The Effects of Parent Brand Attitudes and Congruity-incongruity of Utilitarian and Hedonic Attributes on Extension Evaluations: Gaining Insights for the Desirable Positioning

Brand extension studies appeared to have passed through the heyday of research interest, focusing on the role of prior brand knowledge (e.g., fit) based on categorization theory. Since then, major studies found that detailed attribute information attenuates the brand effect in extension evaluations. Based on the heuristic-systematic model of information processing, however, we examine when the attribute attenuating effect or the additive effect of prior brand attitude and attribute information would occur in study one. In addition, based on the relevant evidence, this research investigates the effect of attribute congruity-incongruity on extension evaluations along with the degree of utilitarian and hedonic information combination, attempting to identify the moderate incongruity effect in study two and three. Given the results of three experiments, we, first, contribute to the extension literature by finding not only the effect of attribute information attenuating the brand but the additive effect along with the relevant conditions of attribute congruity-incongruity and consumer motivations. The second contribution lies in identifying the boundary condition pertaining to the degree of utilitarian and hedonic attribute combination under which the moderate incongruity effect can be found in the domain of brand extensions. The results provide rich implications for the desirable positioning directions of brand extensions for the more vis- a -vis the less favorable parent brands. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and future research directions are discussed.