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Previous research suggests that firms should articulate incongruent sponsorships to provide a rationale for the relationship between sponsor and sponsorship object. Fit articulation is a strategy that communicates shared associations between sponsor and object. Based on conclusion explicitness theory, this paper aims to conceptualize and tests two fit articulation strategies in sponsorships: open-ended and closed-ended.

Research hypotheses were tested in two experiments.

Only open-ended fit articulation improved brand attitudes. Mediation analyses show that while open-ended articulation influenced brand attitudes through brand image (Study 1 and Study 2) and altruistic motive attributions (Study 2), there was an indirect effect of closed-ended articulation on brand attitudes through global fit perceptions (Study 2).

The results from two experiments suggest that incongruent sponsors should use open-ended conclusions about a shared image dimension. Although explicit arguments may increase global perceptions of fit, they may impede a positive impact on the articulated brand image dimension and generation of altruistic motive attribution. Therefore, sponsorship managers should be careful in terms of using explicit arguments for fit when the sponsorship is incongruent because such arguments may hinder articulation from generating goodwill and a positive brand image.

This is the first paper to develop and test different types of fit articulation strategies in sponsorships.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of employees' core value behavior. For service brands, employees are most likely the most important vehicle in building and communicating brand core values. The paper aims to draw on two related theories on motivation to understand the basic psychological mechanisms involved, and to propose a set of hypotheses on determinants of core value behavior.

In order to test the proposed model, a survey was conducted among employees in a Scandinavian bank. Regression analyses were used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Supportive of the hypotheses, the study data suggest that attitude towards core values and role model behavior are significant determinants of core value behavior. Moreover, employee role satisfaction is found to be a key moderator of such behavior. Attitudes towards the values affect behavior only for less satisfied employees, whereas role model behavior influences behavior only for highly satisfied employees.

The findings provide clear managerial implications in terms of how to stimulate core value behavior for employees both high and low in role satisfaction.

The present study introduces the concept of core value behavior (CVB) and represents the first empirical investigation on determinants of CVB for services brands. The study offers novel theoretical and empirical insight to an important, yet understudied topic in service marketing.

This paper aims to investigate the properties and attributes of networked services and to propose a general categorization scheme for such services.

Two separate studies were conducted to test the validity and applicability of the categorization scheme. First, industry experts categorized a set of pre‐selected mobile services based on the services' dominant source of value. Second, a large‐scale end‐user study of the same services was conducted for testing cross‐service differences between the proposed service categories in terms of what drives perceived customer value. It is argued that services can be categorized on the basis of whether their dominant source of value stems from intrinsic, user network, or complement network attributes.

The study results largely support the proposed categorization scheme. The two studies suggest that categorizing networked services as driven by either intrinsic, user network, or complement network attributes is fruitful and helps pinpoint fundamentally different drivers of perceived customer value. The drivers investigated in the end‐user study explain 60 percent of the variance in customer value.

The current categorization scheme will have stronger and clearer implications when the full array of antecedents and consequences of intrinsic, user network, and complement network attributes have been investigated.

The categorization scheme may provide managers with important guidelines regarding the kinds of business models and marketing means that will work best for the three different categories of networked services.

The paper contributes with a conceptual framework for understanding and categorizing both extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of service value. It extends and integrates previous work on network effects and adoption research and also offers empirical insight into an under‐researched topic.

The aim of this research is to examine the effects of congruent and incongruent brand concept extensions on consumer attitudes towards the extended product and feedback effects on the parent brand. Moreover, brand familiarity is proposed as an important moderator variable in determining feedback effects on attitude to the parent brand.

An experimental research design was applied for testing the set of hypotheses put forth. The product category of wrist‐watches was utilized as setting. A total of 205 respondents participated in the study.

The study finds general support for the importance of brand concept congruency when it comes to feedback‐effects, whereas no significant differences between congruent and incongruent extensions are found for attitudes to the extension itself. Brand familiarity is found to be an important moderator on parent brand feedback effects.

Before concluding on the moderating role of brand familiarity in this context, one needs to build a stronger nomological network around this variable. Moreover, the effects observed in this study should be extended and tested for other product categories and preferably also with other methodological approaches.

The study results reemphasize the importance of investigating brand feedback effects when launching category extensions. Also, the research provides new insight into the role of parent brand familiarity when evaluating the potential risks and rewards of conducting brand concept extensions.