Assessing the impact of brand extensions on brand concept and brand equity: The moderating effect of consumers' perceived fit.

摘要

Over the past two decades, the retail landscape has experienced remarkable changes due to macro- and micro-environmental forces. Many industries, including textile and apparel businesses have shut down their facilities and some have modified their strategic plan to withstand the global economic recession. One of the important marketing strategies utilized by major retailers to sustain in this economy is brand extension. While several studies have examined the effect of brand extension on brand equity, very few have investigated the parent core brand concept once the brand extension has been introduced. Considering both the paucity of research and potential financial maximization to be gained from such efforts, the overall purpose of the study is to enrich our understanding of the impact of brand extensions on the parent core brand concept and brand equity in the context of apparel. Specifically, the current study also seeks to examine whether consumers' perceived fit moderates the effects of different types of brand extensions and consumers' evaluations of the parent core brand concept and brand equity after the extension.;Data were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate students between the ages of 18 to 26. The final sample consisted of 240 college students. Of these, approximately 91% were female, approximately 65% were Caucasians, and the average age category was 18 to 23 years old. Different statistical analysis techniques (e.g., multiple regression, paired sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance) were employed to test all hypotheses.;Results revealed that there are positive relationships among consumers' initial evaluations of the parent brand equity, their attitudes toward the extensions, and their post extension evaluations of the parent core brand concept and brand equity. Results further showed that brand extension strategies (horizontal vs. vertical) have an impact on consumers' post extension evaluations of the parent core brand concept and brand equity. The study's findings also advance the brand literature in that consumers' perceived fit moderates the relationship between brand extension strategy (regardless of the types of extension) and consumer' post extension evaluations of the parent core brand concept and brand equity. Implications are provided. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.