Managing Feedback Effects: Co-Branded vs. Non-Co-Branded Extensions
(A2025-125824)

AUTHORS

Fabian Kraus, University Bremen; Michael Schade, University of Bremen; Rico Piehler, Macquarie University; Marius Diegel, University of Bremen; Christoph Burmann, University of Bremen

ABSTRACT

Category extensions can enhance the likelihood of new product acceptance and indirectly influence attitudes toward the existing brand through feedback effects. This study investi-gates how two category extension strategies (non-co-branded and co-branded) impact the feedback effect on the existing brand, differentiating between new and current customers. Using an experimental design (n = 774), we examine a category extension by a sports team brand (soccer club Borussia Mönchengladbach) into e-sports (League of Legends). Our re-sults reveal that for new customers, a category extension without a co-brand does not affect their attitude towards the existing brand, while the inclusion of a co-brand (e-sports brand Fnatic) results in a positive attitude change. In contrast, for current customers, the category extension reduces their attitude towards the existing brand without a co-brand, while a co-branded extension strategy mitigates the negative feedback effect.