Brand management in SMEs in Sweden

SMEs have been developing rapidly in Sweden since the last decade; many of them have developed a strong brand and went global. Brands can be utilized as a tool for people involved in the ecosystem to consistently communicate with the stakeholders. On the customers’ side, decisions on purchasing certain products are often made by symbolic attributes. According to studies, brand management can benefit an organization’s performance. Brand management is critical for the substantiality of SMEs. Many studies have been done on brand management in larger organizations. Only some research has been done on SMEs brand management, from which it was concluded that SMEs placed very little or no priority on brand management. In this thesis, the author studies brand management in SMEs in Sweden, by using Wong and Merrilees’s model (2005) on three archetypes of brand orientation. The aim of this study is to get insights on what brand-related activities can help with the goal of heightening brand awareness for customers. This research is done by a qualitative study based on three in-depth interviews undertaken with small-sized organizations and a supplementary desktop research with data from authority