Rebranding as social negotiation: tensions across multi-level stakeholders in shopping malls

Rebranding is well-established for revising positioning, yet the literature treats internal and external stakeholder perspectives in isolation. This isolation seems to hide potential tensions that arise when diverse stakeholder groups project conflicting demands onto the new positioning. Drawing on a multiple-case study of two Indonesian shopping malls that pivoted from a one-stop model to a technology-focused positioning, this study explores how employees, tenants, and customers respond to rebranding, the resulting multi-stakeholder tensions, and the management strategies used to address them. We identify four phases in the rebranding process: (1) preparation, (2) brand revisioning, (3) stakeholder engagement, and (4) execution. The findings theorise rebranding as a socially negotiated process in which power dynamics shape multi-stakeholder tensions. We conceptualise stakeholder buy-in as organisational sensemaking, which is facilitated by acculturation through structured training and socialization. This research equips practitioners with context-specific strategies for mitigating resistance, including inclusive coalition-building, balanced brand continuity, demonstrable short-term wins, and culturally sensitive negotiation to align stakeholder expectations.