The impact of customer‐company identification on consumer reactions to new corporate initiatives

Ashraf, Rohail; Merunka, Dwight

doi:10.1108/mip-04-2013-0065

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…In the house of brands approach, a company does not give prominence to its corporate brand, but rather promotes several product brands that are presented as separate. This strategy is particularly effective when the company is highly diversified and operates in potentially conflicting markets and distribution channels (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000a; Ashraf and Merunka, 2013). For instance, Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the owner of brands as diverse and disconnected as the hair care products Wella and Pantene, the laundry detergents Ariel and Fairy, AZ toothpaste and Pampers nappies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brand architecture shift and corporate brand equity: an exploratory study

Gabrielli

Baghi

2016

MIP

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of a shift in brand architecture strategy on corporate brand equity. The change is from a house of brands to a branded house approach in which the corporate brand is prominent. The study proposes two alternative approaches in order to explore how consumers build the corporate brand equity from single product brand equities in the portfolio: the dilution process or the bookkeeping/subtyping cognitive process. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to 150 Italian consumers. All the items were related to a real corporate brand – Procter & Gamble (P&G) – and to seven of the product brands in its portfolio. The choice of the Italian context and the P&G brand was motivated by the fact that P&G has recently adopted a shift in its brand strategy, starting to give prominence to the corporate brand in its communication campaign in Italy. Findings The dilution process does not describe the effect of a change in strategy on corporate brand equity, but the bookkeeping/subtyping cognitive process does. This suggests that consumers tend not to revise corporate brand equity when they perceive many product brands behind it. Originality/value The value of the present paper is to deal with a relevant and current topic: the brand architecture dynamism. This research is an exploratory step to satisfy the need for theory-based research on consumer responses to the shift in the brand portfolio architecture strategy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brand architecture shift and corporate brand equity: an exploratory study

Gabrielli

Baghi

2016

MIP

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“…Therefore, it is not possible to assess the idea of ethical perception without referencing specific corporations and their respective brands when requesting consumer feedback. Hence, two specific companies with two brands each were referenced on the evaluation questionnaires used in this study (Ashraf and Merunka, 2013). To analyze our proposed model and meet the research objectives and to reduce non-systematic bias and have more options for consumers to respond, we include the product brands of iPhone and MacBook under the corporate umbrella of Apple, and Braun and Oral-B under that of P&G, among others.…”

Section: Research Methodology and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relation between Chinese consumers’ ethical perceptions and purchase intentions

Javed

Qadeer

2019

APJML

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Purpose Most business-related studies on ethics focus on consumers in developed western economies but ignore developing economies. Therefore, to fill this void in the literature and address the concerns of prior studies, the purpose of this paper is to examine the ethical perceptions of Chinese consumers as an example of effective and efficient management of company/brand strategies in an economy experiencing rapid socioeconomic growth. Design/methodology/approach This study examines 328 Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions based on their ethical perceptions toward Apple and P&G through mediating (i.e. consumer–corporate identification (CCI) and brand trust) and moderating (i.e. consumer gender, age, education and residence) effects. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the constructs and overall model. Findings The ethical perceptions of consumers translate into purchase intentions, both at the corporate and product brand levels. Similarly, a significant direct relationship between CCI and brand trust reveals that corporate-level ethical identification is a trivial matter to customers, although these perceptions do apply to product brands under a corporate umbrella. Furthermore, to identify target groups of Chinese consumers who are receptive to ethical appeals, moderating variables were found to be useful. Originality/value The results confirm that the mediating role of CCI is more influential in the context of Chinese consumers’ ethical perceptions, followed by brand trust. In relation to demographics, ethical perceptions affect CCI and brand trust more positively in females and highly educated consumers in China. Similarly, the relationship between consumers’ ethical perception and their trust in brand is revealed more influential in urban residents than they do in rural. This broadens the applications and contexts of this research model. The results provide managerial guidance on enhancing potential ethical perceptions.

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“…Thus, the brand portfolio is a basket of apparently stand-alone brands (Laforet, 2015). This kind of strategy is particularly advisable for highly diversified companies operating in potentially conflicting markets and distributing products through varied and inconsistent sales channels (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Ashraf and Merunka, 2013). Moreover, the house-of-brands strategy is useful when entering new product categories and growing through stretching up/down strategies in highly segmented markets, establishing precise positioning for each product (Laforet, 2015).…”

Section: Literature Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unveiling the corporate brand: the role of portfolio composition

Gabrielli

Baghi

2020

JCM

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Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effects on corporate brand equity when a company moves from a house of brand strategy to a branded house. In fact, recently, most of large companies (Procter & Gamble, Unilever) are managing this swift in order to simplify and optimize their efforts. Design/methodology/approach A total of 433 consumers participated in a between-subject experimental design completing a questionnaire. Each respondent was exposed to one of eight hypothetical scenarios with real-existing brands. A moderated-mediation model was tested. Findings The number of individual brands interacts with the variety of product categories within the portfolio to define its internal consistency which, in turn, exerts a significant mediation effect on corporate brand equity. Research limitations/implications The study supports the mental accounting process (subtyping vs bookkeeping), demonstrating how this psychological framework is applicable within brand management. Practical implications The study unveils a strong dichotomy: consumers award very small portfolios focused on a single product category or, conversely, they appreciate a wide and highly diversified brand portfolio. No chances for intermediate and hybrid solutions. Findings demonstrate that a brand architecture shift might be a flexible opportunity to manage an on-going diversification strategy. Originality/value The study is the first to analyse the importance of internal consistency within a brand portfolio in case of a shift in the portfolio strategy. Moreover, it investigates the effects since the first announcement of a linkage between the individual brands and the corporate one.

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The impact of customer‐company identification on consumer reactions to new corporate initiatives

Cited by 20 publications

References 86 publications

Brand architecture shift and corporate brand equity: an exploratory study

Brand architecture shift and corporate brand equity: an exploratory study

Relation between Chinese consumers’ ethical perceptions and purchase intentions

Unveiling the corporate brand: the role of portfolio composition

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