Evaluation of co‐branded hotels in the Taiwanese market: the role of brand familiarity and brand fit

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of brand familiarity and brand fit on purchase intention towards the offerings of co‐branded hotels.Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered from 198 respondents and two co‐branded hotels in Taiwan were assessed.Findings – The findings showed that the fit between co‐brands mediate the relationship between brand familiarity and purchase intention. In particular, a well‐known co‐branded hotel with a high level of brand fit could directly or indirectly affect consumer decision‐making processes regarding purchase intention towards the co‐brand. Conversely, a less familiar co‐branded hotel had a positive effect on purchase intention only if respondents perceived a good fit between allied brands.Research limitations/implications – Brand fit could be a more important factor than brand familiarity in influencing the success of hotel co‐branding strategies. Future research to examine the co‐branding concept in different social and cultural conte...

[1]  S. Ball,et al.  An exploration of the meanings of hotel brand equity , 2006 .

[2]  Robert W. Ruekert,et al.  Signaling Unobservable Product Quality through a Brand Ally , 1999 .

[3]  Kevin Lane Keller,et al.  The marketing advantages of strong brands , 2003 .

[4]  Mahmood A. Khan,et al.  Co-Branding Strategy in the Restaurant Industry , 2001 .

[5]  Randi Priluck,et al.  Co‐branding: brand equity and trial effects , 2000 .

[6]  S. Reddy,et al.  Symbolic and functional positioning of brands , 1998 .

[7]  Hong-Youl Ha,et al.  Effects of consumer perceptions of brand experience on the web: brand familiarity, satisfaction and brand trust , 2005 .

[8]  Kevin Lane Keller.  Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity , 1993 .

[9]  Tekle Shanka,et al.  An Investigation into the Perceived Importance of Service and Facility Attributes to Hotel Satisfaction , 2004 .

[10]  J. Nunnally,et al.  Psychometric Theory: NY. , 1978 .

[11]  Rajiv Vaidyanathan,et al.  Strategic brand alliances: implications of ingredient branding for national and private label brands , 2000 .

[12]  S. Dickinson,et al.  A comparison of qualitative and quantitative results concerning evaluations of co-branded offerings , 2006 .

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

[14]  Niraj Dawar,et al.  Brand crises: The roles of brand familiarity and crisis relevance in determining the impact on brand evaluations , 2009 .

[15]  Mariafrancesca Sicilia,et al.  Revitalising brands through communication messages: the role of brand familiarity , 2012 .

[16]  Sonja Holverson,et al.  Perceptions of European independent hoteliers: hard and soft branding choices , 2006 .

[17]  B. D. Guillet,et al.  It affects, it affects not: A quasi-experiment on the transfer effect of co-branding on consumer-based brand equity of hospitality products , 2011 .

[18]  James C. Anderson,et al.  The effect of sampling error on convergence, improper solutions, and goodness-of-fit indices for maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis , 1984 .

[19]  J. W. Hutchinson,et al.  Dimensions of Consumer Expertise , 1987 .

[20]  Suzanne B. Walchli.  The effects of between-partner congruity on consumer evaluation of co-branded products , 2007 .

[21]  How extended hotel brands affect the Lodging Portfolio , 2010 .

[22]  Anna S. Mattila,et al.  Hotel Brand Strategy , 2010 .

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

[24]  Leslie de Chernatony,et al.  The effect of brand extension strategies upon brand image , 2004 .

[25]  C. Lamb,et al.  The measurement and dimensionality of brand associations , 2000 .

[26]  Basak Denizci Guillet,et al.  Travelers’ Takes on Hotel—Restaurant Co-Branding: Insights for China , 2010 .

[27]  P.Rajan Varadarajan.  Joint sales promotion: An emerging marketing tool , 1985 .

[28]  Randi Priluck,et al.  Brand alliance and customer-based brand-equity effects , 2004 .

[29]  David Bowen,et al.  Reflections on tourist satisfaction research: Past, present and future , 2002 .

[30]  J. Tam,et al.  Brand familiarity: its effects on satisfaction evaluations , 2008 .

[31]  V. C. S. Heung,et al.  International franchising : opportunities for China's state-owned hotels? , 2008 .

[32]  Q. Xiao,et al.  International hotel development: A study of potential franchisees in China , 2008 .

[33]  Vijay Mahajan,et al.  Products with Branded Components: An Approach for Premium Pricing and Partner Selection , 1997 .

[34]  Hyun Jeong Kim,et al.  The impact of co-branding on post-purchase behaviors in family restaurants. , 2006 .

[35]  Carrie M. Heilman,et al.  The Evolution of Brand Preferences and Choice Behaviors of Consumers New to a Market , 2000 .

[36]  Kevin Lane Keller.  Strategic Brand Management , 2007 .

[37]  Janet L. Yellen,et al.  Commodity Bundling and the Burden of Monopoly , 1976 .

[38]  D. Aaker.  Managing brand equity : capitalizing on the value of a brand name , 1992 .

[39]  P. Leeflang,et al.  Explaining behavioural intentions toward co-branded products , 2007 .

[40]  Sonia Dickinson,et al.  Evaluations of branding alliances between non‐profit and commercial brand partners: the transfer of affect , 2007 .

[41]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[42]  Henrik Uggla.  The brand association base: A conceptual model for strategically leveraging partner brand equity , 2004 .

[43]  Jin-Feng Uen,et al.  Transformational leadership and branding behavior in Taiwanese hotels. , 2012 .

[44]  N. Scott,et al.  Hotel restaurant co-branding: The relationship of perceived brand fit with intention to purchase , 2011 .

[45]  Deborah Roedder John,et al.  What Makes Brands Elastic? The Influence of Brand Concept and Styles of Thinking on Brand Extension Evaluation , 2010 .

[46]  Eva Martínez,et al.  Influence of Corporate Image on Brand Extensions: A Model Applied to the Service Sector , 2005 .

[47]  Kevin Lane Keller,et al.  Brands and Branding: Research Findings and Future Priorities , 2006 .

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

[49]  Christian Bluemelhuber,et al.  Extending the view of brand alliance effects: An integrative examination of the role of country of origin , 2007 .

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

[51]  A. Mattila,et al.  A Hotel Restaurant Brand Alliance Model , 2002 .

[52]  B. Bai,et al.  Hospitality marketing research from 2000 to 2009 : Topics, methods, and trends , 2011 .

[53]  Hongwei He,et al.  Alliance brands: Building corporate brands through strategic alliances? , 2006 .

[54]  J. Boone.  Hotel—restaurant co-branding—a preliminary study , 1997 .

[55]  Pieter C. M. Cornelis.  Effects of co‐branding in the theme park industry: a preliminary study , 2010 .

[56]  J. Swait,et al.  Brands as Signals: A Cross-Country Validation Study: , 2006 .

[57]  Devon DelVecchio.  Moving beyond fit: the role of brand portfolio characteristics in consumer evaluations of brand reliability , 2000 .

[58]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis , 1972 .

[59]  C. Whan Park,et al.  Composite Branding Alliances: An Investigation of Extension and Feedback Effects , 1996 .

[60]  McCafe: The McDonald's co-branding experience , 2007 .

[61]  Micael Dahlen,et al.  Let’s be strange: brand familiarity and ad‐brand incongruency , 2003 .

[62]  Michael R. Hyman,et al.  An exploratory study of desired hotel attributes for American tourists vacationing in China and Ireland , 2007 .

[63]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[64]  Bernard L. Simonin,et al.  Is a Company Known by the Company it Keeps? Assessing the Spillover Effects of Brand Alliances on Consumer Brand Attitudes , 1998 .

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

[66]  H. Unnava,et al.  Spillover of Negative Information on Brand Alliances , 2006 .