Consumer evaluations on brand extensions: B2B brands extended into B2C markets

Purpose – This paper aims to examine whether companies in business-to-business (B2B) markets can leverage their brands extended into business-to-consumer (B2C) markets and how consumers evaluate these extensions. Design/methodology/approach – A model is developed by combining Aaker and Keller's brand extension model with theories from B2B branding as well as other consumer branding literature, and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively to have an insight about how consumers evaluate brand extensions. Findings – In the context of B2B brand extensions into B2C markets, consumers use brand concept consistency, product-level relatedness and transferability of skills and resources as major cues to evaluate extensions. Perceived quality, innovativeness and environmental concerns are also relevant cues. Practical implications – As a consequence of these findings, branding strategies that stretch B2B brands into the domain of consumer markets can be successful in cases where consumers perceive a fit with respect to skills and resources, brand concept, and existing products, and when the parent brand is perceived as being high quality, innovative and environmentally responsible. Originality/value – The main contribution of the study is to replicate the analysis of brand extension evaluation in a different context, namely B2B brand extension into the B2C market.