網路日用品市場的模仿品牌評估: 品牌意象相似度和產品特性相似度的交互作用

Abstract

一直以來，模仿品牌評估就是零售市場行銷領域的重要課題，觀察這些自有品牌如何透過模仿行為，進一步利用了領導品牌的品牌權益來使自我品牌獲益。過去的研究從很多角度切入來探討自有品牌的模仿效應，但大多數只著重於研究產品特性相似度的提升對於品牌商和自有品牌的影響，然而產品特性的模仿容易被消費者察覺，可能導致消費者對於模仿品牌的喜好降低；如果是模仿品牌意象則較難被消費者察覺，因此對於消費者喜好的影響甚至可能會比產品特性模仿來的更大。整體來說我們需要了解更多有關品牌意象相似度的細節資訊，未來的研究也應該多加著重於探討兩種相似度之間的交互作用。另一方面，先前行銷領域研究大多都著墨在傳統零售市場，例如大賣場等；但是近十年來網路零售市場開始在全球蓬勃發展，因此本研究作者也認為這樣快速成長的市場，值得我們進一步來探究模仿品牌評估效應的相關議題。

一般我們直覺性認為高相似度的模仿產品相較於低相似度的產品，會讓消費者更加喜歡，因此本研究首先證實了在網路零售市場當中，較高的產品特性相似度會帶來較高的消費者喜好；我們的研究更進一步的分析，當我們將模仿品牌的相似度細分成產品特性相似度和品牌意象相似度兩種時，根據研究結果，如果模仿品牌的高相似度很容易被消費者察覺的話，可能反而會讓消費者對於產品的喜好程度降低。換句話說，消費者對於模仿品牌的評估不僅會受產品相似度影響，也會受消費者是否察覺模仿的產生而影響，因此本研究所呈現產品特性相似度與品牌意象相似度在網路零售市場裡面的交互作用，對於未來行銷理論和管理意涵上面的後續研究都有相當程度的貢獻。

Copycat evaluation has long been an important research topic in grocery retailer marketing. Through imitation, copycats gain by taking advantage of national brands’ equity. Copycat imitation is assessed from many different aspects, most of which focus on featured similarity only. However, featured similarity is easier to be detected by customers and then results in customer preference decline. On the other hand, perceived similarity is harder to be aware by customers and may influences their preference equally or even more. Thus it is important to know more details about the impact of perceived similarity and further research should focus on the interaction between these two similarities. Furthermore, previous research focused more on traditional grocery market like retailer stores. Yet with the online market growing rapidly in recent decades, the author see the prosperity and believe we should put more effort on copycat imitation effect in this growing market in the future.

The general belief is that higher similarity between copycat and leading brand, the more positive the customer evaluation on copycat is. This research first prove that in online market this effect kept with higher featured similarity following higher evaluation. Nevertheless, the results explain more. By separating perceived similarity from featured similarity, the data shows that higher similarity may lead to more negative assessment if the imitation is obviously detected and disliked by customers. That is, customer evaluation is related to not only similarity itself but also if the imitation can be perceived by customers. The clear interaction between two similarities in online grocery market in this article has implications on both marketing theory and managerial practice.