KOSGEB Supports And SMEs Brand Knowledge

Abstract

The economic system has changed worldwide after the Second World War era. Especially with the gas crisis after the 1970s increasing input costs affect negatively economic growth. Because of these results, small and medium enterprises (SME) become more important  (Bo, 1992). SME’s are very important for countries' economy, therefore they should be supported by all governments (Dogan, 1998). Brand knowledge means that; during the process of purchase, it helps consumers to provide possibilities about the experience of consumers and guess the ability of characteristics of products. KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Turkey) was established in 1990 in order to support SME’s in Turkey. KOSGEB focus on support programs and project-based support programs after 2010. Especially these days KOSGEB provides project-based support programs such as SME Project Support Programme and SME Development Support Programme for building brands. Therefore this study aims to analyze the role of KOSEB support programs for SMEs’ brand knowledge (KOSGEB Destek Programları Yönetmeliği, 2010). However; there are a lot of studies about branding in the relevant literature, there are not enough studies about KOSGEB supports for brand knowledge of SMEs’. There is no study about KOSGEB supports for brand knowledge of SMEs in the TR71 region (Aksaray, Nigde, Nevsehir, Kirsehir and Kirikkale provinces). Therefore this study is unique. The survey method is used in this study, and the survey was made between  07.05.2018  and 20.06.2018 and 115 people joined this survey. Before starting the study, consent was taken from the authorities and the participants. This study is exploratory in nature because it aims to analyze KOSGEB supports that affect the brand knowledge of SME’s. 115 people in the TR71 area were filled the survey forms. The survey was conducted between  07.05.2018  and 20.06.2018. According to our results; education level, KOSGEB support time, SMEs’ operation time, SMEs’ sector, KOSGEB support type and maximum limit of KOSGEB support affect brand knowledge of SMEs.