Is marketing practice applicable to small business growth? A literature review based study

Abstract

Small businesses are mostly sole proprietorship businesses having a small size and
limited capital. Most entrepreneurs have either followed the trend or had an initial innovative
idea to fill a market gap. The vital question this paper addresses is - does marketing
practices, which are followed in medium and large businesses, are applicable in the growth
of small businesses or not. An extensive literature-based study reveals that the operational
focus of small business coupled with resource constraints lead to an adaptive response rather
than a systematic planning process. While the universal theories of marketing are valuable to
all business, insufficient knowledge about marketing in small business remains a reality.
Moreover, an appropriate marketing theory, specifically related to the understanding of
strategic marketing in small business, is absent. Attention has been paid mostly to the
constraints of small businesses, while the importance of the marketing discipline has been
overlooked. A balanced approach, putting emphasis on both the small firm’s limitations and
the normative marketing discipline should be focused. Market orientation and innovation
give small businesses an edge over competitors.