Increasing Brand Orientation and Brand Capabilities Using Licensing: an Opportunity for SMEs in International Markets

This paper explores the effects of brand licensing on brand orientation and brand capabilities for fashion small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in domestic and international markets. This work’s aim is to examine whether and how brand licensing can be a strategic marketing choice for footwear SMEs with reference to the licensee’s perspective. This paper addresses the literature gap of brand licensing in fashion SMEs, by observing that such a choice can be used strategically, not only to develop own brands, to overcome brand barriers and to reinforce the own brand orientation, but also to acquire and develop brand capabilities. The study is mainly exploratory and based on the qualitative research approach of multiple case study methodology. The firms under investigation are five Italian footwear SMEs with a brand portfolio composed of both owned and licensed brands. According to study findings, brand licensing seems strategic to build effective and lasting competitive advantage by acquiring, and furtherly developing, brand capabilities. This seems to support the idea that brand licensing can represent a useful tool to overcome brand barriers, but also to interact with the company’s knowledge management domain.