Brand schematicity refers to a generalized consumer predisposition to process information using brand schema. This research uses schema theory to build the theoretical groundwork for brand schematicity and reports seven studies conducted to measure, validate, and establish the nature of the construct. Studies 1 and 2 pertain to a scale developed to measure brand schematicity, Study 3 measures the construct using response times, and Study 4 situates the construct in a nomological network of associated constructs. Studies 5 and 6 test the predictive validity of the brand schematicity construct, and Study 7 uses memory clustering to provide evidence of the schematic nature of the construct that represents an inherent difference in the way consumers organize and utilize brand information. These investigations establish the validity of brand schematicity and its associated scale, as well as reveal that brand schematicity influences the role of brand concept consistency in brand extension evaluations, suggesting the possible moderating role of the construct in a wide variety of brand-related relationships. (print), 1547-7193 (electronic) 115Despite extensive research into the role of branding and its impact on the consumer-brand relationship (Aaker and for a review, see Keller and Lehmann 2006), the epistemology of this relationship is limited, in that it implies that all consumers react similarly to firms' branding activities. The intriguing possibility that consumers differ inherently in the way they interact with brands has received scant attention. In this study, we attempt to fill that gap by suggesting that consumers differ in terms of how they attend to, organize, and use brand information, such that some consumers are brand schematic, whereas others are brand aschematic.Just as some people can be race (Levy 2000) or gender (Bem 1981) schematic, we suggest that some consumers are brand schematic and are predisposed to process information according to brand schema. This definition differs from a traditional conceptualization of brand schema as the web of associations around a specific brand (Braun 1999). Instead, we note how consumers organize and use information in general. As a generalized propensity, brand schematicity is not an inclination toward any particular brand(s) but rather is a representation of the consumer's information-processing approach. Thus, a brand-schematic consumer likely processes information pertaining to any product according to its brand information, whereas brand-aschematic consumers use other information instead (e.g., attributes). A story schema helps readers interpret fairy tales (Rumelhart 1975); similarly, a brand schema can help consumers make sense of a consumption setting. Thus, a schematic processor can encode schema-relevant information quickly, organize information along schema-relevant categories, make highly differentiated assessments according to schemarelevant dimensions, and spontaneously discriminate across such dimensions (Bem 1981). In the context of brands, we posit...

Purpose Consumers’ engagement with brands online is increasingly important for marketers for both promotion of their brand’s message and sales. The purpose of this paper is to examine if consumers’ brand schematicity, a generalized consumer disposition to process information using brand schema, influenced their proclivity to engage with brands online through consuming and co-creating brand-related content, and the influence of online brand engagement on actual purchase of brands. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings Study 1 shows that brand schematicity increases online brand consumption and online brand co-creation and Study 2 shows that this online brand engagement is not always beneficial to brands in terms of sales. Specifically, because of resource depletion, consumers who co-create brand content online may purchase brands less while those that consume online brand content purchase more brands. Originality/value There is a lack of previous research addressing individual differences in consumers’ online brand engagement that this paper investigates. Further, a generalized, dispositional variable such as brand schematicity has not been hitherto investigated in the context of consumers’ online behavior. Finally, this paper shows counter-intuitive effects of online brand engagement on brand purchase.

The growing use of mass customization necessitates an understanding of consumers' evaluations of mass customization platforms. We hypothesize that consumers' objective and subjective knowledge of the customized product moderate the influence of idiosyncratically evaluated (i.e., personalizable) attributes on satisfaction with a customization platform. Consistent with our theoretical framework, results from three experiments show that offering greater variety in idiosyncratically evaluated attribute options increases consumers' satisfaction to a greater extent for: (1) novices than experts (2) consumers with more subjective knowledge, and (3) miscalibrated consumers whose subjective knowledge does not match their objective knowledge, than calibrated consumers whose subjective and objective knowledge match.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the negative effect of lower prices on perceived brand quality that has been demonstrated in evaluation tasks arises in a brand choice context. Design/methodology/approach -The effects of lower prices on perceived quality are assessed via two laboratory experiments in which college students participated. Findings -A lower price is associated with lower perceived brand quality in Study 1's evaluation task environment. However, Study 2's results indicate a reversal of the negative effects of lower prices on perceived brand quality in an evaluation task to generally positive effects when the lower price is offered in the form of a discount in a choice task. Practical implications -In addition to providing evidence that fears of the detrimental effects of lower prices may be overblown, the results also provide insight to managers of brands of different levels of quality on how to manage discounts to build, or at least to insulate, perceptions of the brand's quality. Originality/value -The paper's findings may guide both managerial practice and future research on the effects of lower prices, particularly those in the form of a discount.

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