Brand extension evaluations: Effects of affective commitment, involvement, price consciousness and preference for bundling in the extension category

Recent brand extension research has mainly focused on the judgmental effects of similarity between the established brand and the brand extension. This paper extends this research by investigating the effects of characteristics in the extension category. The results suggest that (a) affective commitment towards the incumbent brand in the extension category is negatively related to the intention to purchase the extension, and (b) involvement with the entry category increases purchase intention. Furthermore, price consciousness has a positive effect on preference for product bundling, while similarity and preference for bundling positively influences the intention to buy a brand extension. The results underscore the importance of extension category characteristics for consumer evaluation of extensions.