Governance of SMEs and branding strategies: the case of Agri-food SME’s

The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of the governance structure on branding strategies. The link between ownership structure and strategy is supported by the literature, in particular in Mathé and Rivet 1993 or Le Vigoureux in 1997. Methodologically, studies show that corporate governance is contingent on the creation of value (Remaud, H., 2011), innovation (Couderc and Stephany, 2005; Ambiaud, 2009; Chouaibi, J. and al, 2010) and mediumsized enterprises strategies (Le Vigoureux, F 1997) It remains important to properly characterize the nature of the relationship between agri-food SME's1 and the strategies used to present their products on the market. The question therefore arises from several perspectives: Do managers expect a change in brand policy when new participants invest in the SME's capital? Are they aware of this? Are they sensitive? The Leaders themselves, are they still making their own decisions? Are they aware that brand policy changes can be generated following an entry in their capital? At the opposite, does a change in governance have any effects on market strategies? At first, however, and precisely for this communication, we choose a quantitative approach to measure the phenomenon. We simply seek to measure the impact of a change in the governance strategies. The database allows us to identify companies that have followed different perspectives: Starting with small farms that were bought out, those associated.... These forms allow us to observe the time changes made after the structural change. Agree to submit its products under the brand or under their own brand, share an umbrella brand, benefit and support the quality of its products, a collective brand reflects involving strategic decisions. We assume that these decisions were, appropriate, reasoned and fed reflection. In particular, we thought that the trade-off between individual and collective strategy was a key dilemma in the positioning of actors, as we noted, could be very significant for SME managers in the agri-food world. Finally, it is apparent that changes in branding were a clear marker indicating the impact that a change in governance could operate.