Title: David by Goliath: what is co-branding and what is in it for SMEs

Authors: Paul Chiambaretto; Călin Gurău

Addresses: MRM – Montpellier Business School, 2300 Avenue des Moulins, 34080 Montpellier, France; i3-CRG, École polytechnique, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Bat Ensta, 828 boulevard des Maréchaux, 91762 Palaiseau, France ' MRM – Montpellier Business School, 2300 Avenue des Moulins, 34080 Montpellier, France

Abstract: Creating alliances among firms that link two or more brands has become a pervasive practice. Unfortunately, the co-branding strategy is not known and applied by many SMEs. To provide an overview of this strategy and of its specific interest for SMEs, this article offers a systematic review of the extant literature on co-branding. Because the literature is scattered and the boundaries of the concept are not always clear, we begin by defining the concept and delimiting various types of co-branding strategies before identifying a set of potential benefits and risks associated with co-branding strategies. In the following sections, we review issues related to partner selection in alliances and present recent research themes on co-branding. Finally, we identify key questions and issues that require further research, in the area of SMEs' co-branding strategies.

Keywords: co-branding; literature review; benefits and risks; entrepreneurial marketing; SMEs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2017.083805

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2017 Vol.31 No.1, pp.103 - 122

Received: 04 Jan 2016
Accepted: 04 Jan 2016
Published online: 24 Apr 2017 *

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