Brand line extensions: creating new loyalties or internal variety-seeking?

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Koschmann ◽  
Jagdish Sheth
Keyword(s):  
Product Line ◽  
Brand Name ◽  
Variety Seeking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioral Loyalty ◽  
Multiple Products ◽  
Line Extensions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Branded Product ◽  
Research Stream

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether line extensions (modified brands) create their own loyalties or induce variety-seeking within the brand. Prior research has explored how the branded house strategy (i.e. multiple products bearing the same brand name) retains customers from competing brands. However, this research investigates loyalty within the brand by comparing loyalty and variety-seeking rates of modified brands. Design/methodology/approach Markov chains examine behavioral loyalty and switching rates of panel households in the USA over several quarters for two family brands of carbonated beverages. Emphasis is placed on the consumers who purchase the upper median of volume (heavy half) and constitute a disproportionate amount of brand’s sales (86 per cent of the volume). Findings Three propositions find that loyalty rates are high among modified brands with little switching to other lines within the brand. Further, loyalty and switch to rates are highest for the flagship branded product (the master modified brand). Practical implications Managers segment the market using the branded house strategy, yet loyalty rates vary for each product line. The switching rates can guide managers as to which products have established a loyal consumer base. Originality/value While brand switching is a considerable research stream, this research is believed to be the first to explore loyalty versus variety-seeking in the branded house strategy.

Connection or competence

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 330-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Moreo ◽  
Robert Woods ◽  
Gail Sammons ◽  
Christine Bergman
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hiring Process ◽  
Beverage Industry ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Labor Service ◽  
Research Stream

Purpose As a service segment, the food and beverage industry has great potential for intensive interface between the consumer and the service provider and between the service provider and the back of the house staff. Given the significance of the perception of the provision of service to the consumer, it is important to study every aspect of the interaction. With this in mind, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between emotional labor, service quality, purpose of consumption, satisfaction and customer loyalty as seen through the perceptions of the consumer. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 400 respondents using an online market research firm in the USA. This research used three independent variables (emotional labor, service quality and purpose of consumption), each with two levels in a between-subjects 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experimental design. Eight scenarios were used to represent the eight different combinations of variables to test their effects. Findings Two very interesting findings emerged from this study. The first was that consumers’ purpose of consumption, whether dining for leisure or business, had no significant impact on their satisfaction or loyalty, either independently or in conjunction with emotional labor or service quality. The second most interesting finding was that the interaction of service quality and emotional labor did have a significant impact on satisfaction but not loyalty. Practical implications A restaurants’ standards of service should be the same, regardless of the business or leisure demographic being served. Authenticity matters, and therefore, employers should incorporate personality evaluation into the hiring process. Perhaps, focusing more on attitude and less on skill would lead to great customer satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value This article furthers the relatively young research stream examining the impacts of emotional labor on the consumer.

scholarly journals The effect of product line endpoint prices on vertical extensions

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 575-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Gonçalves Pontes
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Product Line ◽  
Vertical Line ◽  
Range Effect ◽  
Product Lines ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Line Extensions ◽  
Parent Brand ◽  
Price Range ◽  
Range Theory

Purpose Literature in brand extensions has relied greatly on categorization theory and on prototypical models of categorization to explain the affect transfer from a parent brand to its extensions. Drawing on the range theory exemplar models of categorization, this paper aims to show the effects of parent brand endpoint prices on consumer judgments of vertical line extensions. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments have been conducted. Experiment 1 tests the hypothesis that consumers rely on the parent brand price range when making judgments of an upscale extension. Experiment 2 tests the hypothesis that the effect of price range on extension evaluation is mediated by perceived risks for upscale extensions but not downscale extensions. The final experiment shows a boundary condition to the product line range effect on upscale extensions. Findings This research shows that upscale extensions are judged more favorably in the context of a wide versus a narrow product line even when the highest endpoints in both product lines are equally close to the extension and that this effect is mediated by perceived consistency and perceived risk. The range effect disappears, however, when consumers have a broad focus in which attention shifts to category endpoint prices, making parent brand prices less diagnostic of upscale extension judgments. Practical implications Managers may display a wider range of products and/or reduce prices of low-end models to expand product line price width. In consequence, low-end products become more competitive in terms of price and at the same time improve favorability ratings of the new upscale product. Originality/value Vertical line extensions and product line pricing are important topics to both academics and practitioners. Nonetheless, this is the first research to demonstrate how product line price width can influence consumer perceptions of vertical line extensions.

Entrepreneurial competences, liability of newness and infant survival

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1082-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianpaolo Abatecola ◽  
Vincenzo Uli
Keyword(s):  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Infant Survival ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
Founding Team ◽  
Start Ups

Purpose What entrepreneurial competences can increase the start-ups’ infant survival chances? How can the liability of newness be successfully handled? Positioned in this research stream, which, especially over recent years, has been particularly lively also in the Journal of Management Development, the purpose of this paper is to meet not only the research, but also the education and practice-oriented purposes of the journal. Design/methodology/approach How can routines’ exploitation counteract the liability of newness? How can entrepreneurial orientation oppose it? Why is the liability of adolescence important when discussing the performance of start-ups? To address these questions, taken separately into account, the paper presents a set of three case studies from the service industry, each of which is based on a specific research design. Findings The authors found that the routines’ exploitation mechanisms, the degree of entrepreneurial orientation of the founding team, and the stock of the initial assets, could be all considered consistent predictors of new ventures’ infant survival. The authors thus believe that the findings may offer a useful contribution both to current and prospective managers and entrepreneurs. Originality/value Stinchcombe’s assumption about the tremendous failure rate associated with the earliest stage of start-ups’ life cycle has been proved to be valid at least in the most recent evidence from both Europe and the USA. At the same time, formalizing a checklist of competences appropriate to increase the possibilities of organizational infant survival appears as a priority not yet accomplished. Thus, the study is aimed at providing some useful food for thought on this issue.

Intellectual capital disclosure: a structured literature review

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetta Cuozzo ◽  
John Dumay ◽  
Matteo Palmaccio ◽  
Rosa Lombardi
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
General Decline ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
Structured Literature Review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an up-to-the-minute literature review of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) to: identify the major themes developed within this research stream; investigate the evolution of the theory; and derive insights to guide future research agendas for the benefit of researchers and ICD users. Design/methodology/approach Research articles from ten relevant journals for the 17-year period between 2000 and 2017 are categorised and analysed in a structured literature review (Massaro et al., 2016) to answer these three research questions. This study adds to a data set established by Guthrie et al. (2012) and presents the results in a consistent and comparable manner across the studies. Findings A lack of significant innovation in the evolution of ICD indicates that this research stream may have been a victim of its own success (Dumay and Guthrie, 2017). Stuck in overview mode, studies continue to fixate on general issues, largely drawing their analysis from the corporate reports of publicly listed companies in Europe. Very few studies examine ICD in the USA and beyond, nor do they drill down to organisational level to examine ICD in practice. Practical implications We academics need to leave our ivory towers and base future research on how organisations, in different contexts, using different languages, harness intangible assets to create value. Without discouraging content analysis from corporate reports, we need to be more innovative in searching for IC from the rich variety of media resources modern corporate communication channels offer, and recognise that, while we are all working towards the same thing, we may not be using the same language to get there. Originality/value Despite extending previous work, this study highlights some of the new insights revealed from ICD research, especially over the last two years. The findings regarding differing use of terminology across continents, a general decline in published research due to lack of interest or new ground to cover, and zero evidence for a “groundswell” of IC disclosures by listed companies should motivate further reading in many researchers.

How are brand names of Chinese companies perceived by Americans?

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Fetscherin ◽  
Adamantios Diamantopoulos ◽  
Allan Chan ◽  
Rachael Abbott
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Brand Names ◽  
Brand Name ◽  
English Version ◽  
String Length ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Companies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Semantic Relevance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to conduct an experimental design of Americans’ preferences for the English version of Chinese brand names by drawing from prior research in psychology, linguistics and marketing. The impact of string length and semantic relevance to English on meaningfulness, memorability and likeability of brand names from Chinese companies was assessed. Design/methodology/approach – A 2 × 2 experimental design was used, whereby brand names are categorized by string length (short vs long) and semantic relevance to English (with vs without). Respondents’ perception of the Chinese language in terms of pronounceability, language familiarity and language attitude is used as covariate. Findings – Results reveal shorter brand names, and those with semantic relevance to English are perceived as more memorable. It was also found that pronounceability of the brand name does influence brand name preference in terms of their meaningfulness, memorability and likeability. Research limitations/implications – This exploratory paper is limited to Americans’ perceptions of the English version of Chinese automobile brand names. Practical implications – Chinese companies should therefore carefully consider the brand name characteristics in terms of string length and semantic relevance, as well as their ease of pronunciation when choosing and introducing their brand name in the USA. Originality/value – This is the first paper which assesses Western consumers’ perception of brand names from Chinese automobile companies in terms of their brand meaningfulness, brand memorability and brand likeability.

Cognitive style and innovation in organizations

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Ettlie ◽  
Kevin S. Groves ◽  
Charles M. Vance ◽  
George L. Hess
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Style ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Solid Base ◽  
Thinking Style ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
Testing Field

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to validate cognitive style (i.e. linear, nonlinear, and balanced thinking) with innovation intentions and behaviors. It was hypothesized that a balanced linear/nonlinear thinking style and the inclination toward more innovative intentions are strongly related. Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire of business students in the USA and France was employed. Formally validated measures of thinking style and innovation were replicated in this project. Findings – The results of an analysis of 186 respondents found a significant, direct relationship between balanced thinking style and innovative intention and behavior measures. Research limitations/implications – The results demonstrate that cognitive style and innovation are related, but the direct validation of actual innovative behaviors, in situ, needs to be included in the next step of this research stream. Further, the composition of groups can also be evaluated using these measures. Practical implications – This is the first successful attempt to validate cognitive style measures with innovation outcome measures. These measures are now available for organizational testing, field research, and assessing team composition. Originality/value – This is one of the first criterion-validity assessments of a cognitive measure related to linear and nonlinear thinking style. There are two important implications of these results. First, the authors now have a better understanding of one the links between cognition and innovation. Second, the authors have established a solid base for future research on this subject, including the importance of this effect in practice.

Role of brand names and product types on bicultural consumers’ purchase intentions

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emi Moriuchi ◽  
Paul R. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Brand Names ◽  
Minority Population ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Minority Status ◽  
Brand Name ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the role of brand names and product types on bicultural’s purchasing intention. In cross-cultural marketing, a current popular position among bicultural consumer advocates that brand name that has a foreign character denotes that when an unknown brand is present, and if the unknown brand is a hedonic product, then a foreign character that has a long-standing history of delivery quality products should be mandatory. Design/methodology/approach Through a multidisciplinary literature review, qualitatively supported differences in bicultural consumers from a majority-minority status are reviewed and formulated as hypotheses, and a survey is used to collect quantitative data from a stratified random sample. Findings A 2 (cultural identity vs felt ethnicity) × 2 (English brand name vs Japanese brand name) factorial experiment, which tested this contention, revealed that, although consumers are considered biculturals, they will be more inclined to perceive products to be of higher quality when the product is written in Japanese than in English. Furthermore, the result shows that felt ethnicity has a significant impact on attitude toward brand names, whereas bicultural’s cultural identity does not. However, on the other hand, cultural identity has a significant impact on the product type considered, whereas felt ethnicity does not. Research limitations/implications As a starting point for understanding the bicultural consumer from a majority-minority perspective, this study is subject to exploratory research limitations. Practical implications The result suggests that when developing ads, managers should take into account the effect of language characters has on their target audience’s ethnicity. As it is common for ads to consist of written language, colors, images and messages, managers should not just concentrate on one, rather should consider how all these factors can come together and create a favorable ad. Originality/value As the number of immigrants increase in the USA, the notion of considering what a melting pot is has reached another level. Predicted by the US census, in the year 2050, the minority population will take over the mainstream population, resulting in a majority-minority status for these minority individuals. Businesses will then have to redesign their strategy in marketing to this new market segment and not fall victim to these new challenges. They can turn around and leverage them as marketplace opportunities. This study provides some early insights that can help marketers strategically and creatively think of leverage such opportunities.

Effect of core and peripheral product line extensions on overall product line revenue

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihoon Cho ◽  
Swinder Janda
Keyword(s):  
New Product Development ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Product Line ◽  
Restaurant Industry ◽  
Actual Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Line Extensions ◽  
Total Product ◽  
Quick Service

Purpose Firms often use upward product line extensions to achieve gains in brand evaluations and in overall demand. Despite the prevalence of such extensions, previous research has provided little guidance about how upward line extensions influence overall revenue when they are launched as a core product as opposed to a peripheral product. The purpose of this study is to fill this research gap. Design/methodology/approach Using data from the quick service restaurant industry, this study looks at the effects of upwardly extended core and peripheral products on product line revenue. The empirical study uses a quasi-experiment to compare customer purchases across the pre- and post-launch of upward line extensions. Findings The results of this study reveal that launching core and peripheral products as upward line extensions can each increase total product line revenue. In addition, findings illustrate that as compared to a core launch, this total product line revenue increase is substantially higher in the case of a peripheral launch. Research limitations/implications First, the estimated model does not include supply availability and competition. Second, the data span only six months and this restriction prohibits us from investigating alternative sources of the causal effect. Third, the empirical setting in this study is limited to financial data in the quick service restaurant industry as a proxy of actual behavior. Finally, given that customers are not randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, the author is unable to definitively rule out the effect of unobservable attributes. Practical implications The findings suggest that firms should prioritize peripheral upward line extensions but use both types considering resource constraints (cost and human resources) and strategic importance to the firm. Originality/value This study bolsters the extant literature related to upward product line extensions by providing an empirical framework that evaluates the causal effect of upward line extension on total revenue, using field data in a real-life setting (as opposed to survey or lab experiment data) and actual firm revenue (as opposed to a perceptual outcome measure such as behavioral intentions). In addition, findings contribute to the new product development literature.

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