Abstract
This study focuses on small and medium enterprises (SME) marketing approach and in particular on intelligence and strategic kind of activities. The main assumption of our analysis is that today’s competition context urges SME to strengthen their market orientation. This goal can be reached above all through a stronger awareness of target-group defining process and by carrying out appropriate product and brand positioning strategies able to bring out SME’s core competences. In order to challenge these cultural and management changes, a more specific marketing approach and more suitable marketing tools are needed. The purpose of this study, inspired by an analysis carried out on a sample of small and medium firms operating in different industries in Reggio-Emilia, Bologna and Modena areas, is to provide some suggestions to turn the partial and empirical marketing approach of many SME (the so called “marketing all’italiana”) to a more aware and structured one. In this way SME’s traditional special features, such as dynamism, creativity, quick and flexible response to competitive challenges, should become the main strengths of these firmsReferences
Anderson J.C., Narus J.A. (2005), Business Market Management, Etas, Milano.
Barwise P. (1999), Marketing, Financial Times Handbook of Management, London.
Birley S. (1985), The role of networks in the entrepreneurial process, in “Journal of Business Venturing”, vol. 1.
Bjerke B., Hultman C.M. (2003), Entrepreneurial marketing: the growth of small firms in the new economic era, Edward Elgar Publishing, London.
Brunetti G., Corbetta G. (1996), Alcune condizioni per lo sviluppo delle piccole e medie imprese italiane, in “Economia&Management”, n. 5.
Busenitz L., Lau C. (1996), A cross-cultural cognitive model of new venture creation, in “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice”, vol. 20, n. 4.
Carson D., Cromie S., Mc Gowan P., Hills J. (1995), Marketing and Entrepreneurship in SMEs. An Innovative Approach, Prentice-Hall, London.
Carson D., Coviello N. (1996), Qualitative research issues at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface, in “Marketing Intelligence & Planning”, vol. 14, n. 6.
Cioppi M., Savelli E. (2006), ICT e PMI. L’impatto delle nuove tecnologie sulla gestione aziendale delle piccole imprese, ASPI-INS –EDIT, Genova.
Collesei U., Checchinato F. (2006), Le attività di marketing e comunicazione nelle aziende italiane, Paper presentato al Congresso Internazionale su «Le Tendenze del Marketing», 20-
21 Gennaio.
Cozzi G. (1986), II marketing nelle piccole e medie imprese, Atti Seminario AIDEA, Clueb, Bologna.
Cozzi G., Ferrero G. (2004), Principi ed aspetti evolutivi del marketing aziendale, Giappichelli, Torino.
Cromie S. (1991), The Problems Experienced by Young Firms, in “International Small Business Journal”, 9.
Depperu D., Varacca Capello P. (1990), I gruppi di imprese di dimensioni minori, F. Angeli, Milano.
Doyle P. (2000), Value-Based Marketing, Wiley, Chichester.
Eminente G. (1985), Il marketing nelle piccole imprese, Atti Seminario AIDEA, Clueb, Bologna.
Ferrero G. (1992), Struttura, strategia e processi innovativi nelle piccole imprese, Edizioni LINT, Trieste.
Fiocca R., Snehota I., Tunisini A. (2003), Business marketing, McGraw-Hill, Milano.
Golinelli G.M. (1992), I problemi strategici delle imprese minori, in “Sinergie”, n. 27.
Grandinetti R. (1989), Il marketing delle grandi e delle piccole imprese: dalla separazione alla convergenza, in “Economia e politica industriale”, n. 63.
Guercini S. (2005), Marketing imprenditoriale, marketing manageriale e conoscenza di mercato del vertice d’impresa, in “Mercati e Competitività”, fasc. 1.
Hitt M.A., Read T.S. (2000), Entrepreneurship in the new competitive landscape, in Meyer G.D., Heppard K.A. (editors), Entrepreneurship as strategy, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
Keh H.T., Foo M.D., Lim B.C. (2002), Opportunity evaluation under risky conditions: the cognitive processes of entrepreneurs, in “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice”, Winter.
Kenny B., Dyson K. (1989), Marketing in Small Businesses, Routledge.
Kolb D.A. (1984), Experiential Learning, Prentice-Hall.
Kotler P., Jain D.C., Maesincee S. (2002) (trad. it.), Il marketing che cambia. Un nuovo approccio al profitto, alla crescita e al rinnovamento , Il Sole 24 Ore Libri, Milano.
Kotler P., Trias de Bes F. (2004) (ed. it.), Marketing Laterale, Ed. Il Sole24Ore Libri, Milano.
Kotler P. (2004), I dieci peccati capitali del marketing, Ed. Il Sole24Ore Libri, Milano.
Lancaster G., Waddelow I. (1998), An Empirical Investigation into the Process of Strategic Marketing Planning in SMEs: Its Attendant Problems, and Proposals Towards a New Practical Paradigm, in “Journal of Marketing Management”, n. 14.
Lilien G.L., Kotler P., Moorthy K.S. (1992), Marketing Models, Prentice Hall International, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
McCartan-Quinn D., Carson D. (2003), Issues which Impact upon Marketing in the Small Firm, in “Small Business Economics”, n. 21.
McClelland D.C. (1961), The achieving society, Van Nostrand, Princeton.
McDonald M.H.B. (1989), Ten Barriers to Marketing Planning, in “Journal of Marketing Management”, vol. 5, n. 1.
McDonald M., Wilson H. (2002), The New Marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
Marchini I. (2000a), Il governo della piccola impresa. Le basi delle conoscenze, Vol. I, Aspi/Ins-Edit, Genova.
Marchini I. (2000b), Il governo della piccola impresa. La gestione delle funzioni, Vol. III, Aspi/Ins-Edit, Genova.
Mattiacci A., Ceccotti F. (2005), Lo sviluppo del marketing nella Pmi: riflessioni a margine di un’esperienza d’impresa, in “Micro & Macro Marketing”, n. 1.
Mensi R. (1992), Tipologie di orientamento strategico nella piccola impresa, in Ferrero G. (a cura di), Struttura, strategia e processi innovativi nelle piccole imprese, Edizioni Lint, Trieste.
Meziou 1991, Areas of Strenght and Weakness in the Adoption of the Marketing Concept by Small Manufacturing Firms, in “Journal of Small Business Management”, October.
Miles M.P., Darroch J. (2005), Large firms, entrepreneurial marketing processes, and the cycle of competitive advantage, in “European Journal of Marketing”, vol. 40.
Mintzberg H. (1991), Management, mito e realtà, Garzanti, Milano.
Orpen C. (1994), Strategic Planning, Scanning Activities and the Financial Performance of Small Firms, in “Journal of Strategic Change”, 3.
Pencarelli T. (1995), Piccola impresa, alleanze strategiche ed integrazione europea, Aspi/INS-EDIT, Genova.
Peterson R.T. (1989), Small Business Adoption of the Marketing Concept vs. Other Business Strategies, in “Journal of Small Business Management”, January.
Piercy N., Giles W. (1989), The Logic of Being Illogical in Strategic Marketing Planning, in “Journal of Marketing Management”, vol. 5, n. 1.
Robert M., Weiss A. (1990), Il processo dell’Innovazione Imprenditoriale. Una leva strategica per trasformare il cambiamento in opportunità, Ed. Il Sole24Ore Libri, Milano.
Scott W.G. (2006), Le grandi sfide del marketing , in “Micro & Macro Marketing”, n. 1, Aprile.
Shaw E., Carson D. (1995), The emergence of entrepreneurial marketing: a new paradigm?, Proceedings of the Marketing Education Group Annual Conference, vol. 2, July, University
of Bradford.
Srivastava R.K., Shervani T.A., Fahey L. (1999), Marketing, business processes, and shareholder value: An organizationally embedded view of marketing activities and the discipline of marketing, in “Journal of Marketing”, vol. 63, Special Issue.
Stokes D. (2000), Entrepreneurial marketing: a conceptualisation from qualitative research, in “Qualitative Market Research”, vol. 3, n. 1.
Varaldo R. (1983), L'approccio al marketing nelle piccole e medie imprese, in Aa. Vv. (a cura di), Strategie di sviluppo delle piccole e medie imprese, Atti del seminario tenutosi ad Ancona, 11 giugno.
Varaldo R. (2004), Il senso di una nuova rivista, in “Mercati e Competitività”, n. 0.
Varaldo R., Dalli D., Resciniti R. (2006), Marketing non-marketing all’italiana: virtù, limiti e prospettive, Paper presentato al Congresso Internazionale su «Le Tendenze del Marketing», 20-21 Gennaio.
Welsh J.A., White J.F. (1981), A small business is not a little big business, in “Harvard Business Review”, August.
Zontanos G., Anderson A.R. (2004), Relationships, marketing and small business: an exploration of links in theory and practice, in “Qualitative Market Research”, vol. 7, n. 3.
Barwise P. (1999), Marketing, Financial Times Handbook of Management, London.
Birley S. (1985), The role of networks in the entrepreneurial process, in “Journal of Business Venturing”, vol. 1.
Bjerke B., Hultman C.M. (2003), Entrepreneurial marketing: the growth of small firms in the new economic era, Edward Elgar Publishing, London.
Brunetti G., Corbetta G. (1996), Alcune condizioni per lo sviluppo delle piccole e medie imprese italiane, in “Economia&Management”, n. 5.
Busenitz L., Lau C. (1996), A cross-cultural cognitive model of new venture creation, in “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice”, vol. 20, n. 4.
Carson D., Cromie S., Mc Gowan P., Hills J. (1995), Marketing and Entrepreneurship in SMEs. An Innovative Approach, Prentice-Hall, London.
Carson D., Coviello N. (1996), Qualitative research issues at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface, in “Marketing Intelligence & Planning”, vol. 14, n. 6.
Cioppi M., Savelli E. (2006), ICT e PMI. L’impatto delle nuove tecnologie sulla gestione aziendale delle piccole imprese, ASPI-INS –EDIT, Genova.
Collesei U., Checchinato F. (2006), Le attività di marketing e comunicazione nelle aziende italiane, Paper presentato al Congresso Internazionale su «Le Tendenze del Marketing», 20-
21 Gennaio.
Cozzi G. (1986), II marketing nelle piccole e medie imprese, Atti Seminario AIDEA, Clueb, Bologna.
Cozzi G., Ferrero G. (2004), Principi ed aspetti evolutivi del marketing aziendale, Giappichelli, Torino.
Cromie S. (1991), The Problems Experienced by Young Firms, in “International Small Business Journal”, 9.
Depperu D., Varacca Capello P. (1990), I gruppi di imprese di dimensioni minori, F. Angeli, Milano.
Doyle P. (2000), Value-Based Marketing, Wiley, Chichester.
Eminente G. (1985), Il marketing nelle piccole imprese, Atti Seminario AIDEA, Clueb, Bologna.
Ferrero G. (1992), Struttura, strategia e processi innovativi nelle piccole imprese, Edizioni LINT, Trieste.
Fiocca R., Snehota I., Tunisini A. (2003), Business marketing, McGraw-Hill, Milano.
Golinelli G.M. (1992), I problemi strategici delle imprese minori, in “Sinergie”, n. 27.
Grandinetti R. (1989), Il marketing delle grandi e delle piccole imprese: dalla separazione alla convergenza, in “Economia e politica industriale”, n. 63.
Guercini S. (2005), Marketing imprenditoriale, marketing manageriale e conoscenza di mercato del vertice d’impresa, in “Mercati e Competitività”, fasc. 1.
Hitt M.A., Read T.S. (2000), Entrepreneurship in the new competitive landscape, in Meyer G.D., Heppard K.A. (editors), Entrepreneurship as strategy, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.
Keh H.T., Foo M.D., Lim B.C. (2002), Opportunity evaluation under risky conditions: the cognitive processes of entrepreneurs, in “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice”, Winter.
Kenny B., Dyson K. (1989), Marketing in Small Businesses, Routledge.
Kolb D.A. (1984), Experiential Learning, Prentice-Hall.
Kotler P., Jain D.C., Maesincee S. (2002) (trad. it.), Il marketing che cambia. Un nuovo approccio al profitto, alla crescita e al rinnovamento , Il Sole 24 Ore Libri, Milano.
Kotler P., Trias de Bes F. (2004) (ed. it.), Marketing Laterale, Ed. Il Sole24Ore Libri, Milano.
Kotler P. (2004), I dieci peccati capitali del marketing, Ed. Il Sole24Ore Libri, Milano.
Lancaster G., Waddelow I. (1998), An Empirical Investigation into the Process of Strategic Marketing Planning in SMEs: Its Attendant Problems, and Proposals Towards a New Practical Paradigm, in “Journal of Marketing Management”, n. 14.
Lilien G.L., Kotler P., Moorthy K.S. (1992), Marketing Models, Prentice Hall International, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
McCartan-Quinn D., Carson D. (2003), Issues which Impact upon Marketing in the Small Firm, in “Small Business Economics”, n. 21.
McClelland D.C. (1961), The achieving society, Van Nostrand, Princeton.
McDonald M.H.B. (1989), Ten Barriers to Marketing Planning, in “Journal of Marketing Management”, vol. 5, n. 1.
McDonald M., Wilson H. (2002), The New Marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.
Marchini I. (2000a), Il governo della piccola impresa. Le basi delle conoscenze, Vol. I, Aspi/Ins-Edit, Genova.
Marchini I. (2000b), Il governo della piccola impresa. La gestione delle funzioni, Vol. III, Aspi/Ins-Edit, Genova.
Mattiacci A., Ceccotti F. (2005), Lo sviluppo del marketing nella Pmi: riflessioni a margine di un’esperienza d’impresa, in “Micro & Macro Marketing”, n. 1.
Mensi R. (1992), Tipologie di orientamento strategico nella piccola impresa, in Ferrero G. (a cura di), Struttura, strategia e processi innovativi nelle piccole imprese, Edizioni Lint, Trieste.
Meziou 1991, Areas of Strenght and Weakness in the Adoption of the Marketing Concept by Small Manufacturing Firms, in “Journal of Small Business Management”, October.
Miles M.P., Darroch J. (2005), Large firms, entrepreneurial marketing processes, and the cycle of competitive advantage, in “European Journal of Marketing”, vol. 40.
Mintzberg H. (1991), Management, mito e realtà, Garzanti, Milano.
Orpen C. (1994), Strategic Planning, Scanning Activities and the Financial Performance of Small Firms, in “Journal of Strategic Change”, 3.
Pencarelli T. (1995), Piccola impresa, alleanze strategiche ed integrazione europea, Aspi/INS-EDIT, Genova.
Peterson R.T. (1989), Small Business Adoption of the Marketing Concept vs. Other Business Strategies, in “Journal of Small Business Management”, January.
Piercy N., Giles W. (1989), The Logic of Being Illogical in Strategic Marketing Planning, in “Journal of Marketing Management”, vol. 5, n. 1.
Robert M., Weiss A. (1990), Il processo dell’Innovazione Imprenditoriale. Una leva strategica per trasformare il cambiamento in opportunità, Ed. Il Sole24Ore Libri, Milano.
Scott W.G. (2006), Le grandi sfide del marketing , in “Micro & Macro Marketing”, n. 1, Aprile.
Shaw E., Carson D. (1995), The emergence of entrepreneurial marketing: a new paradigm?, Proceedings of the Marketing Education Group Annual Conference, vol. 2, July, University
of Bradford.
Srivastava R.K., Shervani T.A., Fahey L. (1999), Marketing, business processes, and shareholder value: An organizationally embedded view of marketing activities and the discipline of marketing, in “Journal of Marketing”, vol. 63, Special Issue.
Stokes D. (2000), Entrepreneurial marketing: a conceptualisation from qualitative research, in “Qualitative Market Research”, vol. 3, n. 1.
Varaldo R. (1983), L'approccio al marketing nelle piccole e medie imprese, in Aa. Vv. (a cura di), Strategie di sviluppo delle piccole e medie imprese, Atti del seminario tenutosi ad Ancona, 11 giugno.
Varaldo R. (2004), Il senso di una nuova rivista, in “Mercati e Competitività”, n. 0.
Varaldo R., Dalli D., Resciniti R. (2006), Marketing non-marketing all’italiana: virtù, limiti e prospettive, Paper presentato al Congresso Internazionale su «Le Tendenze del Marketing», 20-21 Gennaio.
Welsh J.A., White J.F. (1981), A small business is not a little big business, in “Harvard Business Review”, August.
Zontanos G., Anderson A.R. (2004), Relationships, marketing and small business: an exploration of links in theory and practice, in “Qualitative Market Research”, vol. 7, n. 3.
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