Introduction Celebrities are actively capitalizing on their fame and credibility by launching their own brand extensions which are heavily promoted on Instagram. This situation is especially prevalent in Malaysia among many local Malay ‘celepreneurs’. While consumers’ constant involvement with a celebrity on Instagram is believed to result in the purchase of celebrity branded products, the central question of how a causal variable such as Instagram involvement has an effect on the outcome of purchase has been less explored in contemporary studies. The role of celebrity adulation and style conformity in the context of celebrity branding-cum-entrepreneurship deserves much attention given the strong influence celebrities exert on young consumers in this digital era of accessible information. Research framework Given the admiration that young consumers have towards the celebrities they follow on Instagram, celebrity worship, in both pathological and non-pathological form, is believed to be a crucial link between their involvement with the social media and their desire to imitate their favourite celebrity’s style. Eventually this paves the way for the purchase of celebrity brand products given that getting the products is an avenue for the young consumers to attain their celebrities’ style. Therefore in this study, four variables that mediate the relationship between Instagram involvement and purchase of celebrity branded products are examined: celebrity worship as manifested across three varying levels particularly entertainment-social (lowest form of worship); intense-personal (mid-level); borderline pathological (highest level); and style conformity. Method Data was collected from 226 Malaysian women of Malay ethnicity who are active Instagram users and fall under the technology-savvy Millennial segment using a self-administered questionnaire. This segment of consumers is technology savvy and has personalities and lifestyles (Gurau, 2012). They also tend to imitate their favourite celebrity in contrast to their male counterparts (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017). Measures for the mediating variables were derived from McCutcheon et al.’s (2002) Celebrity Worship Scale and Park and Yang’s (2010) items on celebrity style conformity. A five-point scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree) was utilized to capture the responses to the variables measured. Analysis and results Serial multiple mediation testing was applied on the data using variance-based structural equation modelling. The multiple mediation analysis showed that of all the three levels of celebrity worship which mediate the link between Instagram involvement and style conformity, only celebrity worship (entertainment-social) was found to be a significant mediator between Instagram involvement and style conformity (Indirect effect=0.127; t-value= 3.285, 95% Boot CI: LL=0.059, UL=0.216). In addition, the presence of a serial mediation was detected for the link between Instagram involvement-celebrity worship (entertainment-social)-style conformity-purchase of celebrity brand products (Indirect effect=0.04; t-value=2.954, 95% Boot CI: LL=0.02, UL=0.08). Conclusion The serial mediation testing in this study has demonstrated that celebrity worship and style conformity serve as the missing link between the involvement-purchase relationship. Furthermore, the multiple mediation testing has shown that only celebrity worship at the basic level functions as a mediator. The findings of this study imply that the use of Instagram is indeed a compelling marketing communication tool that fosters the purchase of celebrity brand extensions. Constant involvement in Instagram by following the celebrity, liking, reposting, commenting or hashtagging on the celebrity’s account builds a keen sense of devotion for the celebrity whereby the individual will constantly watch, read and learn about the celebrity. This then heightens the user’s desire to emulate the style of the celebrity which may well lead them to purchase the celebrity’s products in an effort to imitate the celebrity’s look and demeanour. strong desire for and high willingness to spend on branded products that match their

Brand extensions are a critical strategy for the introduction of new products, which are often prone to failure. The use of an established brand can help promote acceptance of the new product by reducing perceived risk, enhancing efficiencies in terms of distribution and promotion, and reducing overall costs associated with launching the new product. Previous research regarding brand extensions has shown that various factors influence success of brand extensions (e.g., marketing support and retailer acceptance). One of the most important factors driving brand extension success is the fit between a parent brand and its extension. A new marketing construct, emotional attachment to a brand, has recently been introduced to the brand extension literature. However, the role of consumers’ brand attachment, in terms of reactions to a brand extension has largely been ignored by researchers. The lack of research on brand extensions and brand attachment is somewhat surprising, given the considerable body of research findings that show consumers who are emotionally tied to a brand respond differently to that brand due to increased attachment. Building on this body of work, we propose that consumers who are emotionally attached to a brand will be less impacted by the degree of fit between the parent brand and its extension. In this research, we show that emotional attachment with a brand is an important factor underlying consumers’ responses to a brand extension. In particular, we explore the moderating role of brand attachment on consumers’ responses to extensions that vary in terms of fit with the parent brand. We also explore the process underlying observed effects. These issues are examined with an experiment regarding extensions for a real-world brand. Further, mediated moderation analyses indicate that the moderating effect of brand attachment is mediated by brand image fit, but not by product category fit. Implications of our findings for managers and researchers are also are provided.

최근 국내 의류 시장에서 SPA 브랜드의 급격한 성장을 기반으로 관련 업체들이 기존 의류 이외에 다른 종류의 다양한 제품(SPA 브랜드 확장)을 출시하는 추세이다. 이와 같은 추세 이면의 심리적 기제를 알아보기 위해서 본 연구는 SPA 브랜드 확장에 대한 소비자 정보 처리 과정을 개념적으로 (1) SPA 브랜드 확장과 원 SPA 브랜드 간의 유사성 지각과 (2) 평가(태도와 구입의향)로 구분하였다. 이후 가상의 3종류 SPA 브랜드 확장(저, 중, 고 유사성 조건)에 대한 소비자의 유사성 지각 과정과 평가를 각각 아이트래커와 자기 보고식 설문지를 이용해 측정하였다. 통계 분석 결과, SPA 브랜드 확장의 유사성 지각 과정에서 외적 정보 탐색량과 정보 처리 수준은 ‘중>저>고 유사성 조건’ 순으로 차이를 보였다. 또한 SPA 브랜드 확장에 대한 태도와 구입의향은 ‘고=중>저 유사성 조건’ 순으로 높은 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같은 결과는 SPA 브랜드 확장에 대한 평가가 유사성 지각 정도와 유사성 지각 과정에서 투입된 인지적 노력량에 영향을 받는다는 점을 제안한다.

Purpose: Brand and line extension represents an essential vehicle for growth and is currently one of the most applied marketing strategies within the luxury sector. Though it has its advantages, there are several risks associated with pursuing such a strategy. Consequently, this paper attempts to understand the reasons for brand and line extensions as a way of growth in the new era of luxury expansion. Theory: The study extends the literature of brand and line extensions through an empirical study. Methodology: An integrative model of key success factors behind brand and line extensions is proposed by combining current research with empirical findings obtained through an explorative and qualitative research design based on primary data from eight semi-structured interviews with managers from luxury brands. Findings and Contribution: We identify five key success factors: (1) add value through originality, (2) stay at the level of the brand regarding price, quality, style and image, (3) create relevance to core business and be aligned with DNA, (4) stick to the vision of the founder and (5) assure consistency in brand identity and image. Sig-nificantly, the predominant themes are alignment between the parent brand and the extension and the extension in itself, which resonates with the existing research on the field. Further, drawing on the notion of alignment, this thesis also finds evidence of the importance of consistent brand cues such as storytelling, values, heritage, tradition and visual icons. Practical implications: It is suggested that the five success factors identified in the empirical data to the greatest extent possible should apply to any future brand extension and that resources should be allocated to reinforce the alignment between extension and parent brand. Research limitations: It would be insightful to conduct additional interviews with top managers from other brands to further elaborate on the identified success factors.