Status Goods and Vertical Line Extensions

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.

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Impact of vertical line extensions on brand attitudes and new extensions

European Journal of Marketing ◽

10.1108/ejm-07-2017-0431 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 299-319 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mauricio Palmeira ◽

Jing Lei ◽

Ana Valenzuela

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Vertical Line ◽

Asymmetric Effect ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Brand Evaluations ◽

Line Extensions ◽

Symmetric Pattern ◽

The Impact

Purpose Companies often extend brands to higher or lower quality tiers to access different market segments. However, the impact of such extensions on the brand and its subsequent offerings is not yet conclusive. While some studies found an “averaging” pattern (all models contribute equally to the overall perception of the brand: a symmetric effect), others found a “best-of-brand” pattern (the positive impact of an upstream extension is much greater than the negative impact of a downstream extension: an asymmetric effect). This paper aims to reconcile these seemingly conflicting findings by assessing the conditions under which each pattern is likely to emerge. Design/methodology/approach Three experimental studies are presented to test the conditions under which a symmetric or asymmetric pattern of brand evaluation would merge. Study 1 examined the impact of judgment focus (quality vs expertise) on the pattern of brand evaluations. Study 2 tested the impact of having a comparative set on the assessment of specific brand dimensions. Study 3 examined the impact of the informativeness of price positioning on product quality expectations. Findings Brand evaluations and attitudes are determined by the presence of a comparative brand and judgment focus. When brands are evaluated without a comparison, a symmetric pattern emerges, as a low-tier extension hurts a brand as much as a high-tier extension helps it. In contrast, when brands are evaluated with a comparison, focusing the assessment on quality leads to a symmetric pattern, while focusing it on expertise leads to an asymmetric one. Research limitations/implications The present research specifies conditions under which a low-tier model may hurt brand perceptions. We used hypothetical brands to avoid the impact of preexisting attitudes. While we expect our results to generalize to real brands, this may be considered a limitation of the present research. Practical implications The current research delineates the circumstances under which vertical line extensions have positive, neutral or negative impact on brand perceptions and future product expectations. We introduce the presence of a comparison set as a key variable and show how it interacts with assessment focus to affect brand evaluations. When thinking about the impact of extensions on brand perceptions, marketers need to consider which assessment focus is likely to be triggered by environmental cues and whether comparisons are salient. Originality/value Brand extension is an important area of investigation as evidenced by the vast literature dedicated to the subject. The present paper advances knowledge in this area by identifying key factors affecting the impact of vertical extensions on brand perceptions.

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The impact of gender on the evaluation of vertical line extensions of luxury brands: a cross-national study

Journal of Product & Brand Management ◽

10.1108/jpbm-09-2020-3119 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Jean Boisvert ◽

Nicholas Jeremy Ashill

Keyword(s):

Purchase Intentions ◽

Vertical Line ◽

Luxury Brands ◽

Content Type ◽

Luxury Brand ◽

Line Extensions ◽

Line Extension ◽

Study Results ◽

The Impact ◽

Cross National

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which gender impacts the evaluation of vertical line extensions of luxury brands in a cross-national context. The topic of brand/line extensions has been investigated in the mainstream branding literature. On the other hand, the topic has received less attention in the luxury literature. At the same time, while research has examined brand/line extensions from an international perspective, the impact of gender on consumer purchase intentions of luxury downward line extensions in different countries has remained unexplored. Design/methodology/approach Based on an ANOVA design (2 extension types × 2 genders × 2 countries). The independent variables were ordered as follows: gender (male/female), vertical line extensions (upscale/downward) and country of living (France/USA). The purchase intention of the extension was chosen as the dependent variable. Findings The study results show that key differences exist between men and women regarding vertical luxury line extensions. For instance, women in both countries rate a new downward line extension of a luxury brand more positively than men. In contrast, although women evaluate a new upscale line extension of a luxury brand similarly to men in France, women are more positive than men in the USA. Also, US men rate an upscale extension less positively than their French counterparts. Finally, women in both countries rate luxury downward extensions more positively than men. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature of luxury brand management by examining how gender types process and respond to upscale and downward luxury line extensions versus purchase intentions in two different countries. This paper is unique as gender types are not often compared in previous research while fundamental distinctions exist, leading to significant differences. Practically, this study also provides key insights for marketing strategy development and adjustment for luxury manufacturers in terms of their target market, more specifically men versus women.

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Vertical Line Extension Decisions in a Competitive Market with Consumers’ Need for Product Uniqueness

Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society ◽

10.1155/2020/8465678 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Jie Wang ◽

Qin Su ◽

Canyou Wang

Keyword(s):

Utility Function ◽

Vertical Line ◽

Competitive Market ◽

High Quality ◽

Quality Differentiation ◽

Emotional Factors ◽

Line Extensions ◽

Line Extension ◽

Customized Products

One important reason for offering customized products is to satisfy consumers’ need for product uniqueness. In this paper, we take consumers’ unique preferences into account to examine how firms make decisions on vertical line extensions with introducing a customized product. This study develops the consumer’s utility function, which captures consumers’ behavioural and emotional factors, and the results show that the high-quality firm always introduces an upward extension without uniqueness sensitivity. However, introducing a downward extension may be more profitable especially when consumers have the high unique ness sensitivity. We also find that the upward extension of the high-quality firm does not intensify competition with the low-quality firm, but its downward extension will intensify the competition between two firms, whether with or without unique preferences. We also analyse the low-quality firm’s extension decisions when it faces a high-end competitor and find that the low-quality firm may change from introducing a downward extension to introducing an upward extension when intrafirm quality differentiation is small.

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Development and testing of rolling cutter bit with a new arrangement of teeth on the balls

Oil and Gas Studies ◽

10.31660/0445-0108-2020-2-60-68 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 60-68

Author(s):

V. A. Pyalchenkov ◽

D. V. Pyalchenkov

Keyword(s):

Axial Force ◽

Axial Load ◽

Vertical Line ◽

Ball Joint ◽

Line Passing

Research has found that the axial load applied to the bit is distributed unevenly along the crowns of the balls. The middle crowns are the busiest. The value of the axial force perceived by a separate ring is associated with the deformation of the details of the ball joint. You can reduce the uneven loading of crowns by shifting them along the ball along the radius of the bit, placing them so that the vertical line passing through the center of the lower ball of the lock bearing passes through the middle of the gap between the crowns of neighboring balls. The bits with the new option of placing the teeth on the balls were tested on the stand and in industrial conditions. For the bits of this design, the axial load was distributed more evenly over the crowns, which allowed increasing the efficiency of their work.

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