Cross-Cultural Success of Low-Fit Brand Extensions: The Impact of Information Type

摘要

Brand extension, the pervasive marketing activity in which a brand launches a product in a new category, has been widely recognized as an effective strategy to leverage the extant equity of the parent-brand. Most findings indicate that high (vs. low) fit extensions are more successful and more favorably impact the parent-brand. In real settings, however, there exist many successful low-fit extensions, especially in Eastern cultures, suggesting that while the findings for high-fit extensions are consistent with observations in the market place, the unfavorable evaluations of low-fit extensions are less defensible. In this research, in two studies, we identify factors that result in successful low-fit extensions in Eastern and Western cultures. We implicate the type of extension information (attribute vs. benefit) as a determinant factor of the success of low-fit extensions and suggest that the differences in context dependence (the degree to which the context is incorporated into judgments) of Eastern and Western consumers impact low-fit extension success. Our research extends the current understanding of low-fit extension success and provides guidance to global marketers on how to communicate their extensions in different cultures.