Moderating effect of brand commitment on apparel brand prestige in upward comparisons

ABSTRACT This study explores the location effect on consumers’ perceptions of a particular apparel brand’s prestige when a fashion store is operated adjacent to the apparel boutiques of other prestigious brands. It also aims to examine variations in this effect according to consumers’ brand commitment levels. Via a survey conducted in Japan, the influence of prestige disparity between a particular apparel brand and adjacent brands on perceived brand prestige was assessed across different store location frames. The data reveal that a consumer perceives a particular brand prestige to be higher than before when the prestige of its adjacent brand is moderately higher than its own (assimilation), while this effect disappears once the prestige disparity becomes large. The data also suggest that the assimilation effect is more obvious when a consumer’s calculative brand commitment is high, while the influence of his/her affective commitment level is insignificant. These results suggest that managers should assess whether the prestige disparity is adequate between their brands and adjacent ones and take note of calculative commitment levels of target consumers to predict the location effect on their brand equities.