Brand Extension Strategy Research Articles

The Influence Mechanism of Cultural Fit on the Image of Time-Honored Brands: Based on the Perspective of Brand Extension

ABSTRACT International competition and the continual emergence of new brands pose significant challenges to time-honored brands, prompting many of these established brands to adopt brand extension strategies as a means of reshaping and revitalizing their brand image. Based on the theory of brand legitimacy, this study constructs a research model of cultural fit – brand legitimacy – brand image and proposes pop culture involvement as a moderating variable. Two Chinese time-honored brands in the pharmaceutical industry, Tongrentang and Pientzehuang, were selected as the experiment scenarios. The study finds that: in the process of brand extension, cultural fit plays a positive role in influencing the brand image of the time-honored brands; brand legitimacy plays a mediation role between cultural fit and brand image; pop culture involvement plays a negative moderating role between cultural fit and brand legitimacy. Applications have also been mentioned in the study.

Brand extension strategy in the presence of carbon tax regulation policy and social influence

Brand extension is a common marketing strategy used to capture a competitive advantage in the fashion industry and often causes social influence between the parent and sub-brands. On the one hand, sub-brand consumers are more willing to buy products when the parent brand sells well. On the other hand, the parent brand consumers’ purchase intention decreases when the sub-brand product sells too much. The fashion industry also contributes considerably to global carbon emissions. To reach sustainable development goals, governments impose carbon taxes. This paper analyzes how social influence and carbon tax regulations can affect a monopolistic firm’s brand extension strategy. The analytical results show that the firm extends from the parent brand to the sub-brand when the magnitude of social influence is not strong in the absence of a carbon tax, as the market expansion effect dominates the cannibalization effect. When the regulator imposes a carbon emissions tax, the range is further narrowed of the social influence that allows the firm to benefit from brand extension strategy because of the cost effect. Counterintuitively, the brand extension strategy can force the regulator to lower the tax price. Moreover, our findings reveal that social influence exerts an inverse impact on the regulator’s tax pricing decisions, contingent upon the extent of the parent brand’s brand power advantage. Carbon tax regulation hurts the firm and consumer surplus, but benefits the environment and social welfare. Additionally, we reaffirm the robustness of our findings under conditions of asymmetry in the intensity of social influence and different pollution damage functions. Intriguingly, we find that the firm can mitigate the negative cannibalization effect by selling its sub-brand products through a downstream retailer.

Factors influencing luxury service brand extension in a developing country

PurposeDespite the prevalence of luxury brand extension in the service industry, customers tend to be skeptical of the value of the extended brand. This study aims to investigate whether a parent luxury service brand significantly alters customers’ predicted quality, identity and attitude toward the extended brand.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine the proposed hypotheses in a developing country.FindingsThe results show that the parent brand’s brand distinctiveness positively and significantly signals the identity and quality of the extended brand. The model also identifies the mediating effects of quality as it signals the relationship between customers’ perception of the parent brand and attitude toward the extended service brand. As expected, as the quality of the extended brand improves, so does attitude toward the extended hotel brand. By contrast, the perceived identity of the extended brand does not significantly increase support for a positive attitude toward the extended brand.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing consumer marketing literature by suggesting future research directions and brand extension strategies for luxury hotel brand companies in developing countries.

Differential Analysis of Luxury Brand Extension Strategies in Different Cultural Contexts

With the acceleration of globalization and the increasingly fierce competition in the market, luxury brands are facing many challenges in the process of seeking sustainable growth. As an important strategic tool, brand extension strategy is of great significance to the growth and development of luxury brands. Nevertheless, there are differences in consumers' perception and acceptance of luxury brands under different cultural backgrounds, which makes it necessary for luxury brands to consider the influence of cultural factors when implementing extension strategies. This paper emphasizes the importance of cultural sensitivity in luxury brand extension strategies. Firstly, this paper explains the definition and importance of luxury brand extension strategies, and through comparing the cases of luxury brand extension strategies in different cultural contexts, the paper provides references for luxury brands to formulate extension strategies that are more in line with their target markets, so as to enhance their brand value and market competitiveness.

Sustainable Brand Extensions of Fast Fashion Brands; the Influence on Parent Brand Attitude

Abstract: Fashion industry to be one of the largest consumer industries & the second most polluting in the world because only a few industries confront as many sustainability issues as the fashion industry. This sustainability challenge is increasing day by day due to the nature of the fast fashion model, which have accelerated the consumption of fast fashion clothing goods made of poor quality and have short product lifespans. On the other hand, due to consumers’ and society’s rising demand for sustainable fashion products, fast fashion companies are investing heavily in integrating sustainability into their products or services. Most of these companies are adopting sustainable brand extension strategies for sustainable branding. The purpose of the study is to assess how younger Indian consumers’ parent brand attitudes are affected in the case of sustainable brand extension introduced by fast fashion brands. To address this purpose, a literature review was conducted before conducting the primary study by using a quantitative research design via a self- administered questionnaire. The result of primary research indicated that focusing on sustainable branding with a brand extension strategy is not misguided since it positively impacts brand attitude. The result of primary research indicated that focusing on sustainable branding with a brand extension strategy is not misguided since it positively impacts brand attitude. In addition, based on the multiple regression analysis, it concluded that all of the selected variables {brand influence (brand knowledge & brand affect), attitude towards sustainable brand extension (ATSBE), and consumer influence (fashion interest, social belonging, and sustainability concern)} are significantly correlated with brand attitude. In this process, brand influence factors are considered the most important in terms of affecting brand attitude. Therefore, for the effectiveness of sustainable brand extensions, companies should focus on not only brand extension fit but also brand factors such as brand knowledge and brand affect.

The Effect of Work Experience, Leader Supervision, and Integrity on Employee Work Achievement at the Office of the Ministry of Religion, Sungai Penuh City

Brand strategy for industrial upgrading is the inevitable move of China’s domestic down coat industry. And only relying on the eternal charm of brand to break through the inherent limitations of product life cycle, so that enterprises can always maintain a certain high level of brand competition and sustainable development. Based on previous research, this study putted forward the hypothesis that brand extension strategy had a significant effect on organizational performance in Chinese down coat industry, and then studied and analysed the relationship between brand extension strategy and its organizational performance through SEM analysis method. The results showed that brand strategy has a highly significant effect on organizational performance (β=.761***) in Chinese down coat brands, which has certain representative significance for enhance the overall competitiveness of Chinese down coat brands, ultimately, expect to be able to enter the high-end down coat market which is almost a blank market for most of China's domestic down coat brands.

Study on The Effects of Brand Extension Strategy on Organizational Performance in Chinese Down Coat Brands

Brand strategy for industrial upgrading is the inevitable move of China’s domestic down coat industry. And only relying on the eternal charm of brand to break through the inherent limitations of product life cycle, so that enterprises can always maintain a certain high level of brand competition and sustainable development. Based on previous research, this study putted forward the hypothesis that brand extension strategy had a significant effect on organizational performance in Chinese down coat industry, and then studied and analysed the relationship between brand extension strategy and its organizational performance through SEM analysis method. The results showed that brand strategy has a highly significant effect on organizational performance (β=.761***) in Chinese down coat brands, which has certain representative significance for enhance the overall competitiveness of Chinese down coat brands, ultimately, expect to be able to enter the high-end down coat market which is almost a blank market for most of China's domestic down coat brands

The role of parent brand creating loyalty and acceptance toward premium extended wine brand: a cross-national study

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the key characteristics of parent brands and the relationships among customer perceived value (a second-order construct containing financial, functional, individual and social attributes), parent brand loyalty and the willingness to pay for a premium extended brand. Moreover, the moderating effect of self–brand integration on the influences in the model is examined.Design/methodology/approachData were collected in two countries, the USA (n = 535) and China (n = 511), through an online survey. Structural equation modeling and a multi-group analysis were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe results show that perceived quality and premium brand authenticity are two important predictors of perceived value. The relationships among perceived value, parent brand loyalty and willingness to pay for an extended premium brand were significantly supported. In addition, self–brand integration was found to moderate the relationship between perceived value and loyalty to the parent brand.Practical implicationsWine marketers and managers can use recommendations to establish effective brand extension strategies to help the industry know what essential characteristics of a parent brand to focus on and maintain sustainable development through the customer–extended brand relationship.Originality/valuePrevious researchers have discussed wine consumption behaviors or branding strategies. By limiting combining two theories (flow theory and the theory of planned behavior), this paper proposes a chain of behaviors to optimize customer experience to develop a brand extension strategy based on key characteristics of the parent brand.

A Meta-Analysis of Brand Extension Success: The Effects of Parent Brand Equity and Extension Fit

Given the high failure rates of brand extensions, insights into the drivers of brand extension success are critical for marketing practitioners and scholars. Prior research has inferred that parent brand equity and extension fit are the two key success drivers; however, empirical findings are mixed. Drawing on signaling theory, categorization theory, and a large database of 2,134 effect sizes from research spanning 1990–2020, the authors address these mixed findings through a meta-analysis to develop empirical generalizations. The results show that parent brand equity and extension fit positively influence extension success. However, the multifaceted dimensions of these two drivers have differential effects. For example, among the fit dimensions, usage fit has the weakest effect. While the results suggest an overall positive interaction effect between the two drivers, a fine-grained perspective that considers the drivers’ various dimensions reveals differences. For example, brand familiarity appears to have a lower interaction effect with extension fit than the other dimensions of parent brand equity. Furthermore, the authors provide a comprehensive analysis of five groups of moderators: contextual factors (parent brand, extension, communication, and consumer factors) and research method factors. The authors offer managerial and future research implications for the design of brand extension strategies.

Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Railroad’s Brand extension strategy to develop Southwestern tourism in the USA in the early 1900s

This study employed an abductive inference approach to review and assess the critical influences in a brand extension strategy execution based on a historical example. It reveals the drivers of and impediments to success in executing a brand extension through an in-depth observation. The strategy was executed in a joined brand extension into tourism by USA’s Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe railroad (AT&SF) in the early 20th Century. The strategy was a success until an unforeseen economic crisis crippled the tourism market. Following the abductive approach, this historical example reveals the importance of extending current theoretical models to include the environmental context in the critical success factors for executing a brand extension strategy. This robust historical example adds new insights into the development and execution of a brand extension strategy over time-based on actual events. Equally important, this historical assessment reveals the previously under-discussed significance of innovation champions in forming and executing an extension strategy.

The effects of brand collaboration with the online game on customer equity and purchase intention: moderating effect of fashion brand type

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between collaboration product attributes, consumption value, customer equity and purchase intention – specifically, the moderating effect of fashion brand type (luxury and sports).Design/methodology/approachOnline game and fashion (luxury and sports) brands were selected and online game items showing items' logos were used as stimuli. A total of 328 South Korea consumers answered a survey. The hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model (SEM).FindingsCollaboration product attributes influence consumption value, which links to customer equity. Customer equity increases purchase intention. The multi-group analysis confirmed the difference between variables according to the brand.Research limitations/implicationsResearch on collaboration with the online environment is limited. This study provides theoretical background for future research and suggests multiple items to measure collaboration product attributes.Practical implicationsFashion brands can utilize online games to extend target markets. However, consumers perceive collaboration products differently depending on the brand types. Thus, companies should consider brand characteristics or identity when designing collaboration products with online games.Originality/valueThis study focuses on collaboration of fashion brands in the online environment. The results will help fashion brands establish relevant brand extension strategies.

Marka Genişlemesine Yönelik Tutumu Etkileyen Faktörler

İşletmeler pazara yeni bir ürün sürmek istediklerinde bazen prestijli mevcut markalarının adını pazara sürülen yeni ürüne veya ürün grubuna vermektedirler. Bu durum marka genişleme stratejisi olarak isimlendirilmektedir. Yeni bir marka yaratmak işletme açısından çok maliyetli olacağından işletmeler tanınmış mevcut marka ismini yeni ürünlere vererek, hem yeni marka yaratma maliyetinden kurtulmakta hem de tanınmış markanın olumlu çağrışımlarından faydalanmaktadır. Marka genişleme stratejisi işletmelere pek çok fayda sağlamasının yanı sıra bazen zarar da vermektedir. Marka yayma stratejisinin avantajlarının yanı sıra dezavantajları da bulunmaktadır. Dolayısıyla marka genişleme stratejisinin uygulanabilmesi için uygun koşulların bulunması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışma tüketicilerin marka genişlemesine yönelik tutumlarını etkileyen faktörleri belirlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu amaçla tanınmış bir markanın tüketicilerine anket uygulanmıştır. Tüketicilerin marka genişlemesine yönelik tutumunu belirlemek için Wu ve Wang (2011) tarafından geliştirilen marka tutumu ölçeğinin bilişsel boyutu kullanılmıştır. Marka tutumunu etkilediği düşünülen faktörlerden algılanan uyumu ölçmek için Bhat ve Reddy (2001) tarafından geliştirilen ölçek, marka güvenilirliğini ölçmek için Erdem ve Swart (1998) tarafından geliştirilen ölçek, tüketici yenilikçiliğini ölçmek için Manning vd. (1995) tarafından geliştirilen ölçek kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda elde edilen veriler AMOS programında analiz edilerek ulaşılan sonuçlar yorumlanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda ulaşılan sonuçlar şunlardır; tüketici yenilikçiliği algılanan uyum ve marka güvenilirliği üzerinde pozitif etkiye sahiptir; algılanan uyum ve marka güvenilirliği marka genişlemesine yönelik tutum üzerinde pozitif etkiye sahiptir.

RESEARCH ON THE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF SPORTS BRANDS

Strategy and strategic management are important components of sports brands management. However, there is less scientific research on the strategic management of sports brands. In order to explore the deep problems which exist in the process of the sports brands development, based on the theories of strategic management, brand strategy and marketing, the article unfolds a series of systematic analysis on sports brands strategic management related issues by methods which include literature data method, expert interview method, case analysis method and comparative research method. The authors start from the basic theory of sports brands, for example the connotation, characteristics and classification of sports brands, to analyze the meaning of sports brands strategy management and the present situation which current macro-environment, industry environment and sports organizations of sports brands development around the world. The article deeply discussed brand positioning strategy, brand identification strategy, brand promotion strategy, brand extension strategy, and brand innovation strategy from the view of theory and cases. Finally, the article comes to the conclusion and suggestions for strategic development of sports brands.

Luxury service brand extensions and their spillover effects on customers’ evaluations of luxury gastronomy foodservice: The case of Michelin-starred restaurants

Drawing on a consumer perspective, this article identifies the types of brand extension strategies in the luxury hospitality and foodservice field and their spillover effects on consumers’ evaluations of the image of the parent brand of the luxury restaurant. Using a multi-method approach combining focus groups and in-depth interviews, we conducted an exploratory qualitative research study utilizing 35 participants to examine their perceptions of Michelin-starred restaurants’ extension strategies and how they can affect customers’ attitudes towards the images of Michelin-starred chefs and the luxury gastronomic sector overall. The study found that not only brand extension types count when examining the spillover effects – positive, negative and mixed – on customers’ evaluation of the parent brand image. Two other elements should be considered: a brand’s strategic focus (i.e. personal, social or functional) and customers’ acquaintance and levels of knowledge of the consumption field in which the parent brand operates. Our results contribute to the literature on brand extensions and spillover effects that mainly focus on products. Thus, the findings provide valuable insights into service brand extension factors that influence customers’ perceptions and attitudes towards luxury service brands and thus contribute to scholars’ calls for more studies on brand extensions and their effects in the service field – ones combining hospitality, luxury and the foodservice industry.

Re-thinking brand extension theory: Parents, siblings and off-spring or landlords and tenants?

Brand extensions strategies are aimed at extracting further value from an existing brand. The brand family metaphor, which has resonated with marketing scholars and practitioners for decades, has promulgated the use of analogies such as parents, siblings and off-spring to describe resulting brand-to-brand relationships. In this paper however, we question whether this metaphor and its analogical mappings, still hold relevance given we are in an ‘era of liquid modernity’ (Bauman, 2000) where notions of family may be less prescriptive. Through our analysis of interview data with practitioners who work on literary film adaptations, we found that the relationships among original and extended brands may be better conceptualised using an alternative metaphor: ‘brand for rent’. Our analysis revealed that in many contemporary brand-to-brand relationships, the relationship between the two brands is not solid, but rather fluid with a ‘distance’ between them; and the relationship contractual rather than familial. Our findings indicate that this alternative metaphor may have particular merit as marketplaces adapt to increasingly fluid contexts, where novel brand extension strategies and brand-to-brand relationships are emerging. We suggest further exploration of the metaphor and consideration of others, to further assist to theorise the diversity in contemporary brand extension practice.

Leveraging Cofollowership Patterns on Social Media to Identify Brand Alliance Opportunities

The use of cobranding and brand extension strategies to access new markets has been a topic of significant interest. However, surprisingly few studies have examined cross-category connections of brands using publicly available digital footprints. In this study, the authors introduce a new, scalable automated approach for identifying potential cobranding and brand extension opportunities using brand networks derived from publicly available Twitter followership data. The digital user–brand relationship, established through followership activity, is regarded as an expression of interest toward the brand. Common followership patterns between brands are then extracted to capture cointerest between those brands’ audience. By utilizing the cointerest patterns, the approach aims to derive cross-category brand–brand and brand–category connections, which can serve as important measures for assessing cobranding and extensions opportunities. This article introduces a new construct, transcendence, which measures the extent to which a brand’s followers overlap with those of other brands in a new category. The analysis is conducted at different points in time to help managers track shifts in brand transcendence.

A Comparative Analysis of Consumption: Evidence from a Cultural Goods Market

This study uniquely employs a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) technique to account for complex relationships in consumption. The fsQCA technique assumes that relationships are based on a set–subset relationship. This assumption is fundamental when decision-makers are affected by information asymmetry and are, thus, required to jointly evaluate the credibility and reliability of a range of external signals. This issue also affects consumers in markets for cultural goods, where the quality of products is not known with certainty in advance of the purchase decision. Our study uses fsQCA to establish the effect of different quality signals on consumption in the US market for video game software. Our results show that reviews from professional critics alongside brand extension and multi-platform release strategies act as signals of product quality and, therefore, lead to high sales performance.

문화유산에 프로그램 경험 및 유적지 방문이 국제문화재산업전의 참가의도에 미치는 영향 - 브랜드확장 관점에서의 관여도 조절효과를 중심으로 -

This study examined the effect of a cultural heritage program experience and heritage spot visiting experience (as a parent brand) on the visiting intention to ‘Heritage Korea’ (as an extended brand) in addition to the moderating effect of involvement by adapting the ‘Brand Extension’ concept in the MICE industry. For this study, a survey was conducted from the 19th to 26th of Oct, 2020, among tourists who had visited the heritage spot and were interested in cultural heritage. The result (a total of 1,717 samples) showed that both heritage spot visiting experience and cultural heritage program experience positively affect an expo’s visiting intention, supporting H1 and H2. In addition, the moderating effect of involvement on the expo visiting intention has been found, supporting H3. The theoretical and practical implications are as follows: First, it broadened the research framework by connecting the brand extension strategy into the MICE industry, which was rarely studied. Secondly, it proved that the MICE host needs to focus on how to give the opportunity of experience on the generic contents and theme to the visitor, rather than focusing on the MICE event experience itself. Thus, it suggested for executives to try to promote generic content besides event promotion.

Haptics and brands: The effect of touch on product evaluation of branded products

AbstractThis research provides insight into how touch effects differ by brand familiarity and brand status. Using schema theory and contagion theory, hypotheses were tested in two between subject experiments. A sweater and pillowcase served as product stimuli and consumers were exposed to a known and unknown brand for the brand stimuli. Findings provide support for a brand contagion effect where a luxury branded product is concerned and suggest that this effect is activated through product touch. Interestingly, brand familiarity did not seem to influence the relationship between touch and product evaluation. This paper finds brand status to be a moderator of touch effects on product evaluation while brand familiarity is not. Additionally, a brand contagion effect activated through product touch is shown. The results of this paper provide insight for marketers and retailers regarding marketing strategies for different levels of the product life cycle (where familiarity differs), brand extension strategies (where familiarity and brand status may differ) and, most crucially, design of in‐store layout and product displays. It advances knowledge in the field of sensory marketing by integrating and conceptualizing previously unexplored relationships between three key areas of literature, namely product touch, brand familiarity, and brand status.

Brand Network Analysis for Identifying Co-Branding and Extension Opportunities

The use of co-branding and brand extension strategies, as a way to gain access to new markets and improve overall brand salience, has grown tremendously in the past few decades. Despite the continued success of alliances between brands belonging to diverse categories, there is surprisingly little research on identifying broader cross-category effects using current digital approaches. In our work, we introduce a new, scalable approach for inferring cross-category branding insights using implicit brand networks on social media. Unlike traditional social networks that involve explicit interaction between the entities, links within a brand network are implicit and arise due to common followership between brands on Twitter. Asymmetry among brand pairs is taken into account to calculate the transcendence of brands onto new categories. Transcendence of a brand along any given category is defined as the extent to which its followers overlap with other brands from that category. Asymmetry is also leveraged to show which brands will benefit more from a cobranding alliance. Overall, the analysis is conducted at different time periods to track shifts in brand transcendence and investigate its impact on co-branding opportunities. All findings are validated against external survey ratings and extensive robustness checks are conducted.