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This study aims to investigate how marketing communication (MC) and nascent corporate communication (CC) strategies are juxtaposed in the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) setting.

A qualitative research method based on a multiple case study approach is elaborated in a South-East Asian emerging economy.

The key findings show that MC and nascent CC strategies coexist in SMEs, and are frequently closely interwoven, enabling the introduction of an integrated hybrid communication (IHC) theoretical perspective in this context. Four requisites inform IHC management: communicate the identity/roots; establish and communicate the relationship with multiple stakeholders; communicate the product/service to customers; and communicate other activities of the firm (e.g. corporate social responsibility and brand identity). SME managers were predisposed to use at least three communication channels among the following: advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing and/or personal selling. Furthermore, managers generally preferred internet-enabled communication.

This study provides fresh insights into how SMEs could integrate their communication strategies to increase their survival chances and business growth. However, the need to develop SMEs is required in every economy. Thus, the present findings could be seen as relevant to various audiences (academic, practitioners and/or policy-makers) such as for managers from Western and/or European settings who are interested in operating in the Malaysian economy.

By using the four requisites that inform IHC, owners/managers of SMEs can adopt a more holistic approach, by strategically planning communication activities using both communication typologies (i.e. product and firm level). Thus, SMEs will be able to enhance clarity and consistency in their communication strategy and achieve brand equity across relevant stakeholders in the long run.

This study introduces the IHC theoretical perspective and reveals the communication tools used by SMEs to communicate product and brand-related messages to multiple stakeholders. These messages tend to stem from and are shaped by the identity/roots of the firm embedded in managerial personality/values.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance effects of brand identity in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The authors examine whether brand identity mediates the relationship between brand orientation and brand performance, and further, whether brand performance leads to better financial performance. The authors also study whether these performance effects are moderated by customer type and industry type. Differing from earlier research, this study analyzes brand identity through its constituent components: brand values, brand vision and brand positioning. The data include altogether 721 effective responses from Finnish SMEs. Structural equation modeling is used for testing the research hypotheses.

Brand positioning and brand vision have a direct positive effect on brand performance, which in turn, positively affects financial performance. Brand orientation drives the components of brand identity. Importantly, there is variation in some of the relationships between brand orientation, brand values, brand vision and brand positioning across business-to-business firms and business-to-customer firms, and across firms in service industries and in production industries.

The research is based on a single-country sample. Including additional factors for the model with the potential to moderate the described relationships is also called for. Future research could also consider new potential brand identity components currently not addressed in the paper.

This paper contributes to the literature by increasing the knowledge of SME branding.

Being able to communicate a clear identity to different stakeholders is crucial for SMEs and startups in today’s world, which is characterised by accelerated innovation, growing competition and increasingly connected consumers. However, this can be a complex task for small organisations. The purpose of this paper is to propose a visual tool that supports entrepreneurs in SMEs and startups to collaboratively develop their identity communication strategy.

The paper follows a design science research approach. The authors propose the design of a tool as well as some preliminary qualitative evaluations. The authors conducted three iterations between design and evaluation, where the results of the evaluations are implemented in the design.

The authors demonstrate how to design strategic tools for allowing teams to co-design their identity communication strategy and present the tool. The authors also evaluate its use and find out through the preliminary evaluations that it could be easy to use and useful for practitioners.

The originality of this paper lays in the novelty of the tool and its development. Such a tool addressing identity communication strategy has not been developed with a scientific approach until now.

This paper aims to present a model to incentivize sustainable performance (SUP) in small- and medium-sized tourism by strengthening inner relations to adapt to a complex environment.

The authors adopted the systemic approach complementing analytic, tourism, partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM), social network analysis (SNA) and systemic approach tools as follows: frame the problem through the soft systems methodology and SNA and identify the conflicting relationships; apply PLS-PM to validate the model; and propose new interactions for small- and medium-sized enterprises conducive to SUP based on the viable system model.

Considering the results, the authors pinpointed factors and relationships managers can address to foster SUP, highlighting the need to reinforce feedback loops and reduce inconsistencies between primary operations with coordination and management mechanisms.

This work is limited to the organizational domain. Although the results apply to the Mexican context, this could be overcome using methodological complementarity to extend the ideas to other organizations.

This study invites discussing methods and viewpoints for rethinking SUP because of multiple factors. This requires adopting methodological complementarity to generate alternatives and reconfiguring inner organizational interactions.

The model captures minimum but sufficient components advising leaders about SUP. This proposal differs from previous studies because it suggests exploiting methodological complementarity to capture the insights of key operative actors to conceive the model. Hence, the authors suggest new relations among organizational factors so managers can develop strategies for adaptability.

Both Hungary and Germany belong to the old-world wine-producing countries and have long winemaking traditions. This paper aims at exploring and comparing online branding strategies of family SME (small and medium sized enterprises) wineries at Lake Balaton (Hungary) and Lake Constance (Germany), as two wine regions with similar geographic characteristics.

This paper, based on a total sample of 37 family wineries, 15 at Lake Balaton and 22 at Lake Constance, investigates the differences in brand identity on the website, brand image in social media and online communication channels deployed in both wine regions. The study applies a qualitative methodology using MaxQDA software for conducting content analysis of texts in websites and social media. Descriptive statistics and t-test were conducted to compare the usage of different communication channels and determine statistical significance.

At Lake Balaton, the vineyard, the winery and the family, while at Lake Constance, the lake itself and the grape are highlighted regarding family winery brand identity. The customer-based brand image of Hungarian family wineries emphasizes wine, food and service, with the predominant use of Facebook. In the German family wineries, the focus of brand identity is on wine, friendliness and taste and includes more extensive usage of websites.

The paper deploys a novel methodology, both in terms of tools used as well as geographic focus to uncover online branding patterns of family wineries, thereby providing implications for wine and tourism industries at lake regions. It compares the share of selected most-used words in the overall text in websites and in social media, and presents the key findings from this innovative approach.

This study aims to examine the current state of mission and vision statements on the company websites of fast-growing Malaysian and Singaporean small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and analyze how these attributes are functionally used to build a distinct digital organizational identity.

The content analysis method was used to examine the similarities and differences among 170 Malaysian and Singaporean-selected SMEs based on Aaker’s five brand personality scales.

The findings demonstrated that there were explicit discrepancies between Malaysian and Singaporean SMEs in the applications of brand personality attributes. The findings also identified an increase in communicating mission and vision statements on the websites of both Malaysian and Singaporean SMEs. This emphasizes the need for Malaysian and Singaporean companies to intensify their efforts to develop a notable digital organizational identity.

This study endeavors to provide novel insights into the digital communication practices of SMEs in building digital organization identity based on brand personality elements. Therefore, this study theoretically advances Aaker’s brand personality framework by incorporating digital organizational identity as a concept of Aaker’s brand personality from the SME perspective. This study contributes to the organizational identity literature by highlighting the need for these SMEs to integrate brand personality dimensions to compete with leading global companies.

The findings indicate that managers of SMEs can develop a unique digital organizational identity by communicating their vision and mission statements on their websites as a strategic asset for sustaining corporate reputation.

To date, little is known about the inevitable adaptation and application of communication that occurs when using digital means to develop a digital organizational identity. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to establish how Asian SMEs communicate their unique brand personality through websites to build their digital organizational identity.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the entrepreneurial marketing (EM) and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) brand management knowledge. It explores the brand management practices of four entrepreneurially driven market innovators. The authors add theoretical and practical insight by distinguishing the brand management approaches of small- and medium-sized firms.

The authors use purposive sampling to select 15 producers of high or medium value-add from the food and beverage industry. Data include secondary sources and two rounds of in-depth interviews, first, between the project leader and CEO/founder of each company and, second, between members of the project team and functional managers of the organisations. Data were coded, analysed and agreement reached between the co-authors.

Four firms were characterised as having integrated brand orientation (Wong and Merrilees, 2005) and as using market innovation as an EM practise. All four use brand management practices for the purpose of positioning, differentiation and communicating brand identities, values and associations to customers. The smaller companies concentrate their practices on building and communicating identities. The medium-sized firms exhibit greater management of risk by building positive brand associations, controlling brand identities, leveraging alliances and creating separate brand identities for new products.

This paper offers three original insights. First, that market innovation can be considered EM and is used by entrepreneurial SMEs. Second, smaller SMEs have a reductive and pragmatic focus on developing and communicating brand identities. Finally, medium-sized entrepreneurial organisations use risk management in their branding strategies by utilising strategic alliances and creating separate brand identities for new products.

The concept of positioning is fundamental to how a company approaches and succeeds in a market. Despite a growing body of literature on positioning, existing research has focused mainly on larger companies and brands. This paper aims to apply the concept of positioning to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) companies to explore how SME entrepreneurs understand and approach the positioning of their company, and what differences exist compared to large companies and brands.

Using a qualitative research approach, this study is based on focus groups involving 13 SME entrepreneurs. The data were analyzed using a qualitative structuring content analysis, which resulted in a newly developed and empirically based typology of SME positioning strategies.

The results indicate that SME entrepreneurs view positioning as highly relevant but differ from larger companies in terms of market and brand orientation. Building on the interviews, an empirical matrix of four positioning strategies was developed which SME entrepreneurs typically use: specialization, differentiation, conviction and opposition.

Based on the developed positioning typology, this study proposes a two-step approach for SME entrepreneurs: gaining clarity on the basic positioning dimensions and exploring four strategic fields of action.

Overall, the findings contribute to a better understanding of SME entrepreneurs' positioning strategies as important building blocks for market and brand success. The new positioning typology provides a conceptual contribution for further research in the marketing/entrepreneurship interface.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the largely unexplored conceptualisation of the brand-as-a-person metaphor in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by examining its potential relation with the SME owner-manager, the pathways to its creation and development and the intuitive nature of this relationship.

A grounded theory approach was used, and data were collected through a set of 36 semi-structured interviews with 30 SME owner-managers in various sectors in Mexico.

The results indicate that SME owner-managers intuitively humanise their brands. The study revealed four pathways to develop the brand-as-a-person metaphor in the SME context: through personality traits, tastes and preferences, abilities and knowledge and values, all suggesting that SMEs’ brand-as-a-person metaphors are largely an extension of their owner-managers.

The paper presents a theoretical framework that illustrates the four pathways to the creation and development of brand-as-a-person that are derived from the brand’s relationship with the SME owner-manager. The results of cross-industry semi-structured interviews are limited to a single culture context.

SME owner-managers should first undertake an introspective personal assessment of their intuitive and conscious decision-making, as SME owner-managers often make decisions in an intuitive way. The results suggest that they should act in a more conscious, responsible and rational way when formulating their brand strategies.

This is the first study to clarify the profound influence of SME owner-managers’ personal characteristics, including personality traits, tastes and preferences, abilities and knowledge and values, on the brand-as-a-person metaphor. This study also confirms the intuitive learning strategy formulation of SME owner-managers’ branding practices and SMEs’ need for a more rational approach to branding.

The purpose of this study is to examine the branding strategies of SMEs from NIEs, juxtaposing the different strategies used to specifically target developed and developing countries with regard to brand-building approach, type and number of brands and degree of standardization.

A case-study approach is used. In-depth interviews are conducted with 10 Korean consumer-goods SMEs exporting their own in-house brands.

Clear differences emerge between the strategies of SMEs entering developed countries and those entering developing countries, particularly regarding brand identity development, use of foreign sales subsidiaries and number and types of brands used. The authors find an interaction effect between product characteristics and host market levels of economic development, both of which influenced the degree of product standardization.

This study is the first attempt to uncover the branding strategies of NIE consumer-goods SMEs. The findings contribute to the field by extending our understanding of branding strategies used by consumer-goods SMEs from NIEs, thereby providing useful insight for other NIE enterprises when establishing branding strategies aimed at foreign markets.