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The purpose of this paper is to utilize co-query volumes of brands as relatedness measurement to understand the market structure and demonstrate the usefulness of brand relatedness via a real-world case.

Using brand relatedness measurement obtained using data from Google Trends as data inputs into a multidimensional scaling method, the market structure of the automobile industry is presented to reveal its competitive landscape. The relatedness with brands involved in product-harm crisis is further incorporated in empirical models to estimate the influence of crisis on future sales performance of each brand. A representative incident of a product-harm crisis in the automobile industry, which is the 2009 Toyota recall, is investigated. A panel regression analysis is conducted using US and world sales data.

The use of co-query as brand relatedness measurement is validated. Results indicate that brand relatedness with a brand under crisis is positively associated with future sales for both US and global market. Potential presence of negative spillovers from an affected brand to innocent brands sharing common traits such as same country of origin is shown.

The brand relatedness measured from co-query volumes is considered as a broad concept, which encompasses all associative relationships between two brands perceived by the consumers. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying the concept of brand relatedness and proposing a measure with readily accessible data. Compared to previous studies relying on a vast amount of online data, the proposed measure is proven to be efficient and enhance predictions about the future performance of brands in a turbulent market.

The goal of this paper is twofold: (1) to investigate how relatedness-supportive corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives influence brand happiness among retail bank customers through a mediating mechanism of customer participation in brand CSR movements; and (2) to analyze how relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives’ effect may be moderated by cause choice and customer-brand goal congruence.

Data were collected from 379 retail bank customers via a paper-and-pencil survey. The hypothesized moderated-mediation effects were tested using Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS (Model 3, Model 4 and Model 7).

Results show that relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives increase brand happiness among retail bank customers through increasing their participation in brand CSR movements. Furthermore, the use of customer determination in the choice of cause enhances the positive effect of relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives on customer participation in brand CSR movements. Similarly, when customers choose the cause and the customer-brand goal is congruent, the effect of relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives on brand happiness is stronger than when the customer-brand goal is incongruent and cause choice is not aligned.

This research is grounded on the relationship motivation theory (RMT), basic psychological needs theory and self-congruity theory to unpack the relationship between relatedness-supportive CSR programs on brand happiness. Integrating three research streams (i.e. CSR, brand management and retail banking), this study proposes customer participation in brand CSR movements as a novel mechanism and sheds light on how relatedness-supportive CSR interplays with cause choice/customer-brand goal congruence to affect brand happiness among retail bank customers in emerging markets.

This study aims to investigate the psychological mediating mechanisms through which omnichannel integration affects customer word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviors in omnichannel retailing.

Guided by prior omnichannel retailing studies, the authors identify taxonomy of customer WOM behaviors with three archetypes, namely, face-to-face WOM, online store WOM, and social media WOM. Then, the authors draw on social exchange theory (SET) to explain how omnichannel integration influences customer WOM behaviors through the mediating roles of perceived personal preference fit and perceived social relatedness. The authors empirically tested the model using structural equation modeling and multiple mediation analysis with a field survey of 335 omnichannel customers.

Perceived personal preference fit positively influences face-to-face WOM and social media WOM, whereas perceived social relatedness is positively associated with face-to-face WOM, online store WOM, and social media WOM. Furthermore, transactional integration and relational integration positively affect perceived personal preference fit, whereas relational integration has a positive effect on perceived social relatedness. Finally, perceived personal preference fit mediates the effects of transactional integration and relational integration on face-to-face WOM and social media WOM. Perceived social relatedness mediates the effects of relational integration on face-to-face WOM, online store WOM, and social media WOM.

The authors' study advances the omnichannel retailing literature by proposing a taxonomy of customer WOM behaviors in omnichannel retailing and identifying the mediating mechanisms through which omnichannel integration influences customer WOM behaviors.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of belonging to brand communities in improving consumer well-being and brand evaluations.

Two studies were conducted. Study 1 manipulates the framing of a brand to be either socially- or product-oriented and measures brand community joining intentions based on underlying levels of consumer loneliness and need to belong. Study 2 manipulates feelings of belongingness with a brand community and measures its impact on relatedness satisfaction, state loneliness and brand evaluations.

Study 1 finds that lonely consumers with a high need to belong are more likely to express intentions to join a brand community when it is socially-oriented. Study 2 finds that belonging to a brand community improves relatedness satisfaction which, in turn, reduces state loneliness and improves brand evaluations.

This research has significant implications for marketing practitioners who are looking to foster relationships among consumers in the form of brand communities, especially given the positive impact of these communities on consumer well-being. These findings suggest that marketers should create brand communities that foster a social (rather than product) focus to create a sense of belongingness with the brand and among its community members, and that doing so can improve relatedness satisfaction needs and reduce consumer loneliness.

This research contributes to the growing literature on consumer loneliness and is among the first to identify the positive psychological outcomes of socially-oriented brand communities on loneliness.

The purposes of the study were (1) to examine whether directional dominance between co-existing athlete brands and sponsor brands exists; (2) to explore whether directional dominance influences consumers' memory interference; and (3) to test whether brand interference interacts with directional dominance among brands to influence consumer evaluation and behaviors under multiple endorsement and sponsorship portfolios.

The research is a 3 (directional dominance: symmetric dominance vs. asymmetric dominance with existing vs. asymmetric dominance with newly endorsed brand) x 2 (brand memory interference: interference vs. no interference) between-subjects factorial design.

The results indicate that (1) directional dominance influenced consumer brand interference, and directional dominance interacted with brand interference on (2) brand evaluation and (3) purchase intention in multiple brand portfolios.

Considering that conventional single-sponsor sponsorship or single-endorser endorsement portfolios are increasingly rare, research on concurrent circumstances of multiple endorsers and multiple endorsed brands in multiple brand portfolios was necessary. By expanding and reconceptualizing the context of brand networks, this study provides empirical evidence on how the dominance and directionality between endorser and (existing and newly) endorsed brands—an athlete endorser's strong pre-existing association with an existing endorsed brand in particular—influenced consumer brand interference and the brand evaluation in multiple brand portfolios.

Microblog has become an important tool of social marketing since 2010. Compared with traditional blog, microblog has several distinctive features, such as ease of use, viral transmission, high interactivity and real-time communication. Microblog provides a communication platform for companies and consumers; however, it challenges companies’ consumer-brand relationship management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influencing mechanism of microblog interaction tactics on consumer-brand relationship.

Based on grounded theory, 66 representative companies’ posts on Weibo are collected, with 1,395 company posts and 5,959 following posts. An influence mechanism model of company microblog interaction tactics on consumer-brand relationship is proposed, then the saturation level of this mechanism is tested.

Results show that: first, companies adopt two types of tactics in microblog interaction: social interaction and task-oriented interaction; second, microblog interaction arises consumers’ emotional response and cognition toward specific brand and eventually influences consumer-brand relationship. Consumers’ emotional response includes pleasure and arousal, brand cognition includes perceived quality, perceived relatedness with companies and brand resonance; third, the influence mechanism differs among different consumer knowledge level, industry and brand awareness.

This study provides insight into the use of microblog interaction tactics. Companies may cross-use social interaction and task-oriented interaction tactics to enhance consumer-brand relationship. Companies need to produce microblog content based on the interests of consumers and further establish and improve fan feedback mechanism.

This paper constructs a model of the influence of company microblog interaction tactics on consumers. This study finds that co-creation activities initiated by companies are the new tactics to attract consumers on microblog. The finding adds new knowledge to the literature of company consumer interaction and provides a theoretical basis for the practice of microblog marketing.

This paper aims to examine whether companies in business‐to‐business (B2B) markets can leverage their brands extended into business‐to‐consumer (B2C) markets and how consumers evaluate these extensions.

A model is developed by combining Aaker and Keller's brand extension model with theories from B2B branding as well as other consumer branding literature, and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively to have an insight about how consumers evaluate brand extensions.

In the context of B2B brand extensions into B2C markets, consumers use brand concept consistency, product‐level relatedness and transferability of skills and resources as major cues to evaluate extensions. Perceived quality, innovativeness and environmental concerns are also relevant cues.

As a consequence of these findings, branding strategies that stretch B2B brands into the domain of consumer markets can be successful in cases where consumers perceive a fit with respect to skills and resources, brand concept, and existing products, and when the parent brand is perceived as being high quality, innovative and environmentally responsible.

The main contribution of the study is to replicate the analysis of brand extension evaluation in a different context, namely B2B brand extension into the B2C market.

The paper seeks to discuss and analyse the nature of place umbrella brands and the role such brands play in promotion of a country, a region, or a city. The purpose is also to identify some salient success criteria of provenance associations as core values of place umbrella brands.

The study delineates a conceptual framework, which illustrates important components in place umbrella branding. It also highlights a set of criteria to aid prioritisations among prospective provenance associations that have a potential to be used as brand values of place umbrella brands.

The paper identifies some characteristics of provenance associations, which make them more transferable across a bundle of umbrella brand partners. The generation of better marketing theory in the field of place branding will make it easier for practitioners to reach the right decisions in choice of provenance associations.

It is claimed that transcendence is related to the transferability of provenance associations across a bundle of brands. Because transferability strongly depends on perceptions of similarity, the starting point is to identify matches between the partner brands based on their shared provenance.

The article ends with a recommendation that researchers in place branding should carefully analyze provenance associations according to the suggested criteria.

Most research on branding highlights the role of associations for a single brand. Many firms, however, have multiple brands and/or different versions of one brand. The latter is largely the case for many corporate brands. This paper aims to broaden the understanding of corporate brand associations and their transfer within the firm’s brand and product portfolio. In particular, this paper also examines the concept of corporate brand innovativeness and the influence of brand architecture as supportive and restrictive boundary conditions for its transfer.

This conceptual paper explains the nature, benefits and challenges of corporate brand innovativeness within the context of a firm’s brand architecture. On the basis of a literature review, the authors provide an overview of the domain and derive avenues for future research.

Research and practice have not fully realised the importance of corporate brand images for supporting a firms’ product portfolio. In particular, (corporate) marketing managers need to consider the potential value of favourable perceptions of corporate brand innovativeness across products and the moderating role of brand architecture.

More empirical research is needed to understand the reciprocal relationship and transfer between corporate and product brand associations and equity.

A corporate marketing perspective allows firms to use corporate brand associations to support products and services for that brand. This paper discusses perceived corporate brand innovativeness as one particularly important corporate brand association.

The authors discuss the use of corporate brand associations under the consideration of brand architectures and boundaries and draw on several research streams in the brand management literature. Much of the branding and innovation literature centres on the product level; research on corporate brand innovativeness has been relatively neglected.

This study aims to examine the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and idiosyncratic risk in the restaurant industry. The study also explores whether brand diversification magnifies the risk reduction effect of CSR in the restaurant industry.

The study uses an unbalanced panel of 274 firm-year observations for 43 restaurant firms over the period 1995–2015. Models are estimated via fixed effect regression with robust standard errors.

The study finds that CSR involvement reduces idiosyncratic risk and this risk reduction is intensified when restaurant firms operate a portfolio of brands.

The study’s findings are limited to restaurant industry, therefore, generalization of the findings to other industries requires delicate care. Brand diversification is a simple brand count due to a lack of brand sales data.

CSR activities are not cost burden for restaurant firms. Indeed, CSR could be a viable strategy to reduce the volatility in future expected cash flows, hence the idiosyncratic risk. This risk reduction could help owners/managers access to capital with lower cost. Moreover, the study suggests that CSR practices should not be implemented in isolation from firm marketing strategy such as portfolio of brands.

Although prior hospitality research puts forth some evidence using systematic risk as the measure of firm risk, this measure may not best suit the purpose in CSR context given that CSR is a direct, firm-specific strategy. Hence, the current study provides both new evidence with firm-specific, idiosyncratic risk and introduces an important contingency situation when the risk reduction effect of CSR would become more profound for restaurant firms.