Abstract:
A taxonomy of brand association categories is built based on statements used in a variety of brand
research studies through coding by four judges. A poor degree of correspondence between the
judges' categorisations is observed. Two main factors are identified as contributing to this poor
consensus: the ambiguity of meaning of the brand association statements and the conflicting usage of
consumer behaviour terminology by the judges.
The implications of this are discussed for both academics and commercial practitioners. The lack of
clear and standardised workable definitions in consumer behaviour and positioning research in
particular is highlighted, together with the problems caused by such inconsistencies. The issues of
decision-making based on misinterpretations of brands' images are also discussed. The case is
made for formal bodies in the discipline to standardise definitions to minimise such inconsistencies of
interpretation.
