Brand development and brand communication practices in MSMEs in South Africa
Sebilaro Sybil Lebogang Ntshole Mosupyoe ORCID ↗ · Sipho Makgopa
International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy · 2026 · Vol. 8 / Issue 1 · 236-243
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Abstract
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play an important role in poverty alleviation and job creation in developing economies. An MSME needs to develop its own brand to differentiate itself from its competitors. After having developed its brand, an MSME needs to communicate its brand to its target audience. This study aimed to explore the development of brands and brand communication practices in MSMEs. Integrated communication theory was adopted to address the research objective, and exploratory qualitative research was employed to achieve the research objective. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers of MSMEs in townships in South Africa. and primary data analysed through content analysis. The findings of this paper uncovered that MSMEs’ brands were developed with an element of uniqueness and communicated through traditional platforms and social media. The paper offers recommendations to managers of MSMEs on brand communication and suggests future research directions on the topic.
Keywords: {'name': 'Brand, brand communication, traditional platforms, MSMEs, social media'}
Authors & affiliations
Sebilaro Sybil Lebogang Ntshole Mosupyoe
University of South Africa
Sipho Makgopa
University of South Africa
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