MARKETING IN THE SHADOWS: INFORMAL BRANDING STRATEGIES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN PREDATION-BASED ECONOMIES OF NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The rise of organized banditry in Northwestern Nigeria has created predation-based informal economies, where formal governance is weak, and conventional branding can expose small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to extortion and violence. This study investigates how informal SMEs construct and leverage “shadow brands”—informal, relational, and symbolic reputational mechanisms that substitute for formal branding—to sustain customer loyalty and ensure business continuity. Anchored in institutional voids theory and relational branding literature, the study employs an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design: 45 qualitative interviews identify core shadow branding strategies, and a survey of 480 informal entrepreneurs quantitatively tests the effects of reputation signals on customer loyalty and business continuity using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings reveal that relational identity, moral performance, and operational consistency function as critical substitutes for conventional brand markers, with customer loyalty mediating the relationship between reputation signals and business continuity (β = 0.33, p < 0.001). The study advances marketing theory by conceptualizing shadow branding as a viable, context-sensitive alternative to formal branding in fragile economies and provides actionable insights for SMEs, policymakers, and development practitioners operating under conditions of chronic insecurity.