Abstract
Uber owner-operators have faced significant challenges in South Africa, Australia, the
United Kingdom and a multitude of other marketplaces. This can be attributed to the lack of
licensing, fee structure, employment practices and disruption of the existing public transport
sector. Consequences have included violence against owner-operators, legal challenges,
parliamentary enquiries and proposed regulatory mechanisms. As a result, owner-operator drivers
have faced a loss of income, danger to life and property, and therefore their livelihood. These
consequences however present an opportunity for owner-operators to diversify to similar mobile
applications and service providers such as Taxify. Branding traditionally holds significant value
for any organisation, this can be witnessed in the significant marketing spend of established
companies. However in this case, the lack of vehicle branding presents brand equity and opportunity
to cross-subsidise owner-operator income. The lack of branding on Uber vehicles results in lack of
formal attachment of owner- operators to the Uber brand from a marketing point of view, which
triggers the question, can value be derived from not branding, rather than branding.
This study aims to propose the creation of entrepreneurial opportunity for Uber owner- operators,
by not branding. The study is qualitative in nature and makes use of a narrative review
methodology. The study proposed a conceptual framework, derived from literature, illustrating how
personal brand equity can be built by lack of branding. The value of the research lies in the
identification of entrepreneurial opportunity by not branding. Owner- operators and application
developers can utilise the conceptual model to pursue new business ventures and diversify income
streams, while still remaining independent and
relevant in the transport industry.