Management and Economics
| Open Access |
DOI: Entrepreneurial Marketing and Traditional Marketing: A Conceptual Re-Examination
Maimoona Khalid Aziz , MSc, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Birmingham Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu , PhD, Department of Interdisciplinary Research and Statistics, PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Syeda Morsheda Sogra , MSc, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Birmingham Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Hajirah Farooq , MSc, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Birmingham Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Tina Puri , MBA, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Birmingham Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Syeda Faiza Sogra , MSc, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Birmingham Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Madiha Hassan , MPhil, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Birmingham Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Olumuyiwa Abiodun , MSc, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Birmingham Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Fidelis Evwiekpamare Olori , PhD, Faculty of Business Management, Oxford Brookes University, GBS Partnership, Birmingham, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Charles Leyman Kachitsa , PhD, Faculty of Business Management and Enterprise, Leeds Trinity University, GBS Partnership, Manchester, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Kingsley Chimaobi Akabuokwu , MBA, Faculty of Business, Results Consortium Limited, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Northampton, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Festus Ituah , PhD, School of Health and Sports Science, Regent College, London, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Eddy Eidenehi , PhD, Department of Management Studies, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), Murcia, Spain; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Bumi Jang , MPH, Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Christiana Adekunbi Falade , PhD, Department of Business Management, Scholars School System, Leeds Trinity University Partnership, Bradford Campus, United Kingdom; and PENKUP Research Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom.Abstract
Entrepreneurial marketing has grown into a substantive research area over the past three decades, yet its conceptual boundaries remain fluid. Scholars continue to debate whether entrepreneurial marketing represents a break from traditional marketing theory or an adaptive extension of established frameworks. This paper offers a critical re-examination of the relationship between the two domains by synthesising influential conceptual contributions, interrogating their underlying assumptions, and considering the implications for small and medium enterprises. Drawing on literature that spans marketing theory, entrepreneurship research, and SME scholarship, the paper argues that entrepreneurial marketing should not be seen as a rejection of traditional marketing but as a contextually driven reconfiguration. Entrepreneurial firms operate in environments defined by uncertainty, resource scarcity, and opportunity-driven behaviour. These conditions encourage practices that diverge from classical marketing models not because those models are obsolete, but because they were originally designed around the logics and capacities of large, stable organisations. The analysis highlights three areas where entrepreneurial marketing departs most significantly from traditional theory: opportunity orientation, resource leveraging, and the central role of the entrepreneur. The paper concludes by proposing a reframed conceptual relationship between the two domains, suggesting that entrepreneurial marketing is best understood as a behavioural and strategic response to entrepreneurial conditions rather than a fundamentally different paradigm.
Keywords
Entrepreneurial marketing, Traditional marketing theory, Opportunity orientation, Small and medium enterprises, Marketing strategy, Innovation, Resource leveraging, Marketing–entrepreneurship interface
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Copyright (c) 2025 Maimoona Khalid Aziz, Kennedy Oberhiri Obohwemu, Syeda Morsheda Sogra, Hajirah Farooq, Tina Puri, Syeda Faiza Sogra, Madiha Hassan, Olumuyiwa Abiodun, Fidelis Evwiekpamare Olori, Charles Leyman Kachitsa, Kingsley Chimaobi Akabuokwu, Festus Ituah, Eddy Eidenehi, Bumi Jang, Christiana Adekunbi Falade
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