1、原文 ： Successful brand management in SMEs: a new theory and practical hints Abstract Purpose Brand management in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an area of study in its infancy. Although considerable literature has been published about brand management in general, all theory and case stud
2、ies are based only on multinationals. This article proposes providing the results and conclusions of exploratory research into this subject, and into SMEs in particular. Design/methodology/approach To understand the precise role of the entrepreneur and to provide answers to five research questions,
3、a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with mainly middle-sized companies was undertaken. Striking results were obtained from this exploratory research. Findings The paper shows the reader what the role of brand management in SMEs is and all the variables that influence it. It also present
4、s a new model for brand development in SMEs, one that highlights the importance of the internal role of brand management in such an organization. An important finding is that passion for the brand throughout the company is a very important factor, initiated by an active role of the entrepreneur him/
5、 herself to achieving brand recognition. It does not cost anything and the impact appeared to be significant. Of course creativity is indispensable in this process. Practical implications The change that directors of a relatively small company should make is to place brand management in a top positi
6、on in their daily mind set. Achieving brand recognition starts inside the organization itself. Originality/value For the first time in history extensive research in brand management in SMEs has been combined with the creation of various new theories, resulting in many practical recommendations. Thes
7、e are recommendations that can be used by the reader in his or her own organization. instruction Brand management is a relatively young field of study, and one in which real interest was shown only during the final decade of the previous century. This was also the time when the most important theori
8、es were formulated and the most valuable literature produced. What is striking, though, is that attention was focused only on big companies and multinationals. So it was only on big companies and multinationals that the theories were based and about which the articles were written. Open practically
9、any management book at random and it is a good bet that you will find Coca Cola, Nike, Philips, Unilever, Shell or Procter & Gamble used as the practical examples. This totally ignores the fact that at least 95 percent of all businesses belong to the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) group, ju
10、st as it also ignores the fact that in the USA, small businesses have taken the lead from the big ones， This is something scarcely mentioned in business literature. In fact, when brand management is discussed in books and journals, SMEs are never mentioned as a separate entity, even though there is
11、a distinct difference in having e10 million, as opposed to e100,000, to invest in your brand, and in having a marketing department of 25 at your disposal as opposed. to having to plan and execute marketing campaigns all by yourself. Nevertheless, everyone knows the stories about a relatively small b
12、usiness that knew how to build a well-known brand. The question is, how long does such a business remain a “ small business” ? Microsoft, Philips and Nike all started small and, thanks to enthusiastic entrepreneurs, grew into worldwide brands. The founder of Nike, Phil Knight, started working in his
13、 spare time in his garage and had to stretch every cent he owned as far as it would go. So how, as the owner of an SME, do you go about managing your brand? What role does brand management play in such businesses? What problems do SMEs encounter in managing their brands? How do you go about increasi
14、ng brand awareness? What is the relationship between brand management and marketing? These are all questions that remain unanswered in current brand literature. It is high time, therefore, for a closer study. Definition of the SME Before proceeding any further, however, a definition of theSME is req
15、uired. The Bolton Report (Bolton, 1971) was the first to formulate a clear and generally accepted definition of small businesses. Wynarcyk et al. (1993) and Storey (1994) offered a critique of this, although there is little need to spend much time on it. It is more practical to make use of the most
16、recent definition from an independent and widely recognized source: the European Union. Now that we have determined to which businesses “ SME” refers, the next step is to look at how these companies view heir marketing function. A study by Cohen and Stretch (1989) revealed that the most commonly cit
17、ed problems from the owners of small companies were marketing problems. This agreed with the findings of Kraft and Goodell (1989), who concluded that of the problems most commonly cited by small businesses, 75 percent were marketing-related. Finally, Huang and Brown (1999) provided further confirmat
18、ion with a study of 973 small businesses in Western Australia. Marketing is seen, thus, as a troublesome and problematic undertaking for SMEs. But such problems do not appear without reason. They can, in fact, be traced back to a number of well-documented in the business literature SME characteristi
19、cs. Carson et al. (1995) cited the strong focus on product and price. Hill s (2001) study of key factors for effective marketing, confirms that the SMEs vigorous sales orientation largely determines the character of their marketing. As a result, promotion is pushed to sidelines and the building of a
20、 strong brand becomes even more difficult. The marketing advantages of SMEs Despite all this, it is possible to recognize several advantages and positive aspects typical of SME businesses in the execution of their marketing. Studies by Carson et al. (1995),Gillinsky et al. (2001), Hill (2001) and Re
21、ijnders and Verstappen (2003) all point out that flexibility, speed of reaction and the eye for (market) opportunities constitute, where marketing is concerned, the SMEs strong points. Brand management There are many definitions of brand management. Those of Keller (1998) and Kapferer (1995) share several similarities and describe it in easy to understand wording: A company/establishment that has embedded brand management within its
