Consumer innovativeness and consumer acceptance of brand extensions
| Published date | 18 July 2008 |
| Date | 18 July 2008 |
| Pages | 235-243 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420810887581 |
| Author | Yu Henry Xie |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
Consumer innovativeness and consumer
acceptance of brand extensions
Yu Henry Xie
Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, School of Business and Economics, College of Charleston,
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Abstract
Purpose – This paper attempts to examine the relationship between consumer innovativeness and consumers’ acceptance of brand extensions.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that builds upon the extant literature of consumer innovativeness and brand
extensions. A number of research propositions are developed in this thought-provoking work.
Findings – It is proposed that consumer innovativeness exerts considerable influence on consumers’ acceptance of brand extensions when extension
distance and types of extensions are examined. In addition, product information availability and interpersonal communication/influence (i.e.
informative and normative) moderate the relationship between consumer innovativeness and consumers’ acceptance of brand extensions.
Research limitations/implications – This study can help marketers develop appropriate and effective marketing strategies to influence consumers’
acceptance of brand extensions. This study serves to provide guidance for brand managers and marketers alike in evaluating the potential success of
their extended brands. On the other hand, the paper draws from the extant literature and theoretical discussion to develop research propositions. This
approach might limit its depth and scope.
Originality/value – As the use of brand extensions intensifies in the marketplace, it is imperative to understand how consumer innovativeness exerts
influence on acceptance of brand extensions. This study fills the research void in the literature and contributes to the extant literature by analyzing the
relationship between consumer innovativeness and consumers’ acceptance of brand extensions.
Keywords Consumers, Innovation, Brand extensions, Consumer behaviour, Decision making
Paper type Conceptual paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
Brand names provide customers with a symbolic meaning to
assist customer recognition and decision-making processes
(Wernerfelt, 1988). Successful brands are important assets for
firms. A cross-cultural study by Dawar and Parker (1994)
finds evidence that consumers rely more on brand name
signals than on price or physical appearance. Only in markets
in which brand name is rarely used do consumers rely more
on other attributes. Firms increasingly seek to leverage
goodwill (i.e. brand names and customer loyalty) by
stretching or extending their brands into new product areas.
A large number of new consumer products appear in the
marketplace each month and each year. The success or failure
of these products has significant financial and operational
implications for the firms. As of 1984, about half of new
products marketed were extensions under existing brands
(Aaker and Keller, 1990; Loken and John, 1993). By
capitalizing on the reputation of established brands, firms
can save high costs of launching new brands (Tauber, 1988;
Buday, 1989). Aaker and Keller (1990) claim that the chance
of success for an extension is increased because an extension
has an established brand positioning to draw on. Although
brand extensions should not be regarded as guarantees for
product success, extension has been increasingly adopted in
consumer-packaged goods (Aaker and Keller, 1990). Thus,
consumers’ acceptance of brand extensions is strategically
crucial for a firm.
Firms are increasingly focusing on the success of new and
innovative produ cts for sustain able growth and p rofits
(Steenkamp et al., 1999). The key to the success of new
products is to identify consumers who are the potential first
buyers in the product market (Midgley, 1977). Innovative
consumers play very important roles in the success of the new
product (Goldsmith and Flynn, 1992). Innovative consumers
are likely to be price-insensitive and knowledgeable about new
products. They also tend to be heavy users of new products in
the marketplace (Goldsmith and Hofacker, 1991). Innovative
consumers are believed to have unique consumption behavior
when compared to non-innovative consumers (Foxall, 1984;
Midgley and Dowling, 1978). Consumer innovativeness
affects the stages and process of consumers’ learning and
purchasing in the marketplace. Thus, some questions arise:
.Does consumer innovativeness affect consumers’
acceptance of brand extensions?
.If so, what factors exert influences on the relationship
between consumer innovativeness and brand extensions?
.And how?
These research questions remain unanswered in the extant
literature. The extant literature on brand extensions has
primarily focused on the transfer of brand associations and
the “fit” between parent brands and extensions. On the other
hand, literature on consumer innovativeness has largely
ignored consumers’ brand and brand extension evaluation/
acceptance in consumers’ purchases and trials. To the best of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
17/4 (2008) 235–243
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610420810887581]
235
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