文档介绍：外文原文:
The effect of brand extension strategies upon brand image
This paper was developed during the first author’s research stay at the Centre for Research in Brand Marketing, Birmingham Business School, supported by the “Ministerio de Educación, Culturay Deporte” of the Government of Spain (Ref. PR2002-012). She wishes to express her gratitude for the financial help received from the CICYT (project SEC2002-03949). The authors would like to thank Susan Drury for her ments.
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to analyze the effect that a brand extension strategy has on brand image. Specifically, the paper analyzes how variables related to the parent brand and the extension influence brand image after the extension. From a sample of 389 consumers the paper demonstrates that the extension strategy dilutes the brand image. Through a regression analysis it is shown that the perceived quality of the brand and consumers’ attitudes towards the extension positively influence both the general brand image (GBI) and the product brand image (PBI) after the extension. While familiarity with the products of the brand only affect the GBI, the perceived degree of fit affects the PBI.
 
Keyword:Consumer behavior; Perception; Brand image; Brand extensions; Marketing strategy.
 
Introduction
In today’s market, having a well thought through brand strategy is a key contribution to corporate ess. Brands enable consumers to efficiently encode their functional and emotional values in their minds (Franzen and Bouwman, 2001). The resulting images enable consumers to recognize the points of difference peting brands. Keller (1993) defines brand image as the “perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory”. These associations refer to any aspect that link the brand with the consumer’s memory (Aaker, 1996a). Relationships are then created between consumers’ personalities and the perceived personalities of brands (de Chernatony and Benicio de