Consumers' brand extension evaluations and moderator role of brand love and self-brand connection: A pilot research

Companies benefit from the power of their existing brands by using the brand extension strategy while introducing new products to the market. Due to the intensive use of the brand extension strategy, the number of academic studies on this subject has increased. Initially, the factors affecting the success of brand extension were investigated and it was found that the parent brand quality and fit perception were the most effective. However, the presence of successful brand extensions despite the low fit perception led to the study of new factors. As a result, the emotional brand attachment was found to have a significant impact on brand extension success. These studies revealed that consumers with strong brand attachment reacted more positively to brand extension. Recent studies have shown that these consumers do not forgive every brand failure and react more negatively to the brand. Within the scope of this dissertation, it is examined whether the reactions of consumers after unsuccessful brand extension differ according to their brand love and self-brand connection. Failure means incongruent brand extension. At the end of the research, it was found that consumers with strong brand love react more positively to successful brand extension, while at the same time, they react more negatively to the failed brand extension. In addition, it was found that consumer reactions differ according to brand love and self-brand connection. With this study, it has been demonstrated that consumers with strong brand attachment do not support the brand in all cases and thus contribution are made to both literature and practice.