Srinivas K. Reddy

Symbolic and functional positioning of brands

Some brand strategists have distinguished between symbolic and functional brands, i.e. brands that basically satisfy consumers’ functional or product‐related needs and brands bought to enhance self‐ or social esteem. It has been suggested that brands should be positioned as either functional or symbolic but not both. However, empirical research on the dimensionality of brand symbolism/functionality has been lacking. In this study, scales were developed to assess a brand’s symbolic or functional association with consumers. Subsequent data analysis suggests that brand symbolism and functionality are separate phenomena and, further, that symbolism comprises two dimensions, termed prestige and personality expression. Thus, contrary to current thinking, it seems that brands can be successfully positioned as both symbolic and functional and, if a symbolic brand concept is desired, prestige or upscaleness is just one of the possible positioning options available.

To extend or not to extend: Success determinants of line extensions.

The authors study the determinants of line extension success using data on 75 line extensions of 34 cigarette brands over a 20-year period to investigate the relative effects of brand, extension, a...

The Impact of Brand Extension Introduction on Choice

This article focuses on the impact of a new brand extension introduction on choice in a behavioral context using national household scanner data involving multiple brand extensions. Particularly, the authors investigate the reciprocal impact of trial of successful and unsuccessful brand extensions on parent brand choice. In addition, the authors examine the effects of experience with the parent brand on consumers’ trial and repeat of a brand extension using household scanner data on six brand extensions from a national panel. In the case of successful brand extensions, the results show positive reciprocal effects of extension trial on parent brand choice, particularly among prior non-users of the parent brand, and consequently on market share. The authors find evidence for potential negative reciprocal effects of unsuccessful extensions. In addition, the study shows that experience with the parent brand has a significant impact on extension trial, but not on extension repeat.

The impact of parent brand attribute associations and affect on brand extension evaluation

Abstract A model specifying the role of parent brand attribute beliefs and affect in consumers initial evaluation of a brand extension was proposed and tested using hypothetical extensions of different brands. This study suggests a more prominent role for parent brand attribute associations than for parent brand affect in extension attitude formation that had been presumed in the literature. Further, the study documents the importance of an extensions fit with the parents image while at the same time suggesting that similarity of the product categories of the extension and the parent is of no consequence in extension evaluation. Managers are advised to link extensions to parent brand attribute associations and image in consumers minds for greater success.

Consumer Evaluations of Corporate Brand Redeployments

There has been little attention paid to the management of corporate brand names as part of the merger and acquisition process. As an initial step towards developing a better understanding of this brand redeployment decision the authors consider the reactions of one important stakeholder group—consumers—to alternative strategies. Specifically, the authors discuss the importance of the corporate branding decision in the M&A process and present a typology of alternative redeployment strategies as well as an exploratory study examining reactions to different postmerger branding strategies. The authors find evidence that the brand equity related to corporate brands is often decreased as a result of M&A activities and that individuals react differently to mergers employing different redeployment strategies. These results emphasize the need for firms to evaluate the corporate branding component of M&A activities as part of the process of managing corporate brands and should generate interest and research in this managerially relevant area.

Exploring the Determinants of Broadway Show Success

This study investigates the determinants of success of an experiential good: Broadway shows. The authors focus on the sources and types of information used in the selection of an artistic event and...

Measuring and Modeling the Effects of Long-Term Buyer–Seller Relationships in Corporate Financial Services Markets

Abstract This paper focuses on attempting to identify and model the role that the long-term relationship plays in affecting future sales versus the roles of other such forces as product performance, sales activities, and price. A conceptual model of the long-term relationship is developed and empirically tested on data obtained from top level financial executives of 123 “important” customers of a major money center commercial bank. A structural equation model using multiple indicators is developed and estimated. Results indicate knowledge and perception of actively seeking customers business affects the longevity of the relationship. Competitive pricing and past usage improve relative perceived performance. In turn, relative perceived performance and relationship longevity are positively related to future usage.

A dynamic approach to the analysis of strategic alliances

The increasing trend in strategic alliance formation between major firms around the world, has prompted researchers from various disciplines to look at this phenomenon in great detail. In this paper, we review alternate approaches in the literature in this area. We then propose a non-linear dynamic approach to study the formation of competitive strategic alliances and contrast it with the traditional game-theoretic approach. The pros and cons of these two approaches are discussed with reference to a competitive alliance scenario. Dynamic models have significant managerial implications as they enable us to investigate if-then type scenarios and project the impact of different strategies.

A Factorial Evaluation of Effects of Model Specification and Error on Parameter Estimation in a Structural Equation Model

In an experiment manipulating artificial data in a factorial design, model misspecification and varying levels of error in measurement and in model structure are shown to have significant effects on LISREL parameter estimates in a modified peer influence model (Duncan, Haller & Portes, 1971). The extent of error present in both the measurement and the model have significant direct effects on estimated parameter values, and the two sorts of error interact as well. In specification, incorrect omission of parameters seems to have more impact on parameter error than does incorrect inclusion of parameters.

Are Semantic Response Scales Equivalent

Three frequently used response formats -- Likert, semantic-differential and single anchor (Stapel) -- are compared via analysis of covariance structures. The cumulative results based on four data sets provided evidence inconsistent with previous research suggesting that these formats are interchangeable. Consistently across studies, the semantic-differential format is most preferred while in most cases the Stapel format is least preferred.