Are high equity brands held to a tougher standard of performance: The moderating influence of pre- vs. post consumption of the product.

摘要

High equity brands (HEB) have several advantages over low equity brands (LEB) in terms of brand equity, market share etc. Using the literature in standards of judgment and stereotyping, we posit and empirically find in four studies that in situations involving uncertainty about performance relative to the attribute claims made by brands, HEB (LEB) have an advantage over LEB (HEB) in pre-purchase (post-purchase) stage. Specifically, HEB are held to a higher performance standard compared to LEB such that if the performance claims are met or exceeded, LEB are evaluated more positively compared to HEB. In contrast, if the performance claims are not met, HEB are evaluated more negatively compared to LEB. The process findings reveal that both deviation from claimed performance and deviation from expectations influence satisfaction. Finally, our findings also show that offering better warranty than HEB improves the buying likelihood of LEB in the pre-purchase stage whereas lowering expectations for HEB improves satisfaction rating of HEB in the post-purchase stage.