A hotel restaurant brand alliance model: Antecedents and consequences

Brand alliance involves the combination of two well-known brands. It has evolved as an alternative to brand extensions or stand-alone branding strategies. In the hotel restaurant context, the benefits of brand alliance to both partners include financial, managerial, and marketing aspects. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model of brand alliance applicable to the hospitality industry. The conceptual framework is composed of (a) two broad categories (partner characteristics and consumer characteristics) as antecedents of brand alliance, (b) perceived fit between partners, (c) psychological and behavioral consequences, and (d) a moderator (consumer's motivation). Partner characteristics consist of the perceived quality of partnering brands (brand strength), the status each partner has within its competitive set (direction), and the partners' portfolio of brands (brand breadth). Consumer characteristics include prior attitude and familiarity. These antecedents may interact with each other to influence consumers' perceptions of brand alliance, and subsequently, their psychological and behavioral evaluations on the alliance. In addition, the alliance may subsequently affect consumers' evaluations on each partner. The proposed framework highlights critical factors in strategic alliances between hotels and branded restaurants, and as such is useful for hospitality operators and scholarly researchers alike. Several directions for future research are suggested.