INFORMATIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER EVALUATIONS OF LINE AND BRAND EXTENSIONS

Line and brand extensions have been the basis for strategic growth for many firms during the past decade. This paper examines how consumers react to these strategies. The results of the study reveal that when c onsumers evaluate a line/brand extension, they engage in one of the th ree cognitive processes: category-based (or assimilation), contrast, a nd piecemeal processes. The results also show that these different typ es of processes are determined by (a) the degree of (in)consistency be tween the brand information and category expectations and (b) the leve l of motivation to process the brand information. Implications of the results for consumer information processing as well as for line/brand extension strategies in the marketplace are discussed.