Specific and Diffuse Cultural Orientation How it Impacts Evaluations of Brand Extensions with Varying Category Distance

Abstract

This paper examines how cultural differences, in particular the specific versus diffuse oriented dimension, can influence brand extension evaluations. Although brand extensions themselves have been studied time and time again over the last few decades, the relationship between consumers from specific and diffuse cultures, brand extension category distance, and overall brand extension evaluation, has not been examined. Through data collection from corporate company websites across countries spanning the cultural spectrum, and analysis against the specific versus diffuse cultural dimension, this paper established a causal relationship indicating that cultural differences account for variance in how brand extensions are evaluated.