Conventional Marketing: The Unconventional Way- Reconceptualising Guerrilla Use of Traditional Media
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/jaes.v22i1.132Keywords:
Sustainable entrepreneurship, Guerrilla marketing, SMEs, Innovation, Asia, Ethical marketingAbstract
Sustainable entrepreneurship has become a critical concern for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in Asian and emerging-market contexts where firms operate under severe resource constraints and institutional complexity. Conventional marketing approaches are often financially prohibitive for such firms, limiting their ability to achieve visibility, growth, and long-term sustainability. Against this backdrop, this study reconceptualises guerrilla marketing as a sustainable entrepreneurial strategy rather than a set of unconventional promotional tactics. Adopting a conceptual research design, the study synthesises practitioner insights, contemporary academic literature, and illustrative cases to develop a sustainability-oriented guerrilla entrepreneurship framework. The results identify three interrelated dimensions-economic, social, and ethical sustainability-embedded within guerrilla marketing practices. The framework further demonstrates how conventional media channels, including print, direct mail, and outdoor advertising, can be transformed through guerrilla principles to generate engagement, brand differentiation, and entrepreneurial resilience without disproportionate resource expenditure. By advancing propositional linkages between guerrilla strategies and sustainable SME outcomes, the study contributes to entrepreneurship and sustainability literature by integrating marketing innovation with ethical and inclusive growth. The findings are particularly relevant for Asian SMEs seeking cost-efficient, context-sensitive, and responsible pathways to sustainable competitiveness. The study offers theoretical insights and practical implications for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and scholars concerned with innovation-driven sustainability in resource-constrained environments.
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