiller 2004; Harris and business-to-consumer (B2C) cases were
de Chernatony 2001). Ensuring consistent included because our intention is to develop a
brand delivery requires metrics and proce- more generalizable typology, one that spans
dures to monitor brand delivery (Wirtz and both types of firms. Including both types of
Tomlin 2000), including the use of mystery firms facilitates the diversity of brand manage-
shoppers (Wilson 2001). ment experiences that we are seeking.
Ten high and average-performing B2B and
B2C SME firms were selected in the first stage to
Stage 4: Brand Performance Assessment achieve sufficient diversity (Yin 2009). High-per-
This stage is included to assess the corporate forming cases were selected to meet criteria
brand performance and provide management based on publicly available information, includ-
with feedback on the effectiveness of the corpo- ing (1) relatively high growth rate, (2) public
rate brand strategy execution. Delivering supe- recognition for superior performance, such as
rior value to customers and meeting other industry awards, and (3) business longevity,
stakeholders’ expectations leads to customer- which suggests sustained performance over a
based brand equity (Keller 1993, 2013), favor- long period of time. The first stage yielded ten
able corporate brand reputation across stake- cases, whose analysis revealed a tentative
holders (de Chernatony 1999), and ultimately emerging theory of SME brand management. In
positive financial outcomes for the organization the second stage, cases were incrementally
(Hooley et al. 2005). Assessing performance added, looking for new knowledge from each
employs market-based measures, such as cus- case. Theoretical saturation was achieved by the
tomer satisfaction, brand awareness, and brand addition of six more cases, which improved the
loyalty (Aaker 1992; Keller 1993), financial robustness of the emergent theory of SME brand
measures such as sales and profit (Kapferer management (Eisenhardt and Graebner 2007).
2008) or a combination of market-based and
financial measures (Feldwick 1996; Noor, Styles, Data Collection
and Cowley 2011). An in-depth qualitative interview with SME
owner/managers was the primary data collection
Stage 5: Gathering Environmental method used to gather their SME brand manage-
Feedback ment practices. The semi-structured interview
Gathering internal and external stakeholder protocol was designed to probe how the five
feedback informs corporate strategy revisions to stages of the conceptual framework played out
ensure that the brand stays relevant (Hoeffler and in practice, in order to understand how the SME
Keller 2002). Monitoring the brand for relevance brand is managed from both strategic and
is one of the important conventions of corporate operational perspectives. The interview protocol
branding (Knox and Bickerton 2003). Feedback facilitated data collection to answer the following
can be gathered through formal means such as subsidiary questions: (1) What is the primary
brand audits, involving customer, employees, and brand positioning strategic focus of the SME? (2)
other stakeholder surveys, and informally through How is the strategy interfaced with the opera-
on-the-job manager-employee interactions. tions/internal brand implementation? (3) How
are operations/internal brand implementation
Research Methodology processes managed? (4) How is the performance
A qualitative, multi-case study research of the SME brand assessed? (5) How is internal
design, with the SME firm as the unit of analysis and external feedback gathered? The conceptual
(Yin 2009) is suitable for an under-researched framework was not disclosed to the participants
area aiming to generate a new theory (Eisenhardt in order to reduce self-reporting bias and impres-
and Graebner 2007). sion management (Eisenhardt and Graebner
2007). During the interview, the researcher
Case Selection actively looked for major and minor surprises
SME cases, with sufficient variation and rich- from each case. The interviews were audio-
ness of information, were purposefully selected recorded, transcribed verbatim, and checked for
to facilitate theory-building of SME brand accuracy prior to analyzing them. Secondary data

Table 2
Summary of the Case Profiles
Years in Number of Interview

Case Business Employees Participant SME Size
B2C
Beauty Salon 15 140 Co-owner–manager Medium
Restaurant 22 90 Co-owner–manager Medium
Sports Health Provider 4 20 Marketing manager Medium
Prestige Jeweler 17 30 Marketing manager Medium
Coffee Retailer 4 16 Operations manager Small
Golf Ball Retailer 2.5 5 Owner–manager Small
Tuition and Resume Company 2 10 Owner–manager Small
B2B
Traffic Engineering Consultancy 6 35 Co-owner Director Medium
Vocational Education Provider 4 90 Director Medium
Vegetation Management Consultancy 24 125 Marketing manager Medium
Environmental Consultancy 17 50 Owner–manager Medium
Outdoor Education 2.5 60–70 Marketing manager Medium
Trade Exchange Facilitator 21 80 Co-owner–manager Medium
Swimwear Manufacturer 26 8 Owner–manager Small
Training Company 0.5 101 Co-owner–manager Small
Sustainable Events Consultancy 3 21 Co-owner–manager Small
collection methods included internal and publicly computer software, to bring the researcher
available SME documents, SME websites, and closer to the data (Gummesson 2000).
direct observation, where permissible.
Table 2 shows a summary profile of the six- Criteria for Judging Quality of Research
teen cases selected for this study. A review of several approaches to judge
the quality of qualitative research (Lincoln
Data Analysis and Guba 1985; Maxwell 1992; Patton 2002)
Data analysis used within-case and cross- led to the choice of four criteria: descriptive
case pattern matching approach (Yin 2009). validity, interpretive validity, theoretical valid-
Within-case analysis identified categories of ity, and generalizability (Maxwell 1992). First,
SME brand management practices within each checking the accuracy of interview transcripts
case and at each stage of the conceptual against the actual audio recordings prior to
model, akin to open coding (Strauss and Cor- data analysis minimized the threats to descrip-
bin 1998). Cross-case analysis involved search- tive validity. Second, threats to interpretive
ing for patterns of similar and contrasting validity were minimized by not informing the
meaning across the cases (Eisenhardt and respondents about the conceptual framework
Graebner 2007). Iterations from within-case underpinning the interview protocol in order
analysis to cross-case analysis were employed to reduce self-reporting bias due to impres-
to verify and contrast the emerging findings sion management (Eisenhardt and Graebner
pertaining to the SME brand management 2007). Third, minimizing the threats to the
types. A case database was used (Yin 2009), first two criteria enhances theoretical validity
comprising an electronic and a manual file of the emergent theory. Fourth, the threat to
management system, containing interview theoretical generalizability of the emergent
transcripts, documents, research notes, tabular theory was minimized through purposeful
displays of initial and refined analysis of data. sampling and use of the convergent interview
Data was coded manually, rather than through technique.

Figure 2
Typology of SME Brand Management
Primary Brand Positioning Focus
Internal External
Strong
Implementation Capacity
Operational /Brand
SME brand SME brand
identity-driven image-driven
Weak
Operations-driven Opportunistic
Research Findings shows a perfunctory role of the SME brand, evi-

The emergent typology consists of four SME denced by weak brand-orientation and lack of
brand management types namely: (1) the SME comprehensive internal brand implementation
brand identity-driven type—primary internal processes.
brand positioning focus and strong brand imple- The four types are discussed in turn, begin-
mentation capacity; (2) the SME brand image- ning with the SME brand identity-driven type.
driven type—primary external brand position-
SME Brand Identity-Driven
ing focus and strong brand implementation
This branding type has a primary internal
capacity; (3) the operations-driven type—pri-
positioning focus, which places emphasis on
mary internal brand strategic positioning and
building an SME brand identity, with strong
weak brand implementation capacity; and (4)
the opportunistic type—primary external brand internal capabilities to deliver customized solu-
positioning focus and weak brand implementa- tions to customers. The owner–managers articu-
tion capacity. The first two are relatively strong late the mission, vision, and core values of the
SME brand management types, while the last corporate brand identity, to set the direction for
two are relatively weak. Figure 2 is a two-by- the development of the SME brand, as illustrated
two matrix representation of the findings. by Environmental Consultancy, “We have got
Overall, data analysis produces a typology of our mission, vision, and values, and are always
SME brand management that is based on two working toward achieving that vision.” The
dimensions, namely the primary brand position- internal strategic focus is facilitated through the
ing focus and brand implementation capacity. strategic importance placed on human capital,
The first dimension, primary brand positioning innovativeness, and fostering a collaborative cor-
focus of SME, is either internal or external. An porate culture. Human capital is of strategic
internal primary brand positioning focus places importance because the internal capabilities of
emphasis on internal business capabilities to the SME are developed collegially among profes-
deliver the brand promise to customers. An exter- sional staff, such as engineers in Traffic Engineer-
nal primary brand positioning focus places ing Consultancy, and scientists in Environmental
emphasis on satisfying the needs of customers. Consultancy and Vegetation Management
The second dimension, brand implementation Consultancy.
capacity, represents operational capability, and is Brand promises consist of a combination of
either strong or weak. Strong operational/brand functional values (e.g., “quality delivered on
implementation capacity places importance on time and on budget” in Environmental Consul-
the SME brand as the platform for all SME activ- tancy) and relationship-building values (e.g.,
ities and implements comprehensive internal “honesty, integrity, and trust” in Traffic Engi-
brand management processes. Conversely, weak neering Consultancy). Relatively strong brand
operational/brand implementation capacity orientation and a brand promise with clear

values form a strong interface between the cor- based metrics is illustrated by Traffic Engineer-
porate strategy and internal brand management ing Consultancy:
processes.
By seeking brand orientation, owner–manag- One of the measures of success is return-
ers develop strong brand implementation ing clients, because that means they’re
capacity to manage the internal brand imple- happy with our work. The other is our
mentation processes comprehensively. Internal competitive tender success rate of 60 per-
brand communication, brand enabling and con- cent, which is better than 10 percent by
sistent brand delivery processes receive careful most of the large companies we compete
attention. Brand enabling entails preparing the against.
SME to deliver the brand promise and receives
the top priority of owner–managers. It is facili- External feedback is gathered informally
tated by committed owner–managers who prac- through the networking activities of owner–
tice visible, consultative, and transformational managers, as well as implicitly through metrics,
leadership, to foster a collaborative corporate such as the tender success rate in consultancy
culture and motivate employees to buy-in to the brands and customer repeat patronage of the
brand values (Morhart, Herzog, and Tomczak band. Internal feedback is mainly sought infor-
2009). Targeted recruitment and selection proc- mally at team meetings or through on-the-job
esses are used to attract employees with congru- interaction between managers and employees.
ent values to the SME brand identity. Relatively However, internal feedback in some cases is
high investment is made toward ongoing gathered formally through regular employee
employee development, to enhance their techni- surveys and suggestion schemes, such as in Veg-
cal and inter-personal skills to deliver the brand etation Management Consultancy and Environ-
promise. Brand delivery standards, procedures, mental Consultancy.
control systems, and support systems are imple-
mented. Quality assurance systems, which are SME Brand Image-Driven Type
mandatory in International Standards Organiza- In this type, the primary brand positioning
tion (ISO)-certified SMEs, such as Traffic Engi- focus is external, to create a strong brand image
neering Consultancy, Vegetation Management with customers, demonstrated by the owner–
Consultancy, and Environmental Consultancy, manager of Restaurant, who explains,
are also part of brand enabling.
Although brand enabling is the top priority This business is about making an
of owner–managers, internal brand communica- impression with customers, the first
tion and ensuring consistent brand delivery impression—the way you meet them at
processes are not neglected. Internal brand com- the door, the way they’re treated. . . We
munication is used to inform employees about want our image to be a good family
the SME brand vision, mission, and core values, wholesome restaurant. That’s the way
to ensure that they understand the brand prom- we want to maintain it.
ise to deliver. The brand is often codified in
employee handbooks, such as in Vegetation Besides customers, the importance of other
Management Consultancy and Environmental stakeholders such as suppliers and the commu-
Consultancy and on the websites of the SMEs. nity is recognized. Since employees are the criti-
To ensure consistent brand delivery, formal and cal interface between the SME brand and
informal monitoring methods are used. Formal customers, their intellectual and emotional buy-
methods include internal and external audits, in is critical to achieving the desired brand
monitoring documentation of work output such image with customers (Thomson et al. 1999).
as consultancy reports and performance Thus, owner–managers foster a customer-
appraisal systems. Informal methods include oriented corporate culture (Narver and Slater
supervision by line managers. 1990), in which the employee-SME brand fit is
The performance of the SME brand is sought, as the owner–manager of Beauty Salon
assessed through a combination of financial explains:
(revenue and profit) and relevant nonfinancial
market-based criteria such as tender success Our culture is not for everybody but we
rate, customer acquisition, customer satisfaction, would like the people that stay on our
and professional awards. The use of market- bus to do things the same way.

The pursuit of growth opportunities is cali- methods is used. Formal monitoring methods
brated against internal capabilities, to avoid include weekly management visits, performance
tarnishing the SME brand image. The owner– appraisals, and mystery shoppers, such as by
manager of Beauty Salon, which owns 16 sal- Beauty Salon and informal monitoring methods
ons, explains the cautious approach to adopting include on-the-job supervision by line managers,
franchising as a growth strategy as follows: such as by Restaurant and Outdoor Education.
Although receiving less emphasis, brand ena-
We don’t want to go in a cowboy way of bling is implemented, which involves targeted
opening up sites wherever we can and recruitment and selection processes, to get the
then failing. We want to make sure that in right employees on the corporate bus (Collins
the event that we franchise that all our 2001), comprehensive staged training, to equip
franchisees succeed, so that we are a very employees with the competencies to deliver the
strong brand to buy into. brand, and targeted incentives, to reinforce
employees’ on-brand behavior. Incentives
Fostering a market-oriented corporate cul- include bonuses for employees who achieve
ture/brand identity implicitly shows a relatively high customer satisfaction ratings in Beauty
high brand orientation, which together with the Salon and share ownership to reward long serv-
brand promise consists of a combination of ice in Restaurant.
functional (e.g., quality and price) and emo- The performance of the SME brand is assessed
tional values (e.g., pampering in Beauty Salon) through a combination of financial and nonfinan-
provides a relatively strong interface between cial market-based criteria. Financial criteria
the corporate strategy and internal brand man- include sales and profit, while the nonfinancial
agement. Market communications are employed ones include customer satisfaction, customer
extensively, including advertising (Beauty Salon retention and capacity utilization, such as of sal-
and Restaurant), sponsorship of local sports ons in Beauty Salon, restaurants in Restaurant
clubs (Restaurant) and promotional brochures and training camps in Outdoor Education.
(Outdoor Education), where the brand promise Internal and external feedback is gathered
values are explicit in the communication mes- formally and informally. Formal internal feed-
sages, illustrate by the radio jingle of Beauty back is sought through management-staff meet-
Salon: ings, such as in Beauty Salon and Restaurant
and informal feedback through on-the-job inter-
It is not about us, it’s all about you. You actions between employees and line managers.
deserve this, you deserve a little bit of Formal and informal methods are also used to
indulgence, you deserve a bit of pamper- gather external. Formal means include deploy-
ing because you’re worth it. ing mystery shoppers by Beauty Salon and
requesting feedback after each training program
Placing importance on fostering a customer- from school teachers, students, and parents by
oriented corporate brand identity/culture pro- Outdoor Education. Customer complaints are
vides owner–managers with the impetus to also encouraged and treated as feedback by
develop strong brand implementation capacity, Beauty Salon and Restaurant. Informal conver-
to manage the brand implementation processes sations with customers are used to gather exter-
comprehensively. Of the three processes, top nal feedback, such as by the owner–manager of
priority is on internal brand communication and Restaurant who actively engages restaurant
consistent brand delivery. Internal brand com- patrons to assess their satisfaction with the din-
munication is used to ensure employees under- ing experience.
stand the brand promise, the behavioral norms
of the corporate culture and the brand delivery Operations-Driven Type
standards. Formal and informal communication Although the primary brand positioning
methods are used. Formal methods include focus is internal, it is best viewed as tactical or
employee handbooks, operations manuals, and operational, where emphasis of owner–manag-
monthly team meetings, for example, by Beauty ers is on managing the day-to-day operations, to
Salon. Informal communication is through face- provide customers with quality products.
to-face interactions between line managers and Although there is an obsession with providing
employees. To ensure consistent brand delivery, customers with quality products, customer-
a range of formal and informal monitoring orientation is nevertheless relatively low, since

products are as conceived by owner–managers, Opportunistic Type
on a take-it or leave-it basis, without customer This type has a primary external brand posi-
feedback. Little strategic importance is placed tioning focus: to exploit perceived market
on employees, except when their skills are in opportunities quickly. Paradoxically, although
short supply, such as machinists in Swimwear the primary brand positioning focus is external,
Manufacturer. market orientation is limited, with little effort
The role of the SME brand is perfunctory and expended to fully understand customer needs.
its view limited to visual elements, such as The view of SME brand is limited to visual ele-
name and logo, and little effort is expended to ments including logo and website. Owner–man-
formulate the brand values. The brand promise agers omit to formulate clear brand values and
comprises somewhat generic functional to foster a customer-oriented corporate culture
product-based values and aspirational emotional that would facilitate a strong brand image.
values (e.g., “A quality product, made of quality The brand promise also consists of generic
fabric and priced fairly, in which you look really relationship-building values such as trust and
good” in Swimwear Manufacturer and “Fun, honesty, illustrated by the owner–manager of
fast service and quality coffee” in Coffee Training Company, who explains, “Our brand
Retailer). Due to weak brand orientation, promise is really—responsive customised train-
owner–managers lack the impetus to develop ing, trustworthy and honest.” The perfunctory
strong brand management capability. role of SME brand and weakly articulated brand
Internal brand implementation processes promise show that owner–managers place very
receive less sufficient attention. Ensuring con- little importance on developing strong brand
sistent brand delivery is the top priority of management capabilities.
owner–managers, with less emphasis on internal Brand implementation emphasizes brand deliv-
brand communication and brand enabling. Con-
ery to exploit market opportunities quickly, often
sistent brand delivery is enforced through strict
through the expertise of independent external
monitoring of employees, to ensure they deliver
partners, for example, in both the Training Com-
the product of the desired quality. Owner–man-
pany and Tuition & Resume Company. These
agers exhibit a transactional leadership style,
independent “experts” are neither informed about
which rewards employees who adhere to the
the SME brand values nor trained to deliver the
brand delivery norms and reprimand those that
brand. Minimal monitoring of brand delivery is
deviate from them (Morhart, Herzog, and Tomc-
zak 2009). Weak brand enabling is evidenced done through simple methods, such as the owner–
by opportunistic recruitment and selection manager of Tuition and Resume Company perus-
methods, such as hiring friends of current ing resumes before sending them to customers. In
employees, limited face-to-face training, and ISO-certified Sustainable Events Consultancy and
simple operational standards, which are com- government-regulated Training Company, inter-
municated face-to-face on-the-job, such as in nal and external audits are mandated and are also
Swimwear Manufacturer. Wages and simple ad used as the de facto means of monitoring brand
hoc incentives are used to reward employees delivery. Passive leadership style prevails, where
who adhere to brand delivery norms, illustrated owner–managers are less hands-on and use con-
by the Swimwear Manufacturer owner– venient opportunistic recruitment and selection
manager, who explains: methods, such as in Tuition and Resume Com-
pany and Sustainable Events Consultancy.
We pay just above industry average. It’s Financial criteria, such as sales and profit
only a few cents above. We also pay a growth, are primarily used to assess perform-
bonus—a chance to make some extra ance. Nonfinancial criteria, when are less clearly
money for employees who do a great job. defined and seem to pertain to entrepreneurial
aspirations, such as achieving a specific training
The performance of the SME brand is network size in Training Company, hosting a
assessed using financial criteria, such as sales large but unspecified number of green events in
and profit. Internal and external feedback is Sustainable Events Consultancy, and achieving
gathered informally in this type, such as through a high but unspecified number of customer
face-to-face conversations or telephone calls to referrals in Tuition and Resume Company.
customers, such as by the owner–manager of Informal means are predominantly used to
Swimwear Manufacturer. obtain external and internal feedback. External

feedback is gathered through the network activ- considerable collaboration. Outside of the sam-
ities of the owner–managers, such as in Train- ple, we are aware of a men’s own-brand pre-
ing Company and Sustainable Events mium clothing store that uses a sophisticated
Consultancy. Internal feedback is gathered integrated network approach in building its
through informal conversations with employees brand identity: sourcing Italian-woven fabric
and brand delivery partners. and local tailoring to maintain a high-quality
Table 3 summarizes the findings for two of performance.
the four types, which have relatively strong SME SME brand image-driven is the second brand
brand management types. They are organization type in Table 5. Building a strong brand image
brand identity-driven and organization brand with customers is the mantra, which in turn
image-driven. requires a customer-oriented corporate culture
The other two relatively weak SME brand to understand and serve customers. Many B2C
management types, operations-driven and services industry firms that provide relatively
opportunistic, are summarized in Table 4. standardized products are typical. Certain B2B
SMEs offering emotional and symbolic values
Discussion are also relevant. In general, any SME adopting
The discussion is divided into three parts. the brand image-driven type should recognize
First, we discuss using the typology to guide the benefits of developing a strong profile in the
SME strategy and implementation. Second, we market and perhaps be, or aspire to be, a mar-
articulate why selected case research SMEs ket niche leader.
adopt particular brand management types. As per the first type, recognizing the strategic
Third, the discussion also examines the notion value of the brand image type is of itself, insuffi-
of SMEs transitioning from one type to another, cient. Additionally, it is necessary to adopt suita-
and why and how they might do so. ble strategy implementation. The brand identity
type is quite demanding because of the need to
Using the Typology to Guide SME stay in touch with customer needs and to keep
Strategy and Implementation the brand image strong and fresh. Externally,
The power of the new classificatory model is communication is important. Internally, commu-
that firms can leverage it as an analytical tool to nication and training are moderately important,
guide their strategy and implementation. Table though less so than for the brand identity-driven
5 illustrates such a process. Table 5 starts with type. Brand delivery becomes the main focus of,
arguably the most complex SME brand-type, the and investment in, strategy implementation. For
SME brand identity-driven type. A sophisticated example, the beauty salon case study was
and comprehensive internal-driven approach obsessed with employees maintaining a particu-
drives strategy. Internal capabilities are critical lar customer experience and was very demand-
to achieve brand reputation and emphasize ing on quality control through monitoring the
employees as strategic resources. The brand service delivery.
type is very suitable and relevant for B2B pro- SME operations-driven is the third brand
fessional services, such as consultancies. How- type in Table 5. The emphasis is on short-term
ever, B2C firms servicing luxury segments are operations to deliver quality products to custom-
also relevant. In general, any SME adopting the ers. Examples outside of the sample are SME
brand identity-driven type should recognize the suppliers of parts and supplies to large mining
benefits of developing and managing the syn- companies. The mining companies want X serv-
ergy of resources within the firm. ice delivered per contract specification and on
Recognizing the strategic value of the brand time. The SME brand is not a major considera-
identity type is of itself, insufficient. Addition- tion of daily operations for either party. Similar
ally, it is necessary to adopt suitable strategy considerations apply to other industries. B2C
implementation. The brand identity type is par- SMEs such as coffee shops, small retailers, and
ticularly demanding because of the premium health providers adopt a similar strategy. In gen-
placed on the synergy of resources. There needs eral, any SME adopting the operations-driven
to be considerable investment in communication type should recognize the benefits of being effi-
and training in particular as part of a compre- cient and effective in delivering quality products
hensive approach through communication, and services. Branding matters play a relatively
training, and delivery. There is a need for minor explicit role.

Table 3
Summary of Findings: Relatively Strong SME Brand Management
Types
SME Brand SME Brand

Identity-Driven Type Image-Driven Type
Corporate Strategy Primary internal strategic focus Primary external strategic focus
(brand identity) (brand image)
Focus is on developing strong Focus on developing strong SME

SME brand identity to achieve brand image with customers
strong brand reputation Strategic importance placed on
Strategic importance placed on fostering customer-oriented cor-
human capital, innovativeness, and porate culture
collaborative corporate culture
Strategy-Implementation Strong strategy-operations Strong strategy-operations
Interface interface interface
Strong role of brand orientation Strong role of brand orientation

Brand promise comprises func- Brand promise consisting of
tional and relationship-building high content of emotional/sym-
values bolic values, often explicit in
marketing communications
Operations/Internal Strong internal brand Strong internal brand
Brand Management management capability management capability
(a) Brand enabling (a) Internal brand communication
Transformational leadership Employees informed about val-

Targeted recruitment and ues of customer-oriented corpo-
selection rate culture
Technical and brand training Brand often codified in
provided employee handbooks
Quality assurance systems estab- Regular management-employee
lished in ISO-certified and gov- meetings held
ernment regulated SMEs
(b) Ensuring consistent brand
(b) Internal brand communication delivery
Employees informed about core Formal (e.g., mystery shoppers,

brand values performance appraisals) and
Brand often codified in informal (e.g., line supervision)
employee handbooks
(c) Brand enabling
Bottom-up communication
encouraged
Hands-on leadership style
(c) Ensuring consistent brand Targeted recruitment and
delivery selection to ensure employee-
SME culture fit
Formal (e.g., internal and exter- Both technical and brand train-
nal audits) and informal (e.g., ing provided
on-the-job supervision) brand Incentives used to reinforce
delivery monitoring employee on-brand behavior

Table 3
Continued
SME Brand SME Brand
Identity-Driven Type Image-Driven Type
Performance Combination of financial (e.g., Combination of financial (e.g.,

Assessment sales and profit) and nonfinan- sales and profit) and nonfinan-
cial (e.g., customer acquisition cial (e.g., customer satisfaction)
and retention rates, customer sat- methods used
isfaction) methods used
Feedback Combination of formal and infor- Combination of formal and infor-
Gathering mal methods used to gather mal methods used to gather
internal and external feedback internal and external feedback
Assigned Cases Vegetation Management Consul- Beauty Salon (B2C)
tancy (B2B) Restaurant (B2C)
Vocational Education (B2B) Outdoor Education (B2B)
Trade Exchange Facilitator (B2B)
Environmental Consultancy
(B2B)
Traffic Engineering Consultancy
(B2B)
Prestige Jeweler (B2C)
As per the first two types, recognizing the failure rate of start-ups can be reduced if their
strategic value of the operations-driven brand prelaunch business-model planning incorporates
type is of itself, insufficient. Additionally, it is greater branding capabilities (Merrilees 2007).
necessary to adopt suitable strategy implementa-
tion. Superficially, the operations-driven brand Articulating Why Selected Case Research
type may not seem too demanding. However, SMEs Adopt Particular Brand
there are still pressures to be consistent in what Management Types
is likely to be a relatively low profit margin busi- We re-examine the attraction of the case stud-
ness. Consistent delivery through monitoring is ies to a particular brand management type.
probably a key part of strategy implementation. Please note that this analysis is retrospective
SME opportunistic is the fourth and final third because the typology choice was not ascertained
brand type in Table 5. The emphasis is on quick at the time of the interviews. We choose just
exploitation and consequently there may be four of the cases to exemplify the suitability of
neglect of both brand image and brand identity. the selection of each brand management type to
Entrepreneurial start-ups, either B2B or B2C, are a particular case, in light of Table 5.
the typical examples. Tender-based SMEs are Traffic Engineering Consultancy exemplifies
also relevant, though these firms might also share the brand identity-driven type. The business
some of the operations-driven characteristics. logic as to why a brand identity-driven type
As per the first three types, recognizing the suits Traffic Engineering Consultancy reflects
strategic value of the opportunistic brand type is their complex, flexible, and sophisticated busi-
of itself, insufficient. Additionally, it is necessary ness model where the external brand and the
to adopt suitable strategy implementation. To an internal brand need to be carefully synchron-
extent, the opportunistic brand type may not ized. Engineers need to both create and reflect
seem too demanding. Indeed, this fourth brand the external brand. All aspects of brand capabil-
type seems to require fewer capabilities than ity, communication, enabling, and delivery,
the other three types. One consequence is of need to be harmonized and developed. In par-
course a higher failure rate of start-ups com- ticular, Traffic Engineering Consulting invests
pared to other SMEs. Our suggestion is that the in employee code books, training, and all forms

Table 4
Summary of Findings: Relatively Weak SME Brand Management
Types
Operations-Driven Type Opportunistic Type
Corporate Strategy Primary internal strategic focus Primary external strategic focus
Operational/tactical than stra- Focus on quick exploitation

tegic focus of perceived market
Focus is on day-to-day opera- opportunities
tions to deliver quality prod- Paradoxically weak market
ucts to customers orientation despite primary
Little strategic importance of external focus
employees
Strategy-Implementation Weak strategy-operations Weak strategy-operations
Interface interface interface
Perfunctory role of brand Perfunctory role of brand

orientation orientation
Brand promises consists Brand promise consists of
mainly of functional and generic relationship-building
aspirational emotional values values
Operations/Internal Task-driven internal brand Opportunity exploitation inter-
Brand Management management nal brand management
(a) Ensuring consistent brand (a) Brand delivery
delivery
Emphasis on exploiting mar-
Employee brand delivery ket opportunities using exter-
closely monitored by supervi- nal delivery partners, who are
sors to ensure adherence to considered experts
standards and SME rules Limited monitoring of brand
delivery by owner–managers,
(b) Brand enabling
although internal and exter-
nal audits done in ISO-
Transactional leadership style
certified and government
to reward on-brand behavior
regulated SMEs
and punish off-brand
behavior (b) Brand enabling
Less emphasis on ensuring
employee-brand fit in recruit- Passive and less hands-on
ment and selection leadership style
Limited training focusing on Opportunistic hiring of brand
technical brand delivery delivery partners
Relatively simplistic opera- Very little brand training
tional standards developed provided
Basic incentives used to rein-
(c) Internal brand
force employee on-brand
communication
behavior
(c) Internal brand Brand delivery partners
communication receive very little information

Table 4
Continued
Operations-Driven Type Opportunistic Type
Top-down and face-to-face about the core values of the

communication about task SME brand
performance Informal face-to-face commu-
nication about task perform-
ance employed
Performance Financial criteria (sales and Financial criteria (sales and
Assessment profits) mainly used to assess profits) are primarily used to
performance assess performance
Nonfinancial criteria related to
owner–managers’ aspirations
are also occasionally employed
Feedback Limited informal methods Limited informal methods are
Gathering used to gather internal and used to gather internal and
external feedback external feedback
Assigned Coffee Retailer (B2C) Training Company (B2B)
Cases Golf Ball Retailer (B2C) Sustainable Events Consul-
Sports Health Provider (B2C) tancy (B2B)
Swimwear Manufacturer Resume and Training Com-
(B2B) pany (B2C)
of enabling, to empower its engineers to live basic procedures. There is little scope or encour-
the brand, using some discretion where neces- agement of employer–customer interaction. The
sary to solve complex problems. operational aspects are mechanistic and so is
Beauty Salon exemplifies the brand image- the service. The basic format means that the two
driven type. The business logic as to why a outlets of Coffee Retailer can be managed with
brand image-driven type suits Beauty Salon minimal supervisory resources. There is a
reflects their purpose of a strong and well- single-minded focus on dollar revenue, with the
defined external brand supported by a match- consequential neglect of employee development
ing, much focused employee capability. Their or enhanced customer loyalty.
brand promise drives the enterprise, forcing an Training Company exemplifies the oppor-
obsession on satisfactorily delivering the brand tunistic brand management type. The business
promise to clients. Internally the delivery of the logic as to why an opportunistic type suits
promise is carefully monitored, with clear com- Training Company reflects their purpose of
munication of organizational goals and targets having a very flexible business model, nimble,
also important. The third element of the brand minimal resources, and rapid response to
implementation schema, brand enabling, is less opportunities. The brand identity has to be rea-
critical for Beauty Salon because there is limited sonably strong, to attract tenders and procuring
flexibility and discretion for staff to deviate from government agencies. Winning the tenders is
the explicit brand promise. often linked to low cost and reliable delivery.
Coffee Retailer exemplifies the operations- Costs are contained through using outsourcing
driven brand management type. The business to minimize labor overheads.
logic as to why an operations-driven type suits
Coffee Retailer reflects their apparent purpose Migrating From One Brand Type to
of a simple external brand based on a simple, Another
almost generic business model format for a cof- Third, we discuss consideration of SMEs
fee retailer. Everything is simple and low cost, migrating from one brand type to another.
with an overriding emphasis on operations and There may be many situations when the current

Table 5
Illustrative Application of the SME Brand Management Typology
Strategy and Implementation Typical Firms That

SME Brand Type Guidelines Suit the Type
SME Brand The primary brand positioning stra- 1. B2B professional services
Identity-Driven tegic aim is to develop a strong SMEs, such as consultancy
brand identity, with internal capa- firms.
bilities to deliver customized solu- 2. B2C firms servicing luxury cus-
tions and achieve positive SME tomer segments, and whose
brand reputation and brand brand identity is built on
equity. This type requires viewing unique internal capabilities,
employees as strategic resources. such as of the founder. Exam-
Adopting market orientation is the ples include high-end jewelry
secondary aim. and fashion SME brands, which
Strategy implementation is guided in later years can leverage their
by the brand promise. Enabling brand heritage.
the SME to deliver the brand
promise and communicating the
brand promise internally are the
main priorities. Second, and also
important, is to put in place poli-
cies, systems, and procedures to
ensure that the brand promise is
delivered consistently.
SME Brand The primary brand positioning strate- 1. B2C SMEs in the service indus-
Image-Driven gic aim is to develop a strong SME try that provide standardized
brand image with customers by products, such as quality restau-
adopting market orientation and rants, beauty salons, and
fostering a customer-oriented cor- wineries.
porate culture to understand and 2. B2B SMEs offering services
serve the needs of customers. The with emotional and symbolic
brand promise consists of mainly values.
emotional and symbolic values.
To implement internal brand com-
munication, to ensure that
employees understand the
customer-oriented values of the
SME and ensuring consistent
delivery of the brand promise to
customers are the main. Also ena-
ble the SME to deliver the brand,
such as through employee
training.
Operations-Driven The primary brand positioning stra- 1. B2B SME manufacturers, trade
tegic focus is on internal day-to- services, and component suppli-
day internal operations to deliver ers to large companies, such as
quality products to customers. in mining, oil, and gas, and car
Branding considered a distraction manufacturing industries. Deliv-
and therefore receives cursory ering quality product/service is
attention. more important than branding.

Table 5
Continued
Strategy and Implementation Typical Firms That
SME Brand Type Guidelines Suit the Type
Implementation places top priority 2. B2C SMEs focusing on day-to-

on ensuring consistent delivery day operations such coffee
through monitoring. Communicat- shops, butcheries, and health
ing the brand promise to employ- service providers, including
ees and enabling the SME to doctors and other therapists.
deliver the promise have less
priority.
Opportunistic The primary brand positioning stra- Both B2B and B2C SMEs seeking
tegic focus is on quick exploita- to exploit market opportunities
tion of market opportunities quickly, such as entrepreneurial
identified. Attention on develop- start-ups.
ing a strong brand identity and
customer orientation is limited.
Implementation uses opportunistic
hiring of third parties with the
expertise to deliver the brand,
who often receive very little train-
ing and communication about the
brand promise, and limited moni-
toring of their brand delivery.
brand type selection is optimal and no move is build up internal capabilities, which the brand
necessary. For example, the brand-identity- identity-driven approach does best, before fully
driven and the brand image-driven types are embracing the brand image-driven type.
fairly sophisticated and may well be optimal. In terms of change in context as a motivating
Even an operations-driven, B2B SME, providing force to migrate, such a force can happen to any
parts or services to large mining companies may SME at any time. For example, take our SME
well be an optimal choice with no need to example supplying parts or services to large
change. mining companies. If the mining boom ends, the
Two reasons invite change: if the existing same SME may have to switch their business to
selection is suboptimal or if the context/environ- another industry where there are different cus-
ment changes. In the first take, one might pre- tomer requirements. Thus the SME may have to
suppose that a suboptimal operations-driven switch from an operations-driven type to say a
SME might migrate to a brand-identity-driven brand identity-driven type if more customized
type because both have an internal orientation. and flexible solutions are required in the new
However, if it is, say, a local, single unit butcher market. Start-ups are a more obvious example,
who aspires to be a regional, niche leader with which may necessitate a switch from opportunis-
multiple outlets, then perhaps it makes sense to tic to some other brand type as the SME grows.
aspire to a brand image-driven type. That is, the The start-up should explore the nature of and
aim would be to become a high profile, high capability demands of the other three brand
image retailer with a strong niche presence in types to ascertain which type to migrate to.
the market. Having said that, we believe that the
route from an operations-driven to brand image- Theoretical Contributions
driven type should not be a direct one, but still This study makes three key theoretical contri-
via a mediating brand identity-driven step. We butions. First, the study contributes to the evolu-
advocate a two-step path because it is useful to tion of SME branding literature by confirming

previous findings and adding new knowledge Further, the discussion has provided much
to the domain through a new typology of SME practical guidance about selecting an appropri-
brand management. ate brand management type, and about how to
Second, by examining SME brand manage- consider migrating from one brand type to
ment from both strategic and operational per- another.
spectives, the study contributes to holistic and In conclusion, the paper recognizes myriad
process-based knowledge of SME brand man- possible strategic and operational paths for
agement. The findings show that the primary SMEs. To simplify and manage strategic choices,
brand positioning focus and the brand imple- the paper offers a typology, which integrates
mentation capacity of the SME owner–managers strategic and operational components.
determine the SME brand management type that
manifests. Limitations and
Third, the emergent typology, structured
along the two dimensions of primary brand
Suggestions for Future
positioning focus and brand implementation Research
capacity, contributes a more robust of SME Although the findings of this study provide
brand management typology than the previous useful insights into SME brand management,
SME branding typologies. While the two previ- some limitations and directions for future
ous typologies each found only one strong type research exist. The first limitation arises from
of SME brand management, the present study SME brand management knowledge gathered
reveals two strong types, namely the organiza- through managerial self-reports, which are
tion brand identity-driven and the corporate potentially influenced by impression manage-
brand image-driven. ment of the informants (Eisenhardt and Graebner
Overall, the present study contributed a new 2007). The second limitation results from contex-
and novel conceptual framework for investigat- tual issues, since all cases except one were in
ing SME brand management, which due to the service industries and all were located in a large
infancy of the SME branding domain was still regional city in South East Queensland, Australia.
missing. The third limitation pertains to the inability to
generalize the research findings to the popula-
tion of SMEs, as this was not the purpose of the
Practical Implications study.
The results of this research have important Future research directions can include multi-
implications for SME brand management, since case study research in other contexts. Quantita-
each type of the emergent typology implicates a tive designs could test the theory, enabling a
different managerial approach. For example, sharper delineation between B2C and B2B
owner–managers could develop a strong organi- firms. Longitudinal studies could track SME
zation brand identity-driven SME brand by brands from entrepreneurial start-up to their
choosing a primary internal brand positioning growth phase, to gain clearer understanding of
focus, seek brand orientation and develop com- the brand management practices as the SME
prehensive brand implementation, which places evolves. A longitudinal study could possibly
top priority on brand enabling without ignoring shed light on the vexing question of whether
internal brand communication. To this end, stra- the opportunistic type found in this study is a
tegic importance should be placed on human type in transition.
capital and innovativeness. In contrast, owner–
managers could develop a strong organization References
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Journal of Small Business Management 2017 00(00), pp.

Strategic and Operational Perspectives of SME Brand

Introduction founders who rely on small management teams

Simon M’zungu is lecturer in the Department of Marketing at Griffith University.

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 1

2 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Author Research Context

Abimbola (2001) SME brand building conceptual guidelines

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 3

(1a) (3a) Internal

Stage (5) Environmental Stage (4) Assess

4 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 5

6 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Years in Number of Interview

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 7

Research Findings shows a perfunctory role of the SME brand, evi-

8 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 9

10 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 11

12 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SME Brand SME Brand

 Focus is on developing strong  Focus on developing strong SME

 Strong role of brand orientation  Strong role of brand orientation

 Transformational leadership  Employees informed about val-

 Employees informed about core  Formal (e.g., mystery shoppers,

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 13

Performance  Combination of financial (e.g.,  Combination of financial (e.g.,

14 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Operations-Driven Type Opportunistic Type

 Operational/tactical than stra-  Focus on quick exploitation

 Perfunctory role of brand  Perfunctory role of brand

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 15

 Top-down and face-to-face about the core values of the

16 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Strategy and Implementation Typical Firms That

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 17

Implementation places top priority 2. B2C SMEs focusing on day-to-

18 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 19

20 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 21

22 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

M’ZUNGU, MERRILEES, AND MILLER 23

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Focus is on developing strong Focus on developing strong SME

Strong role of brand orientation Strong role of brand orientation

Transformational leadership Employees informed about val-

Employees informed about core Formal (e.g., mystery shoppers,

Performance Combination of financial (e.g., Combination of financial (e.g.,

Operational/tactical than stra- Focus on quick exploitation

Perfunctory role of brand Perfunctory role of brand

Top-down and face-to-face about the core values of the