Searching for boundary conditions for successful brand extensions

Purpose – Past research on brand extensions has been searching for conditions for successful brand extensions. Two contradictory response patterns between fit levels and extension evaluation have been observed in past studies. This study attempts to synthesize these seemingly contradicting past findings by considering a situational factor (i.e. situational involvement) and a consumer personality factor (i.e. consumer innovativeness) as moderating factors for the effect of extension similarity on evaluation of brand extensions. Design/methodology/approach – An experimental design with three factors (i.e. extension similarity, consumer innovativeness, and situational involvement) is used to test the hypotheses. Findings – It was found that, under the high involvement condition, innovative subjects show a pattern suggested by the inverted U‐shaped hypothesis in their extension evaluations. Subjects in other conditions, on the other hand, show a pattern suggested by the fit hypothesis. Practical implications – The findings of the study provide useful implications to marketers who are considering brand extensions. Marketers may need different strategies depending on the degree of extension similarity and the characteristics of their target customers. Originality/value – By identifying boundary conditions for successful brand extension, the findings of the study contribute to increase understanding in the brand extension literature.