外文翻译--知觉变异和有关品牌延伸推论(编辑修改稿)

外文翻译--知觉变异和有关品牌延伸推论(编辑修改稿)内容摘要：

differentiate the offering. Perceiied Variability of Existing Brands in the Entry Categcry Some product categories may be more receptive to new brands than others. When perceived variability of an entry category is low, category members should be perceived as undiffc。 rentiated。 new brands entering this category should be perceived as legitimate (., if everyone else is doing it, you can, too), but not really new or exciting. Conversely, when perceived variability is high, ihere is room for extensions, but generalization is difficult and consumers may be unable to make predictions about the quality of new brands. Research Propositions and the Experimental Design Inferences about brand extensions should be affected by these two types of perceived variability: (a) the perceived variability of a firm39。 s current offerings (., umbrella vs. niche brands), and (b) the peiceived variability of extant brands in an entry category. Perceptions of variability may be formed for several different dimensions of an existing categoiy. We focused on one key dimension: perceived quality. Quality judgments of parent brands should generalize more readily to brand extensions when perceived variability is low in entry categories. To investigate the role of perceived variability in consumer inference, an experiment was conducted in which brand name and new product concept information was manipulated. Subjects received either an umbrella brand name, a niche brand name, or no brand name, paired with concepts for six different packaged goods (., the entry categories). On the basis of idiothetic ratings (Jaccard and Wood 1986), the entry categories were split into high and low perceived variability groups. Hence, a 3 (umbrella, niche, or no brand name [betwesubjects]) X 2 (high or low perceived variability in the entry category [withinsubjects]) factorial design was employed. This design has several advantages over previous correlational research on brand extensions: (a) subjects were randomly assigned to brand name conditions, (b) reactions to all possible binations cf brsmd name and concept infonnation were examined, and (c) the no brand name control condition enables one to measure inferences about a new product concept while controlling for prior knowledge about a brand. DISCUSSION Together,the quality inference,causal inference,an dconditional inference data suggests that brand extension can tarnish global evaluations of a parent brand. Even when favorablyevaluated parent brand name are paired with favorablyevaluated brand ixtensions, a less favorable overale impression of the parent brand can result. Furthermore,tliis negative reaction seems more pronounced for umbrell a brand. Thus, an umbrell a brand does not automatically provide more leverage than a niche brand. When a parent brand name is stretched too far, additional extensions can have negative repercussions on judgments about the parent brand. The result also imply that the perceived variability of brands in an entry category is an important moderator of consumers initial inferences about I new perceived variability is high,jeneralization is difficult and consumer tend to form conservative, moderate judgements。