The Evaluation of Brand Extension through a Relationship Perspective Based on Trust

Abstract

This paper has the purpose to show the importance of the introduction of a relationship approach based on trust in brand extension. After presenting the classical approaches of evaluation of brand extension and showing their limitations, we propose a conceptual model including the trust as a multidimensional construct and its consequences. An empirical study was carried with two brands with a sample of 400 consumers for every brand on the purpose to validate the model and verify the role of trust in this context. The test of the different relationships of the model was achieved in a structural modeling using Amos which allows us to specify the causal links between the various constructs. The results have highlighted the way in which the trust acts especially the action of its dimensions in the acceptance of a brand extension and this whatever the level of the fit between the brand and the extension.
Keywords: Brand extension, Relationship marketing, Trust, Structural equation modeling.