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The purpose of this paper is to show that high similarity between a parent brand and an extension category can have a detrimental effect on how a brand extension is perceived to perform on specific attributes. This happens because similarity influences the perceived positioning of a brand extension: lower similarity extensions can be perceived as “specialized” products, whereas high similarity extensions are perceived as “all-in-one” products not performing exceptionally well on any specific attribute.

The authors test the hypothesized effect through three experimental studies. The authors manipulate similarity both within subjects (Study 1a) and between subjects (Study 1b and Study 2). Further, the authors test the effect for specific attributes that are physical/concrete in nature (Study 1a and Study 1b) as well as attributes that are abstract/imagery-related in nature (Study 2).

High compared to low similarity improves perceptions of overall performance (i.e. performance across all attributes). But as expected, the authors also find that a high similarity brand extension is perceived to perform worse on the attribute on which a low similarity brand extension specializes, even when the parent brands of the extensions possess that attribute to the same extent. This perception of attribute performance carries on to influence brand extension purchase likelihood.

The degree of brand extension similarity has consequences for how brand extensions are perceived to be positioned in the marketplace. Although high similarity extensions receive positive evaluations, they might not be suitable when a company is trying to instil a perception of exceptional performance on a specific attribute.

The authors demonstrate a consequential exception to the marketing wisdom that brands should extend to similar categories. Although the degree of brand extension similarity has been repeatedly shown to have a positive effect on brand extension evaluation, the authors document a case when its effect is actually detrimental. This study’s focus on the dependent variable of perceived performance on specific attributes is novel in the brand extension literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of perceived product similarity and comparative ad claims on brand responses.

This study uses a two (similarity between the target product and the comparison product: relatively similar vs dissimilar) by three (product attributes of the target product: common to the comparison product, distinct from the comparison product, and a combination of common and distinct attributes) between-subjects factorial design with 300 Thai undergraduate students.

It finds that when perceived similarity between the products is high, a combination of superiority (distinct) and parity (common) ad claims lead to the best brand responses. When perceived similarity is low, superiority claims bring about the best brand responses.

It extends comparative advertising and category-substitution research by addressing the research gaps in perceived similarity and claim type.

Companies should emphasize a product’s superior attributes in general but a combination of common and superior attributes when the product is relatively similar to other products in comparative advertising.

This study provides new evidence that perceived product similarity moderates the effect of comparative ad claims on brand responses.

The purpose of this study is to find out how electronic word of mouth (eWOM) may affect evaluations of products with different brand images. In particular, the study explores differential eWOM impacts across several brand types and extension categories.

An experiment with 2 (brand image: prestige/function) × 2 (category similarity: low/high) × 2 (eWOM message type: positive/negative) between-subjects design was used to examine the impacts of eWOM on different types of brand extensions. A total of 268 subjects from a public university in the Southwest participated in the study. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used in analyzing the data.

The findings highlight the differential impact of eWOM on brand extension evaluations with different brand images. First, eWOM is more effective in influencing evaluations of functional brand extensions than prestige brand extensions. Second, whereas negative eWOM does equally bad on both high- and low-similarity brand extensions, positive eWOM is more effective in improving evaluations of high-similarity extensions than low-similarity extensions.

This study is the first to examine the impact of eWOM on products with different brand images. This is a critical issue for brand managers who allocate limited marketing resources to monitoring and managing vast amounts of eWOM activities. The findings provide important guidance for managing social media marketing communications.

This study aims to provide a way to derive inter-brand similarities from user-generated content on online brand forums, which enables the authors to analyze the market structures based on consumers' actual information searching and sharing behavior online. This study further presents a method for deriving inter-brand similarities from data on how the sales of competing brands covary over time. The results obtained by the above two methods are compared to each other.

In drawing similarities between brands, the authors utilized a newly proposed measure that modified the lift measure. The derived similarity information was applied to multidimensional scaling (MDS) to analyze the perceived market structure. The authors applied the proposed methodology to the imported car market in South Korea.

In light of some clear information such as the country of origin, the market structure derived from the presented methodology was seen to accurately reflect the consumer's perception of the market. A significant relevance has been found between the results derived from user-generated online content and sales data.

The presented method allows marketers to track changes in competitive market structures and identify their major competitors quickly and cost-effectively. This study can contribute to improving the utilization of the overflowing information in the big data era by proposing methods of linking new types of online data with existing market research methods.

The purpose of this research is to conduct an exploratory study to discover if presenting consumers with a certain content type (i.e. product-focused content with informational appeal, institution-focused content with emotional appeal, experience-focused content with emotional appeal,) and blog type (i.e. a corporate, sponsored or a personal blog) persuade consumers to form perceptions of credibility and similarity toward the fashion brand, which leads them to further engage with the brand through Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM).

This study employs a 3(content type: product-focused, institution-focused, experience-focused) x 3(blog type: corporate, sponsored and personal) between-subjects design. Mock fashion blogs and content were developed in order to provide a realistic blogging experience for the participants. With 511 usable data collected, ANOVA was employed to test the relationships.

Findings reveal that content type, specifically product-focused content and experiential content, is an important consideration for illustrating similarities between the brand and consumers compared to institutional content. Product-focused content is found to be effective in encouraging consumer eWOM for the brand as well. Further, the interaction effect of blog type and content type was significant in establishing brand credibility. However, blog type did not influence any of the dependent variable.

This study brings meaningful suggestions to fashion brands on effective blog campaign, which eventually provide insights on how brands can influence female consumers to shape positive evaluation toward the brand.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new method to assess trade name distinctiveness.

The authors implemented a two‐staged methodology. First, catchwords in trade names in the relevant database were identified and ranked according to how commonly they were used and, second, these names were classified into four distinct categories using clearly‐defined criteria based on their degree of similarity: champions (zero similarity), runners‐up (low similarity), wannabes (high similarity), and washouts (extreme similarity).

The proposed assessment method allows entrepreneurs to create names that are dissimilar to existing ones and hence support a company's later activities designed to enhance the reputation of the name and build brand equity. The scale is applicable in various business sectors.

The study is limited by: the number of names compared being relatively small, the terminology used to denominate the various scale levels could be revisited and other denominations might better reflect the levels. Due to its pioneering nature, the adopted approach needs to be validated by further studies, in particular, how does one assess whether the method is working adequately and, because the scale focuses on one attribute of the name, i.e. distinctiveness, other relevant attributes are not taken into consideration. The trade‐off between the various attributes was not within the scope of this study.

This is the only study in the field that provides a practical method for assessing trade name distinctiveness through providing actual examples of the possibility of name confusion or differentiation. The study also introduces new concepts for naming strategies such as catch words, trade name distinctiveness, distinctiveness scale, and the similarity indicator. Moreover, the study provides a new classification of characteristics of names that should or should not be used.

This study aims to examine the impacts of brand structure (i.e. brand cohesiveness and similarity) on brand perceptions and the adverse effects of brand extensions.

Data were collected online via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Overall, 188 US residents participated in the 2 (extension typicality: typical and atypical) × 3 (brand cohesiveness: high, medium and low) between-subject experimental design.

Narrow brands are favored over cohesive broad brands, and cohesive broad brands are favored over incohesive broad brands. When new extensions are typical, brand cohesiveness dominates brand similarity in terms of adverse extension effects. Negative extension information exerts more salient adverse effects on narrow brands and cohesive broad brands than on incohesive broad brands. Conversely, when new extensions are atypical, brand similarity dominates brand cohesiveness on adverse extension effects. Negative extension information exerts more salient adverse effects on narrow brands than on cohesive and incohesive broad brands.

Brand cohesiveness is more impactful than brand similarity on brand perceptions. The identical adverse effects of typical extensions on narrow, and broad brands exist only when the portfolio products of the broad brands are cohesive.

Cohesive broad brands have the advantages of being more favored than incohesive broad brands and being less vulnerable to negative atypical extension information than are narrow brands.

This study advances brand research by examining the interplay between brand structure (i.e. category cohesiveness and similarity) and extension typicality on adverse extension effects.

This paper aims to examine whether brands derive their personalities from their culture of origin, the stereotypes about their cultures of their origin or the cultures of their buyers. It also examines which of a culture’s personality traits are more transmittable to brand personalities (BPs), as well as the consequences of the BP resemblance to the personalities of the brand’s culture of origin and consumers’ culture on BP’s clarity and consumer attachment to the brand.

Hypotheses were developed and tested on survey data from a sample figure of 1,116 US consumers of luxury brands on 23 luxury brands originating from France, the USA, Britain, Italy and Germany. Trait by trait and personality profile analyses were performed using hierarchical model analysis (linear mixed effects models) and Cattell’s (1969) pattern similarity coefficient.

The culture of a brand’s origin accounts for differences of different brands personalities. The personality profiles of a country’s brands are distinct from the BP profiles of brands from other countries. The conscientiousness trait of a culture is the most transmittable to BPs. BPs derive their characteristics from stereotypes of a culture’s personality than the actual personality of the culture. The assimilation of a brand’s personality to consumer’s culture is not supported. The similarity of a BP to both real and stereotypical personality of the culture of the brand’s origin enhance perceived clarity of the BP.

The study’s focus is limited to established luxury brands coming from countries that are the traditional producers of luxuries. Empirical evidence also comes only from American consumers of luxury brands. New luxury brands from countries that have recently emerged as luxury producers need to be included.

Brands retain a significant space to differentiate their personalities beyond the influence of their culture of origin on BPs. With the exception of conscientiousness, personality traits of culture are not automatically inherited or transmitted to the brands. Cultural stereotypes find their way into BPs easier than real personality traits and managers should focus on them. BP matching with the personality of a culture is a good way for managers to increase the perceived clarity of their brands’ personality.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the culture’s influence on BP using a compatible to the BP construct cultural framework, McCrae and Terracciano’s (2005a) personality of a culture framework. Three cultural meaning transfer processes are examined (cultural inheritance, cultural stereotyping and acculturation to the consumer’s culture) within the same study from a trait-by-trait and a configurational (i.e. personality profile) perspective. The consequences of BP similarity to the brand’s culture of origin as well as consumer’s culture on the BP’s appeal are also assessed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among cognitive-based trust, affect-based trust, sense of belonging, self-image congruity, perceived community-brand similarity, and information intention by applying the uses and gratification (U&G) theory and the dual mediating hypothesis in the context of Taiwanese social networking brand sites.

This study uses specific metrics to measure construct items. The respondents have used or currently use the Facebook Apple fan page for more than three months. This study conducts the online survey of mySurvey through the website and provides respondents with convenience store coupon rewards to increase the response rate. This study collects 500 samples with 381 valid samples and uses a structural equation modeling to test the research hypotheses.

The effects of cognitive-based trust on psychological factors are higher than the effects of affect-based trust on psychological factors. In addition, cognitive-based trust has the largest effect on perceived community-brand similarity as well as on self-image congruity. Hence, cognitive-based trust is far a more important factor than affect-based trust for the effects on psychological factors. Self-image congruity has significant and positive effects on the intention to give, obtain, and pass information. Self-image congruity has the largest effect on the intention to pass information as well as on the intention to obtain information, but sense of belonging has the largest effect on the intention to give information. The effects of perceived community-brand similarity on the intention to give information and the intention to obtain information are significant yet mild.

SNS members are eager to participate in e-word-of-mouth (e-WOM) activities via affection and social interaction, care for each other, and a feeling of concern. SNS managers should focus on members’ interaction content and processes to foster long-term relationships and create value propositions. Managers should use innovative online platforms to maintain communication and interaction in order to: provide cognitive trust among members; acquire members’ trust; retain members; and enhance members’ connectivity. SNS managers must increase members’ psychological connection, utilize cognitive-/affect-based trust, and attract brand devotion for common interests.

In terms of the SNS members’ interaction and participation in interpersonal relationships, psychological perspectives can generate long-term reliance and sense of belonging. The willingness to exchange information and the involvement of continuous participation can affect the e-WOM behavior of giving and passing information. Brand fan page members are more willing to engage in e-WOM intentions when they have a higher self-image congruity and sense of belonging.

This study adopts the tricomponent attitude model to examine the relationship among cognition, affection, and behavioral intentions of community members between individuals and groups.

The purpose of this study is to test such effects on brands’ relationships and the perceived value of advertising. Social advertising featuring endorsed brands has significantly grown in the past few years. Companies and social networking sites (SNSs) are hailing such types of advertising as being more credible to users as they feature their friends’ indirect endorsements; however, the issue of friends’ likability alongside the users’ relationships with the actual SNS is seldom considered with regard to any potential negative/positive effects they might have on brands’ relationships and the perceived value of advertising within SNSs.

Taking a customer-centric approach and based on the social information processing theory, this study investigates the influence of friends’ likability and similarity and users’ relationships with the SNS (Facebook, FB) on brands’ relationships and advertising value by using a Web-based survey. The total number of responses included in the analysis is 305. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and LISREL 8.8.

The findings show that the overall user experience on FB is based on three key areas: socializing with friends, the relationship with the social network itself and the relationship with the advertised brands. These contribute to the perceived value of customer endorsed FB advertising.

The study discusses various significant implications for online platforms, brands and the success of online advertising within SNSs.

The study provides managers with discussion on what they need to consider in relation to managing their brand relationship within SNSs and the importance of considering the role FB plays in such relationships.

This study contributes to the existing literature by making the link between users’ experiences/friendships within SNSs, their relationships with the SNS (FB) itself and their relationships with the advertised brand and examines how these three combined relationships impact the perceived value of the ads by users of FB.