PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Several studies have addressed feedback effects of brand extensions on parent brand images, as well as the role of consistency between the parent brand and its extension. Aside from positive effects that may enhance the parent brand image, marketers are especially concerned about diluting effects that may negatively influence the parent brand image. Assuming that brand images are stored in a network structure in the consumers’ mind, it is surprising that only little research has been conducted to show how positive (negative) stimuli affect the structure of a brand’s associative network. Against this background, we focus on possible feedback effects of both consistent and inconsistent brand extension information on parent brand images at the cognitive level. In doing so, we use the Brand Concept Maps approach to show how positive (i.e., consistent) and negative (i.e., inconsistent) brand extension information affects the structure of the parent brand associative network.