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IJICTDC Vol.1 No.2 pp.5-17

Shoaib Imtiaz,Jafar Ali,Changsu Kim,Hyun-Sook Ahn

An Empirical Investigation of the Factors Influencing the Brand Extension of Lifebuoy

Abstract

This paper investigates the factors affecting the brand extension of lifebuoy i.e. Brand equity, Brand loyalty, Brand image, customer innovativeness, Similarity fit, Brand association and Consumer behaviour. Quantitative approach was utilized in this paper. Data was collected from 150 students enrolled in graduate and post-graduate level programmes in Department of Management Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, through convenience sampling approach with the help of structured verified questionnaire. A series of statistical techniques i.e. Cronbach’s alpha, Multicollinearity, Correlation and Regression analysis were applied with the help of software SPSS. The results depicts that extensions into same categories to the original brand tends to be readily accepted. Brand equity and Brand loyalty increases after successful brand extension and are highly positive correlated with brand extension. It also showed the relationship between the brand image and brand extension. Customer innovativeness and consumer behaviour speeds up after successful brand extension. Results showed that Similarity fit have positive effect on brand extension, and also brand extension increases with brand association. Important guiding principle for future research would be to include large pool of respondents for in-depth analysis to understand the effect of culture also. It is suggested that companies should launch extensions with high similarity fit. Moreover, greater effort is required to extend low equity brands. Finally, companies need to know what the perception of consumers about their brands is, and how they evaluate it. It is noted that feedback effects of the same brand extensions can vary due to cultural differences between consumers.