The aim is to examine whether growing, stable, and declining small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) differ from one another in terms of market orientation and brand orientation. The results show that growing SMEs have adopted market and brand orientations to a greater extent than have the stable or declining ones. They also suggest that these orientations can prove to be helpful in achieving different kinds of growth goals. Thus, in order to support the growth of SMEs, more information and training should be offered to them about issues relating to these orientations.

Market orientation and brand orientation are usually modeled as distinct antecedents of business performance, and the simultaneous performance effects of these orientations are empirically under-explored. Moreover, studies of market orientation and branding tend to focus on large corporations and the views of managers rather than the views of small business entrepreneurs. Addressing these research gaps, the current study explores market orientation and brand orientation by empirically testing their simultaneous effects on the business performance of small firms. Using primary data from 328 effective responses gathered from small business entrepreneurs, the study finds that market orientation improves the financial performance of a small firm only if it is implemented through brand orientation and eventually translated into brand performance. The results further indicate that older firms benefit more than younger firms from investing in branding, while younger firms benefit from paying attention to the actions of their rivals.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how SMEs with varying growth intentions differ from each other with regard to market orientation and brand orientation. Both of these strategic orientations are seen to lead to enhanced market performance. Consequently, the authors investigate whether those small firms that regard growth as an important goal have adopted market or brand orientation. Design/methodology/approach – Responses from 492 SMEs were analysed. They were clustered into four groups according to their growth intentions. These groups included firms that have low growth intention, capital adequacy growth intention, expansion growth intention and high growth intention. ANOVA was used to explore whether these groups differed in their market or brand orientation. Findings – The results indicate that the higher growth intention group the SME belonged to the more market and brand oriented it is. The biggest differences between the SMEs were found with regards to brand orientation. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that SMEs have acknowledged the positive effect of market and brand orientations on firm growth, thus highlighting the importance of supporting growth-oriented SMEs in their quest to become more market or brand oriented. Originality/value – The study sheds more light on the little researched themes of market and brand orientations in the context of SMEs. It also offers insights into how growth intentions affect the adoption of different strategic orientations.

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