消費者對品牌結盟產品的評價：產品類別關聯性與品牌形象契合度的影響

Abstract

本研究探討品牌的產品類別關聯性與品牌形象契合度如何影響消費者對品牌結盟之產品的評價。實驗一藉由卡片分類的方式建構類別階層的概念，結果顯示四十種產品可分為八個基層類別與兩個上層類別。此結果意涵，消費者具有階層式的產品概念，可影響消費者對產品類別關連性的判斷。實驗二同時操弄三種產品類別關聯性與兩種品牌形象契合度，由40位大學生參與者同時比較六種品牌，評價結盟產品的合作契合度與品質高低。結果指出，參與者認為品牌形象契合度高的結盟有較高的合作契合度，但品牌形象契合度低的結盟則有較高的品質。另一方面，參與者在評價結盟產品的不同向度時，會彈性的使用類別階層：對結盟產品的知覺合作契合度會依照基層類別判斷，而對於結盟產品的品質知覺，則使用上層類別做為判斷標準。本研究的結果可做為企業進行品牌結盟策略時選擇合作對象之依據，以及行銷策略的規劃。

This study investigated how the product categorical relevance and brand image fit affect consumers’ evaluations of brand alliance. A card sorting method was adopted in Experiment 1 to investigate the structure of conceptual representations among 40 products. The results confirmed a hierarchical structure with the 40 products agglomerated to 8 basic levels and 2 super-ordinate levels. On the basis of the results of Experiment 1, three levels of categorical relevance and two levels of image fit were manipulated in Experiment 2 to investigate how these two factors may influence the evaluation of brand alliance. The results showed that high brand image fit led to higher perceived fit, but low brand image fit led to higher perceived quality for the allied product. Moreover, participants used different categorical levels in evaluations: the perceived fit of alliance was based on the basic level and the perceived quality of the allied products was based on the super-ordinate level. The results have important implications for selecting a partner in brand alliance and for developing the marketing strategy for the allied products.