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This study aims to delve into the lived experiences, challenges and visions of women entrepreneurs in Jordan, placing a magnifying glass on those spearheading or co-pioneering start-ups. It aims to understand the myriad factors that influence their entrepreneurial journey, from motivation to the future of their niche.

Adopting a qualitative lens, this study is anchored in semi-structured interviews encompassing 20 Jordanian women entrepreneurs. Following this, thematic analysis was deployed to dissect and categorize the garnered insights into ten salient themes.

The study reveals that personal experiences and challenges are pivotal in directing these women towards niche markets, aligning with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Tools such as digital instruments, customer feedback and innovative strategies like storytelling and augmented reality are integral to their entrepreneurial success, resonating with the resource-based view (RBV). Additionally, challenges like cultural barriers and infrastructural limitations are navigated through adaptive strategies, reflecting the resilience inherent in these entrepreneurs. Networking, mentorship, embracing technological advancements and implementing sustainable practices are highlighted as crucial elements underpinned by the social identity theory (SIT).

Contrary to the extant body of research, this study provides new insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Jordan, highlighting the practical relevance of theories like TPB, RBV and SIT for both policymakers and the start-up community in niche markets.

The mass markets of previous decades have splintered into smaller market segments or niches, in which companies could be safer from cut‐throat competition and explore new market opportunities. Although part of a positioning strategy, niche marketing may be used as a deliberate marketing strategy to create “safe havens” and business opportunities for many companies. Aims to analyse the concept, basic issues and different methods of applying this marketing strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to present a concise status of niche marketing research and thereby provide a basis for further scholarly enhancement and insights for practitioners.

This paper takes the form of a literature review.

Reasons for why and when to pursue niche marketing, key success factors for implementing niche marketing and the potential problem areas are identified. Avenues for advancing knowledge about niche marketing are discussed.

Practitioners benefit from this comprehensive review of findings and insights from previous research. Scholars benefit from this review, as it summarizes and identifies key areas for future niche marketing research.

There has be no known scholarly article assessing the status of niche marketing research since Dalgic and Leeuw's seminal work.

This paper aims to explore how internationally oriented niche firms define and choose their markets and customers and how they position their products, and thereby add to the limited research knowledge regarding niche marketing.

The paper presents exploratory research based on structured in‐depth interviews of key informants in five firms.

Niche firms do not seem to follow the STP‐process. The selection of customers and markets is the result of tradition, chance or the firm's production philosophy, and the firms make few attempts to position their products. The firms rely on resource‐based advantages, high‐quality products and personal relationships when competing in the market.

The selected methodology makes these results alone unfit for generalising to a larger population. Improved theoretical models are needed for generating more knowledge about niche firms and their efforts in crafting marketing strategies, possibly by extending relationship marketing theory.

A niche firm's marketing strategy should be based on a customer‐valued competitive advantage and differentiation should be applied in terms of both intangible and actual use criteria. Niche firms should strive for long‐term, personal relationships and customer commitment. Also, there seems to be some room for following one's own personal convictions and ideas when crafting a marketing strategy, even though this approach certainly is not in line with the structured marketing strategy process suggested in textbooks.

This study offers exploratory findings on how export‐oriented niche firms define and choose their markets and customers, and how they position their products. The standard STP‐process as proposed in general textbooks is not appropriate for international niche firms.

To examine how companies in the maturity stage of the product life cycle can implement and maintain a successful niche market strategy to increase competitiveness in the face of new competition, with particular reference to the global textile industry.

Responsible executives in eight firms in the textile and apparel/clothing sector in the USA were interviewed face‐to‐face or by telephone, or completed an online questionnaire. The sample contains leaders in the industry.

Research results suggest that niche marketing is an effective strategy for countering price competition in a mature industry and can use a niche market strategy. They identify key success factors, the most important factor of which was found to be a thorough understanding of the targeted consumers. It is concluded that the marketing mix plays a more important part than is generally suggested in the literature, by communicating non‐price product attributes to the niche market.

The small sample limits generalization beyond the companies that participated in the study and comparable firms in the US textile and apparel/clothing industry.

This research study shows, within its limitations, that niche marketing is a promising global competitive strategy for mature industries. The study proposes practical guidelines for putting it into practice.

This study generally confirms the literature, but comes to some original further conclusions.

This paper aims to explain the structure of the market from the perspective of small brands and to discuss marketing strategy implications.

The paper uses revealed preference data of the Australian wine market, comprising 4,000 wine shoppers' purchases over a 12‐month period. Standard brand performance measures such as penetration and purchase frequency are applied to the data to define niche and change‐of‐pace brands. Using the same data, price tier loyalty is measured using polarisation, and discussed in relation to the attribute offering required and the direct marketing approach required for true niche positions.

The empirical results show that both niche and change‐of‐pace positions are prevalent in the wine market and small wineries, within a direct marketing channel approach, should target higher price points with branded wines but also lower price point products as well. The results suggest that attribute levels that are change‐of‐pace are unsustainable for small brands and can only be undertaken by large brands with the appropriate marketing resources.

The authors conceptualise that small brands should focus on attribute levels that have excess loyalty. Large brands can absorb attribute levels that are change‐of‐pace. This conceptualisation requires further discussion, particularly from the strategy literature, as well as further empirical testing.

Whilst “niche” positions are the holy grail of some teaching and much practitioner endeavour, this paper has presented data that demonstrate the need for managers to ascertain if the position they occupy is in fact a niche or a change‐of‐pace position.

This paper fulfils a need by using revealed preference behavioural data to highlight different strategies for small and large brands. Behavioural analysis and papers in the past have emphasised the strength and tendency towards large brands without offering insight into small brand strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand how strategic orientation guides the marketing strategy and marketing efforts of niche firms, by addressing the questions of which strategic orientation niche firms apply and how managers in niche firms handle the potential problems associated with different strategic orientations. Based on these findings, managerial implications are discussed.

Qualitative research in terms of in‐depth interviews of key informants in six niche firms in the seafood and wine industries.

The niche firms appear to be product oriented and customer oriented at the same time. They overcome the potential problems related to the respective strategic orientations by focusing on their product‐related strengths, while benefiting from their close and few customer relationships.

Managers in niche firms should focus on high‐quality products, specific product concepts and the continuous improvement of these. In addition, they should initiate and develop close and long‐term relationships with a few trusted business customers.

This research paper is one among very few papers that present findings related to niche firms and their choice of marketing strategy. This paper of strategic orientation can contribute to a better understanding of how niche firms prioritize, allocate resources and choose strategies.

Discusses niche and relationship marketing strategies as responses to fragmentation of the mass market. Considers the different perspectives of these approaches and how the two may be integrated into an overall marketing strategy. Concludes that marketers need to move from a top‐down approach of segmentation to a bottom‐up approach of aggregating individual needs, and an integrative relationship marketing system using a customer database is a way of doing so.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the textile and apparel industry can utilize a niche market strategy in order to compete with lower priced imports.

The research design used for this study was an in‐depth case study method. The sample consisted of selected companies from the fiber, textile, apparel, and auxiliary sectors who are considered leaders in the US textile and apparel industry.

Results indicated that firms can approach a niche strategy from either a market or a product perspective. Findings also indicated variables that are used by firms for both approaches. The most important factor in which a firm needs to focus is understanding the consumer.

Because of the limited sample size of US textile and apparel firms, the results can only be generalized to those companies that participated in the study and not the entire textile and apparel industry.

This research study showed that a niche strategy is a promising global competitive strategy for the textile and apparel industry that can be used to compete with lower priced imports.

This study clarifies not only how a niche market/product is defined by the industry, but also how firms can implement and maintain a successful niche strategy.

This paper describes the findings of a research project which investigated the suitability of the UK as a possible niche market for a speciality Portuguese smoked sausage (Chouriço de Portalegre). The paper begins with a discussion of niche marketing theory, and proposes three criteria which a potential niche market should adhere to. These criteria are then used as a means of assessing the potential of the UK as a niche market, with the help of secondary and primary research. Results show that the Chouriço de Portalegre has an appropriate mix of qualities for niche marketing in the UK, but that issues of intermediary and customer knowledge and communication of product benefits need to be overcome.The findings have important implications for retailers of speciality meat products in the UK.