The integration of indigenous products from emerging economies into global markets presents distinct challenges, requiring marketing strategies that navigate complex cultural and commercial interfaces. Existing frameworks often inadequately address the unique socio-economic and cultural contexts of producers in these regions. This study aims to develop a qualitative framework for marketing Ghanaian indigenous products within globalised markets. It seeks to identify the core strategic challenges and enablers experienced by local enterprises and to synthesise these into an actionable model. A multi-case study design was employed, utilising purposive sampling of 24 senior executives from successful indigenous enterprises across the agri-food, textile, and craft sectors. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analysed using a thematic analysis approach to derive conceptual categories and relationships. Analysis revealed a central tension between authenticity preservation and market adaptation. A predominant theme was the strategic hybridisation of marketing narratives, where approximately two-thirds of participants deliberately fused traditional symbolism with contemporary global wellness or sustainability discourses to enhance appeal. Successful global market navigation for indigenous products is contingent upon a dynamic, culturally-grounded strategic capability that selectively adapts elements of the marketing mix while protecting core product integrity and provenance narratives. Enterprise managers should institutionalise processes for continuous cultural intelligence gathering. Policymakers are advised to develop support programmes that enhance digital storytelling competencies and facilitate protected geographical indication certifications. Indigenous marketing, global market integration, qualitative framework, Ghana, cultural hybridisation, strategic adaptation This paper provides a novel, contextually-embedded framework that delineates the strategic pathways for cultural resource conversion in global marketing, moving beyond generic export models.
Mensah-Bonsu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.