This research uses the theoretical framework of the brand–consumer relationship to shed new light on the impact on the brand of downward extension of the line. The results of two experiments show that the weaker the fit-quality between the downward extension and the brand on the one hand, and the more the consumer identifies with the brand on the other, the more brand trust and brand attachment deteriorate. The consumer’s objective familiarity with the brand and the prestigious character of the brand concept moderate these effects. Finally, the change in trust generated by the extension influences the change in attachment.
AakerDA (1997a) Should you take your brand to where the action is?Harvard Business Review75(5): 135–143.
2.
AakerDAKellerKL (1990) Consumer evaluations of brand extensions. Journal of Marketing54(1): 27–41.
3.
AakerJL (1997b) Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research34(3): 347–356.
4.
AakerJLFournierSBraselSA (2004) When good brands do bad. Journal of Consumer Research31(1): 1–16.
5.
AhluwaliaRUnnavaHRBurnkrantRE (2001) The moderating role of commitment on the spillover effect of marketing communications. Journal of Marketing Research38(4): 458–470.
6.
AlbaJWHutchinsonJW (1987) Dimensions of consumer expertise. Journal of Consumer Research13(4): 411–453.
7.
AurierPNgoboPV (1999) Assessment of consumer knowledge: A multi-dimensional approach. Advances in Consumer Research16(26): 569–575.
8.
AurierPBenaventCN’GoalaG (2001) Validité discriminante et prédictive des composantes de la relation à la marque. In: Proceedings of the 17th international conference of the French Marketing Association (ed BréeJ), Deauville, Université de Caen, pp. 156–159.
9.
BagozziRPDholakiaUM (2006) Antecedents and purchase consequences of customer participation in small group brand communities. International Journal of Research in Marketing23(1): 45–61.
10.
BagozziRPYiY (1989) On the use of structural equation models in experimental designs. Journal of Marketing Research26(3): 271–284.
11.
BagozziRPYiY (1994) Advanced topics in structural equation models. In: BagozziRP (ed.) Advanced Methods of Marketing Research. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 1–52.
12.
BallADTasakiCH (1992) The role and measurement of attachment in consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology12(2): 155–172.
13.
BelkRW (1988) Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research15(2): 139–168.
14.
BlackstonM (1992) Observations: Building brand equity by managing the brand’s relationships. Journal of Advertising Research32(3): 79–83.
15.
BlackstonM (1995) The qualitative dimension of brand equity. Journal of Advertising Research35(4): 2–7.
16.
BoisvertJ (2012) The impact of vertical service line extensions and brand salience on feedback transfer of image and performance associations. Journal of Service Research15(4): 443–459.
17.
BroniarczykAAlbaJ (1994) The importance of the brand in brand extension. Journal of Marketing Research31(2): 214–228.
18.
CegarraJ-JMerunkaD (1993) Les extensions de marque: Concepts et modèles. Recherche et Applications en Marketing8(1): 53–76.
19.
ChangTZWildtAR (1994) Price, product information and purchase intention: An empirical study. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science22(1): 16–27.
20.
ChaudhuriAHolbrookMB (2001) The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: The role of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing65(2): 81–93.
21.
ChengYYWhiteTBChaplinLN (2012) The effects of self–brand connections on responses to brand failure: A new look at the consumer–brand relationship. Journal of Consumer Psychology22(2): 280–288.
22.
ChinWW (2010) Methods and applications in marketing and related fields, a permutation based procedure for multi-group PLS analysis: Results of tests of differences on simulated data and a cross cultural analysis of the source. In: VinziVEChinWWHenselerJ. (eds) Handbook of Partial Least Squares Concepts: Concepts, Methods and Applications. New York: Springer Handbooks of Computational Statistics.
23.
CzellarS (2003) Consumer attitude toward brand extensions: An integrative model and research propositions. International Journal of Research in Marketing20(1): 97–115.
24.
Dall’Olmo RileyFPinaJMBravoR (2013) Downscale extensions: Consumer evaluation and feedback effects. Journal of Business Research66(2): 196–206.
25.
DraganskaMJainD (2005) Product-line length as a competitive tool. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy14(1): 1–28.
26.
DuboisBLaurentGCzellarS (2001) Consumer rapport to luxury: Analyzing complex and ambivalentattitudes. Research paper 736, HEC School of Management, Paris.
27.
DwivediAMerrileesB (2012) The impact of brand extensions on parent brand relationship equity. Journal of Brand Management19(5): 377–390.
28.
DwivediAMerrileesBSweeneyA (2010) Brand extension feedback effects: A holistic framework. Journal of Brand Management17(5): 28–342.
29.
DwyerFRSchurrPHOhS (1987) Developing buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing51(2): 11–27.
30.
EscalasJEBettmanJR (2003) You are what they eat: The influence of reference groups on consumer connections to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology13(3): 339–348.
31.
EscalasJEBettmanJR (2005) Self-construal, reference groups, and brand meaning. Journal of Consumer Research32(3): 378–389.
32.
FarquharPHHerrPMFazioRH (1990) A relational model for category extensions of brands. Advances in Consumer Research17(1): 856–860.
33.
FedorikhinAParkCWThomsonM (2006) How far do feelings go? How attachments influence brand extensions. Advances in Consumer Research33(1): 631–631.
34.
FedorikhinAParkCWThomsonM (2008) Beyond fit and attitude: The effect of emotional attachment on consumer responses to brand extensions. Journal of Consumer Psychology18(4): 281–291.
35.
FornellCLarckerDF (1981) Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research18(1): 39–50.
36.
FournierS (1994) A consumer-brand relationship framework for strategic brand management. Doctoral Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
37.
FournierS (1998) Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research24(4): 343–373.
38.
FournierSYaoJL (1997) Reviving brand loyalty: A reconceptualization within the framework of consumer-brand relationships. International Journal of Research in Marketing14(5): 451–472.
39.
FrisouJ (2000) Confiance interpersonnelle et engagement: une réorientation béhavioriste. Recherche et Applications en Marketing15(1): 63–80.
GarbarinoEJohnsonMS (1999) The different roles of satisfaction, trust, and commitment in customer relationships. Journal of Marketing63(2): 70–87.
42.
GrimeIDiamantopoulosASmithG (2002) Consumer evaluations of extensions and their effects on the core brand: Key issues and research propositions. European Journal of Marketing36(11–12): 1415–1438.
43.
GurviezPKorchiaM (2002) Proposition d’une échelle de mesure multidimensionnelle de la confiance dans la marque. Recherche et Applications en Marketing17(3): 41–59.
44.
HamiltonRChernevA (2010) The impact of product line extensions and consumer goals on the formation of price image. Journal of Marketing Research47(1): 51–62.
45.
HeathTBDelVecchioDMcCarthyMS (2011) The asymmetric effects of extending brands to lower and higher quality. Journal of Marketing75(4): 3–20.
46.
HemLEIversenNM (2003) Transfer of brand equity in brand extensions: The importance of brand loyalty. Advances in Consumer Research30(1): 72–79.
47.
HenselerJChinW (2010) A comparison of approaches for the analysis of interaction effects between latent variables using partial least squares path modeling. Structural Equation Modeling17(1): 82–109.
48.
HessJ (1995) Construction and assessment of a scale to measure consumer trust. In: AMA educators’ conference, enhancing knowledge development in marketing (ed SternBBZinkhanGM), vol. 6, pp. 20–25.
49.
KellerKL (1993) Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing57(1): 1–22.
50.
KellerKLAakerDA (1992) The effects of sequential introduction of brand extensions. Journal of Marketing Research29(1): 35–50.
51.
KellerKLSoodS (2003) Brand equity dilution. MIT Sloan Management Review45(1): 12–15.
52.
KimCKLavackAM (1996) Vertical brand extensions: Current research and managerial implications. Journal of Product & Brand Management5(6): 24–37.
53.
KimCKLavackANSmithM (2001) Consumer evaluation of vertical brand extensions and core brands. Journal of Business Research52(3): 211–222.
54.
KimKParkJKimJ (2014) Consumer-brand relationship quality: When and how it helps brand extensions. Journal of Business Research67(4): 591–597.
55.
KirmaniASoodSBridgesS (1999) The ownership effect in consumer responses to brand line stretches. Journal of Marketing63(1): 88–101.
56.
KleineSSKleineREallenCT (1995) How is a possession me or not me? Characterizing types and an antecedent of material possession attachment. Journal of Consumer Research22(3): 327–343.
57.
LacoeuilheJ (2000) L’attachement à la marque: Proposition d’une échelle de mesure. Recherche et Applications en Marketing15(4): 61–77.
58.
LeiJDe RuyterKWetzelsM (2008) Consumer responses to vertical service line extensions. Journal of Retailing84(3): 268–280.
59.
LevySJ (1959) Symbols for sale. Harvard Business Review37(4): 117–124.
60.
LomaxWMcWilliamG (2001) Consumer response to line extensions: Trial and cannibalisation effects. Journal of Marketing Management17(4): 391–406.
61.
LouisDLombartC (2010) Impact of brand personality on three major relational consequences (trust, attachment, and commitment to the brand). Journal of Product & Brand Management19(2): 114–130.
62.
MagnoniFRouxE (2012) The impact of step-down line extension on consumer-brand relationships: A risky strategy for luxury brands. Journal of Brand Management19(7): 595–608.
63.
MichelG (1997) L’impact de l’extension de marque sur la marque, contribution de la théorie du noyau central à l’analyse de la structure interne de la marque. Doctoral Thesis in management studies, Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris.
64.
MichelGDonthuN (2014) Why negative brand extension evaluations do not always negatively affect the brand: The role of central and peripheral brand associations. Journal of Business Research67(12): 2611–2619.
65.
MichelGSalhaB (2005) L’extension verticale de gamme: Clarification du concept. Recherche et Applications en Marketing20(1): 1–14.
66.
MilbergSJParkCWMcCarthyMS (1997) Managing negative feedback effects associated with brand extensions: The impact of alternative branding strategies. Journal of Consumer Psychology6(2): 119–140.
67.
MorganRMHuntSD (1994) The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing58(3): 20–38.
68.
ParkCWJaworskyBJMacInnisDJ (1986) Strategic brand concept-image management. Journal of Marketing50(4): 135–145.
69.
ParkCWMcCarthyMSMilbergS (1993) The effects of direct and associative brand extension strategies on consumer response to brand extensions. Advances in Consumer Research20(1): 28–33.
70.
ParkCWMilbergSLawsonR (1991) Evaluation of brand extensions: The role of product feature similarity and brand concept consistency. Journal of Consumer Research18(2): 185–193.
71.
ParkJ-WKimK-H (2001) Role of consumer relationships with a brand in brand extensions: Some exploratory findings. Advances in Consumer Research28(1): 179–185.
72.
ParkWMacInnisDJPriesterJ. (2010) Brand attachment and brand attitude strength: Conceptual and empirical differentiation of two critical brand equity drivers. Journal of Marketing74(6): 1–17.
73.
PittaDAKatsanisLP (1995) Understanding brand equity for successful brand extension. Journal of Consumer Marketing12(4): 51–64.
74.
QuelchJAKennyD (1994) Extend profits, not product lines. Harvard Business Review72(5): 153–160.
75.
RandallTUlrichKReibsteinD (1999) Capital marque et étendue verticale de la ligne de produits. Recherche et Applications en Marketing14(3): 79–106.
76.
ReastJD (2005) Brand trust and brand extension acceptance: The relationship. Journal of Product & Brand Management14(1): 4–13.
77.
ReddySKHolakSLBhatS (1994) To extend or not to extend: Success determinants of line extensions. Journal of Marketing Research31(2): 243–262.
78.
RestallCGordonW (1993) Brands – The missing link: Understanding the emotional relationship. Marketing and Research Today21(2): 59–67.
79.
RiesATroutJ (2001) Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. 20th Anniversary Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
80.
Roedder-JohnDLokenBJoinerC (1998) The negative impact of extensions: Can flagship products be diluted?Journal of Marketing62(1): 19–32.
81.
RussellDWKahnJHAltmaierEM (1998) Analyzing data from experimental studies: A latent variable structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Counseling Psychology45(1): 18–29.
82.
SalhaB (2007) La politique d’extension verticale de gamme: détermination des facteurs de réussite. Doctoral Thesis in management studies, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris.
83.
SelteneM (2004) Processus d’évaluation de l’extension de marque par le consommateur: Conception et validation d’un modèle de décomposition. Recherche et Applications en Marketing19(1): 3–24.
84.
SheininDA (2000) The effects of experience with brand extensions on parent brand knowledge. Journal of Business Research49(1): 47–56.
85.
SpiggleSNguyenHTCaravellaM (2012) More than fit: Brand extension authenticity. Journal of Marketing Research49(6): 967–983.
86.
SwaminathanVFoxRJReddySK (2001) The impact of brand extension introduction on choice. Journal of Marketing65(4): 1–15.
87.
TafaniEMichelGRosaE (2009) Vertical product line extension strategies: An evaluation of brand halo effect according to range level. Recherche et Applications en Marketing24(2): 73–89.
88.
TauberEM (1981) Brand franchise extension: New product benefits from existing brand names. Business Horizons24(2): 36–41.
89.
ThomsonMMacInnisDJParkCW (2005) Les liens attachants: mesurer la force de l’attachement émotionnel des consommateurs à la marque. Recherche et Applications en Marketing20(1): 79–98.
90.
ThorbjørnsenH (2005) Brand extensions: Brand concept congruency and feedback effects revisited. Journal of Product and Brand Management14(4): 250–257.
91.
TrumpRK (2014) Connected consumers’ responses to negative brand actions: The roles of transgression self-relevance and domain. Journal of Business Research67(9): 1824–1830.
92.
VölcknerFSattlerH (2006) Drivers of brand extension success. Journal of Marketing70(2): 18–34.
93.
WetzelsMOdekerken-SchroderGVan OppenC (2009) Using PLS path modeling for assessing hierarchical construct models: Guidelines and empirical illustration. MIS Quarterly33(1): 177–195.
