Small firm marketing: synthesising and supporting received wisdom

Aodheen O’Donnell

39 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Small Business and Enterprise Development

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Marketing and Advertising Strategies Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences SMEs Development and Digital Marketing

Abstract

Abstract Purpose – It is acknowledged that while there is a paucity of marketing research focusing on small firms relative to larger firms, a significant contribution to this field has been made in recent years. However, while such research has proved useful, it remains quite disparate, and gleaning a current understanding of how small firms market their goods and services, is difficult. This paper aims to produce an empirically validated framework of small firm marketing activities. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative cross‐sectoral study of small firm marketing was undertaken. Semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 30 small firm owner‐managers. A literature derived, conceptual framework provided the basis for the interview guide. Findings – The study confirmed that the nine key themes highlighted by a critical review of the literature represented the marketing practices in small firms. It offered some refinement to specific characteristics and activities within the themes and so offered an empirically supported model of small firm marketing. Research limitations/implications – It is hoped that future research can use the framework as a means of demonstrating how various factors contribute to small firm marketing activities and indeed, offer further refinement and embellishment of the overall framework. This framework represents a baseline against which the effects of newly emerging phenomena can be assessed. Originality/value – While much research has been undertaken in the field of small firm marketing, few attempts have been made to address the question: what are the key marketing activities in which small firms engage? This paper addresses this question and offers a flexible, cross‐sectoral representation of marketing practices in small firms.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 39 citations exist upstream.

References

1985Innovation and Entrepreneurship 1994From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing 1997A General Theory of Network Governance: Exchange Conditions and Social Mechanisms 1994From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing 2001Qualitative Marketing Research 1991Characteristics of opportunities search of entrepreneurs versus executives: Sources, interests, general alertness 2006Market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation capabilities in SMEs 1995Marketing and entrepreneurship in SMEs : An innovative approach

Cited by

2017Social media as a resource in SMEs’ sales process 2018The Impact of Environmental Turbulence on the Perceived Importance of Innovation and Innovativeness in SMEs 2013The Contribution of Networking to Small Firm Marketing 2022Marketing capability development through networking – An entrepreneurial marketing perspective 2014The performance of entrepreneurial ventures

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.