Context effects in the evaluation of business-to-business brand alliances

• We examine the managerial evaluation processes of B2B brand alliances using assimilation and contrast effects.
• Positive valence of the known brand ally results in higher evaluations of the brand alliance.
• Higher evaluations of brand alliances are the result of detailed information.
• Detailed information benchmarking tangible attributes of the alliance against other comparable offerings are more credible.
• Quality-related messages about an alliance's attributes that are difficult to be independently evaluated should be avoided.

Brand alliances in the business-to-business domain are becoming increasingly popular. This study investigates the impact of context-related effects on the formation of evaluation perceptions in B2B brand alliances. Assimilation and contrast effects represent the conceptual framework. Employing an experimental design we test the influence of two contextual factors on a range of product attributes: quality perceptions of the known brand ally (valence), and amount of information provided for the brand alliance. Using data collected from a cross section sample of large B2B UK companies we report assimilation effects across different product attributes of the alliance. Positive valence of the known brand ally results in higher evaluations of the brand alliance. In terms of provision of information, we find that, (a) unlike consumer markets, in the B2B domain higher evaluations are the result of detailed information, and (b) the impact of detailed information is significant only for tangible product attributes. Further, we find that valence of the known brand ally and amount of information provided are independent factors. The results add significantly to the knowledge on context effects in B2B brand alliances and lead to a number of managerial recommendations on partner selection and marketing communication of new brand alliances.