Consumer evaluations of brand extensions in isolated and comparative contexts

What factors lead to favorable consumer evaluations of extensions has been the important research issue in the area of brand extensions. Prior research findings of brand extensions imply that it is important to consider whether a brand has prior associations by which consumers perceive a fit with an extension product category. A firm, however, can also provide specific product information. How consumers form evaluations in this situation (given prior brand associations as well as incoming product information) was neither asked nor answered. Further, although this issue of consumer evaluations per se may be important, many important research issues beyond consumers' extension evaluations in an isolated context have not been explored. Specifically, what would be consumer extension evaluations in a comparative context with other existing brands in the extension product category? What factors affect comparative extension evaluations in what manner? These questions were neither asked nor answered.