Brand extension evaluation: real world and virtual world

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help marketing scholars view virtual worlds as new product–markets and trigger serious investigations on consumer evaluation of brand extensions when a brand is extended from the real world to a virtual world and vice versa. Design/methodology/approach – The paper makes an extensive review of studies on virtual world. Further, it amalgamates understanding from well-established literature on consumer evaluation of brand extensions into the emerging virtual world understanding to conceptualize moderating influence of contexts – the real world context and a virtual world context – on how consumers evaluate brand extensions. Findings – Through logical arguments supported by existing literature, the paper provides 14 well-conceptualized propositions that argue that the real world and virtual world contexts moderate the well-established relationships in brand extension literature. It broadly proposes that the relationships between the consumer evaluations of brand exten...

[1]  Adamantios Diamantopoulos,et al.  Consumer evaluations of extensions and their effects on the core brand , 2002 .

[2]  Ralph Schroeder,et al.  Defining Virtual Worlds and Virtual Environments , 2008 .

[3]  Eugene H. Spafford,et al.  Risks and uncertainties in virtual worlds: an educators’ perspective , 2013, J. Comput. High. Educ..

[4]  Grant Mccracken.  Who Is the Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations of the Endorsement Process , 1989 .

[5]  Stuart J. Barnes,et al.  BRAND VALUE IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: AN AXIOLOGICAL APPROACH , 2008 .

[6]  Torsten Reiners,et al.  Virtual Worlds as a Context Suited for Information Systems Education: Discussion of Pedagogical Experience and Curriculum Design with Reference to Second Life , 2009, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[7]  Michael Bourlakis,et al.  Virtual test-driving: The impact of simulated products on purchase intention , 2014 .

[8]  A. Diamantopoulos,et al.  The impact of perceived brand globalness, brand origin image, and brand origin–extension fit on brand extension success , 2013 .

[9]  Catherine Viot,et al.  Can brand identity predict brand extensions' success or failure? , 2011 .

[10]  Sandra J. Milberg,et al.  Evaluation of Brand Extensions: The Role of Product Feature Similarity and Brand Concept Consistency , 1991 .

[11]  Kenneth J. Chapman,et al.  Riding the coat‐tails of a positive review: rave reviews and attitude transfer , 1999 .

[12]  R. Brodie,et al.  Consumer evaluations of brand extensions: Further empirical results , 1993 .

[13]  Kevin Lane Keller,et al.  Consumer Evaluations of Brand Extensions , 1990 .

[14]  P. Bottomley,et al.  Do We Really Know how Consumers Evaluate Brand Extensions? Empirical Generalizations Based on Secondary Analysis of Eight Studies , 2001 .

[15]  Marsha L. Richins.  Valuing Things: The Public and Private Meanings of Possessions , 1994 .

[16]  D. Xanthopoulou,et al.  Play online, work better? Examining the spillover of active learning and transformational leadership , 2012 .

[17]  B. Wernerfelt,et al.  Umbrella Branding as a Signal of New Product Quality: An Example of Signalling by Posting a Bond , 1988 .

[18]  D. Scaraboto,et al.  At world’s end: Exploring consumer-marketer tensions in the closure of adverworlds , 2013 .

[19]  Jeremiah Spence,et al.  Demographics of Virtual Worlds , 2008 .

[20]  Sara Steffes Hansen,et al.  Exploring real-brand meanings and goods in virtual-world social interaction: Enhanced rewards, rarity, and realism , 2013 .

[21]  Mark W. Bell.  Toward a Definition of “Virtual Worlds” , 1970 .

[22]  Heng-Yu Ku,et al.  The relationships between trust, performance, satisfaction, and development progressions among virtual teams , 2011 .

[23]  Ronald J. Faber,et al.  Effects of Product Placement in On-Line Games on Brand Memory: A Perspective of the Limited-Capacity Model of Attention , 2007 .

[24]  Peter A. Dacin,et al.  The Effect of Brand Portfolio Characteristics on Consumer Evaluations of Brand Extensions , 1994 .

[25]  Frank R. Kardes,et al.  Perceived Variability and Inferences About Brand Extensions , 1991 .

[26]  Mark E. Nissen,et al.  Knowledge Work Through Social Media Applications: Team Performance Implications of Immersive Virtual Worlds , 2013, J. Organ. Comput. Electron. Commer..

[27]  Theodore G. Lynn,et al.  Fancy a coffee with Friends in ‘Central Perk’? , 2013 .

[28]  Richard R. Klink,et al.  Threats to the External Validity of Brand Extension Research , 2001 .

[29]  Deborah Roedder John,et al.  Diluting Brand Beliefs: When Do Brand Extensions Have a Negative Impact? , 1993 .

[30]  Enrique P. Becerra,et al.  Ugly Duckling by Day, Super Model by Night: The Influence of Body Image on the Use of Virtual Worlds , 2008 .

[31]  M. Molesworth,et al.  Redistributed consumer desire in digital virtual worlds of consumption , 2013 .

[32]  Vili Lehdonvirta,et al.  Virtual item sales as a revenue model: identifying attributes that drive purchase decisions , 2009, Electron. Commer. Res..

[33]  Mary W. Sullivan.  Measuring Image Spillovers in Umbrella-Branded Products , 1990 .

[34]  M. Sujan,et al.  Consumer Knowledge: Effects on Evaluation Strategies Mediating Consumer Judgments , 1985 .

[35]  Eva Martínez,et al.  Consumer responses to brand extensions: a comprehensive model , 2010 .

[36]  Stuart J. Barnes,et al.  Virtual worlds as a medium for advertising , 2007, DATB.

[37]  R. Belk.  Extended Self in a Digital World , 2013 .

[38]  Clare Chambers.  How virtual are virtual economies? An exploration into the legal, social and economic nature of virtual world economies , 2011, Comput. Law Secur. Rev..

[39]  Lauren I. Labrecque,et al.  Blurring the Boundaries Between Real and Virtual: Consumption Experiences and the Self Concept in the Virtual World. , 2009 .

[40]  Gerard A. Athaide,et al.  Consumer Innovativeness and the Use of New versus Extended Brand Names for New Products , 2010 .

[41]  John R. Doyle,et al.  The formation of attitudes towards brand extensions: Testing and generalising Aaker and Keller's model , 1996 .

[42]  A. Kaplan,et al.  Consumers, Companies and Virtual Social Worlds: a Qualitative Analysis of Second Life , 2009 .

[43]  H. Tikkanen,et al.  Exploring virtual worlds: success factors in virtual world marketing , 2009 .

[44]  David A. Aaker,et al.  The Effects of Sequential Introduction of Brand Extensions , 1992 .

[45]  Hyewon Chung,et al.  Are Stereotypes Relative to Gender Usage Applicable to Virtual Worlds? , 2012, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[46]  S. Forsythe,et al.  Brand and category design consistency in brand extensions , 2013 .

[47]  Blake Ives,et al.  Marketing strategies in virtual worlds , 2007, DATB.

[48]  Arthur Sweeney,et al.  Brand extension feedback effects: A holistic framework , 2010 .

[49]  Srinivas K. Reddy,et al.  The impact of parent brand attribute associations and affect on brand extension evaluation , 2001 .

[50]  Susan M. Broniarczyk,et al.  The Importance of the Brand in Brand Extension , 1994 .

[51]  Allard C.R. van Riel,et al.  Extending electronic portals with new services: exploring the usefulness of brand extension models , 2005 .

[52]  A. Valle,et al.  Diffusion of nuclear energy in some developing countries , 2014 .

[53]  Jean-François Bélisle,et al.  Avatars as information: Perception of consumers based on their avatars in virtual worlds , 2010 .

[54]  Edward M. Tauber,et al.  Brand franchise extension: New product benefits from existing Brand Names , 1981 .

[55]  Daniel C. Smith,et al.  The Effects of Brand Extensions on Market Share and Advertising Efficiency , 1992 .

[56]  Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah,et al.  Virtual World Affordances: Enhancing Brand Value , 1970 .

[57]  Franziska Völckner,et al.  Empirical generalizability of consumer evaluations of brand extensions , 2007 .

[58]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  Hype or Help? A Longitudinal Field Study of Virtual World Use for Team Collaboration , 2012, J. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[59]  Martin Wetzels,et al.  THE ROLE OF CORPORATE IMAGE AND EXTENSION SIMILARITY IN SERVICE BRAND EXTENSIONS , 2000 .

[60]  Theodore Lynn,et al.  Branding in fictional and virtual environments , 2012 .

[61]  Jong-Eun Roselyn Lee,et al.  "Whose Second Life Is This?" How Avatar-Based Racial Cues Shape Ethno-Racial Minorities' Perception of Virtual Worlds , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[62]  Grant Mccracken.  Culture and Consumption: A Theoretical Account of the Structure and Movement of the Cultural Meaning of Consumer Goods , 1986 .

[63]  Shaw K. Chen,et al.  Brand dilution effect of extension failure – a Taiwan study , 2000 .

[64]  W. Bainbridge.  The Scientific Research Potential of Virtual Worlds , 2007, Science.

[65]  Kelly A. Lyons,et al.  On the Relationship between My Avatar and Myself , 2008 .

[66]  Werner Reinartz,et al.  Empirical generalizations from brand extension research: How sure are we? , 2006 .

[67]  J. Crocker,et al.  Cognitive Processes in the Revision of Stereotypic Beliefs , 1983 .

[68]  Stuart J. Barnes,et al.  Virtual item purchase behavior in virtual worlds: an exploratory investigation , 2009, Electron. Commer. Res..

[69]  J. Gabisch,et al.  Virtual world brand experience and its impact on real world purchasing behavior , 2011 .

[70]  V. Benet‐Martínez,et al.  Consumption symbols as carriers of culture: a study of Japanese and Spanish brand personality constructs. , 2001 .

[71]  Allard C. R. van Riel,et al.  Consumer Evaluations of Service Brand Extensions , 2001 .

[72]  Michael Bourlakis,et al.  Making real money in virtual worlds: MMORPGs and emerging business opportunities, challenges and ethical implications in metaverses , 2008 .

[73]  David M. Boush,et al.  A Process-Tracing Study of Brand Extension Evaluation , 1991 .

[74]  S. Czellár.  Consumer attitude toward brand extensions : An Integrative Model and Research Propositions , 2003 .

[75]  Stuart J. Barnes,et al.  Exploring the fit of real brands in the Second Life 1 virtual world , 2011 .

[76]  Jean B. Romeo.  The Effect of Negative Information on the Evaluations of Brand Extensions and the Family Brand , 1991 .

[77]  B. Hako.  Strategies for diversification , 1972 .

[78]  Hasan Amca,et al.  Interrelations Between Virtual-World and Real-World Activities: Comparison of Genders, Age Groups, and Pathological and Nonpathological Internet Users , 2012, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[79]  Leif E. Hem,et al.  Factors Influencing Successful Brand Extensions , 2003 .

[80]  F. Nah,et al.  Enhancing%' or paper_id like 'brand equity through flow and telepresence: a comparison of 2D and 3D virtual worlds , 2011 .

[81]  Jos Lemmink,et al.  Service Intensiveness and Brand Extension Evaluations , 2004 .