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Original brands in competition against high quality copycats

Original brands in competition against high quality copycats Copycat brands offering improved product quality pose serious challenges to original brands. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of why consumers prefer copycat brands with superior product attributes and how original brands can shift this preference back by strategically leveraging brand identity cues.Design/methodology/approachFour experimental studies test different types of brand identity cues that original brands can use to influence consumer preferences. Logistic and linear regression analyses analyze the effects.FindingsThe results systematically show the power of brand identity cues in helping original brands reduce share loss to copycat brands using superior product attributes. They also reveal the role of brand equity, conspicuous consumption and consumers’ tendency of using brands as status symbols in enhancing the effect of brand identity cues in the face of superior copycats.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper extends cue diagnosticity theory and the brand identity literature by showing the power of brand identity cues in predicting consumer choices of original brands.Practical implicationsThis paper provides useful guidelines for managers of original brands on how to effectively use brand identity cues to compete against copycats.Originality/valuePrior research focuses on how copycat brands’ characteristics influence consumers’ evaluations of copycats. These studies are limited, however, by their focus on cheap and low-quality copycats. The current paper examines the effects of brand identity cues and draws attention to the trade-offs consumers make when choosing between original brands and copycats offering superior product features. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png European Journal of Marketing Emerald Publishing

Original brands in competition against high quality copycats

Nguyen, Hang; Gunasti, Kunter
European Journal of Marketing , Volume 52 (7/8): 24 – Jun 21, 2018
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
0309-0566
DOI
10.1108/ejm-08-2017-0536
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Copycat brands offering improved product quality pose serious challenges to original brands. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of why consumers prefer copycat brands with superior product attributes and how original brands can shift this preference back by strategically leveraging brand identity cues.Design/methodology/approachFour experimental studies test different types of brand identity cues that original brands can use to influence consumer preferences. Logistic and linear regression analyses analyze the effects.FindingsThe results systematically show the power of brand identity cues in helping original brands reduce share loss to copycat brands using superior product attributes. They also reveal the role of brand equity, conspicuous consumption and consumers’ tendency of using brands as status symbols in enhancing the effect of brand identity cues in the face of superior copycats.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper extends cue diagnosticity theory and the brand identity literature by showing the power of brand identity cues in predicting consumer choices of original brands.Practical implicationsThis paper provides useful guidelines for managers of original brands on how to effectively use brand identity cues to compete against copycats.Originality/valuePrior research focuses on how copycat brands’ characteristics influence consumers’ evaluations of copycats. These studies are limited, however, by their focus on cheap and low-quality copycats. The current paper examines the effects of brand identity cues and draws attention to the trade-offs consumers make when choosing between original brands and copycats offering superior product features.

Journal

European Journal of Marketing – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 21, 2018

Keywords: Brand equity; Brand identity

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