Overcoming the Monster: How Vulnerable Small Businesses Turn Rival Villains into Co-Branded Storytelling Heroes

Storytelling is a popular and effective brand-building strategy among prominent consumer brands. However, for vulnerable small businesses focused on daily survival, the prospect of pursuing a brand alliance partner and sharing co-branded stories on social media may seem like an excessive business risk. Uncertainty about how to begin the search for suitable business-to-business (B2B) partners or how to identify compelling stories to tell may lead community entrepreneurs to avoid potential growth opportunities due to fear of competitors vying for the same scarce resources. The purpose of this study was to explore how resource-dependent small and medium enterprises (SMEs) employ co-branded storytelling strategies to build B2B brands on Facebook. Findings from an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study, which gathered data from a purposive sample of small businesses, suggest several joint venture strategies for SMEs hesitant to engage in co-branding. A key contribution of the study is the identification of four co-branded story plots and their potential narrative variations. The results indicate that regional B2B clusters benefit from co-branded endorsements by collectively creating a competitive critical mass for community-based enterprises. Additionally, culturally resonant co-branded stories can offer a competitive advantage over large retail counterparts by innovatively leveraging authentic narratives that vividly depict local flavors and unique neighborhood characters in emotionally compelling storylines.