Cecilia Ortiz
Florida International University
Marketing Department

On the Accessibility of the Extension’s Parental Association:
The Neglected Construct in Brand Extension Research

Resumen:
How and when consumers are affected by positioning a new marketplace offering as an extension of a recognized and valued brand name has been the focus of numerous empirical efforts reported in the leading marketing journals. Yet after examining more than 100 of these articles, it is apparent that researchers have underappreciated the connection that is the genesis of a brand extension: the extension’s association with its parent brand. Our investigation documents the potential importance of measurement-induced changes in the parental association’s accessibility and how this may shape research findings and conclusions. Its implications are many, including those of a theoretical, methodological, and pragmatic nature, speaking to both past and future research.