Effects of Prototype and Exemplar Fit on Brand Extension Evaluations: A Two‐Process Contingency Model

The brand extension literature suggests that consumers will favorably evaluate a brand extension when (a) it has high fit with the brand and (b) the brand has positive evaluations. We suggest that when a brand operates in multiple product domains, extension evaluations are more complex than have bee...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer research 2006-06, Vol.33 (1), p.41-49
Main Authors: Mao, Huifang, Krishnan, H. Shanker
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Bathing
Brand equity
Brand preferences
Brands
Cognitive models
Consumer attitudes
Consumer behavior
Consumers
Memory
Need for cognition
Perceptions
Pretests
Prototypes
Psychological attitudes
Shampoo
Studies
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The brand extension literature suggests that consumers will favorably evaluate a brand extension when (a) it has high fit with the brand and (b) the brand has positive evaluations. We suggest that when a brand operates in multiple product domains, extension evaluations are more complex than have been conceptualized, and favorable consumer responses may result even in the absence of the above two conditions. Our two‐process contingency model proposes two dimensions of fit (brand prototype fit and product exemplar fit) and two evaluative processes (top‐down and parallel attitude transfer) that drive extension evaluations in different ways, depending on the level of cognitive resources. Three empirical studies found consistent support for the model.
ISSN:0093-5301
1537-5277
DOI:10.1086/504134