Mixed emotions enhance consumer acceptance of distant brand extensions: the role of dialectical thinking as a mediator

Purpose This study aims to examine how mixed emotions (simultaneous happiness and sadness) influence consumer evaluations of distant brand extensions, addressing a critical gap in low-fit extension strategies. Design/methodology/approach Four experimental studies were conducted employing diverse stimuli (e.g. advertisement materials and music clips) to manipulate mixed emotions, with their impact on extension evaluations and underlying mechanisms tested through measurement and manipulation. Findings The study found that consumers experiencing mixed emotions (simultaneously experiencing happiness and sadness) exhibit more favorable attitudes toward distant brand extensions than those experiencing happiness. This effect is mediated by dialectical thinking, which reconciles emotional conflicts and broadens cognitive processing to increase extension acceptance. Research limitations/implications The findings advance brand extension theory by revealing how internal emotional conflict systematically resolves extreme product incongruity through the specific cognitive pathway of dialectical thinking. Practical implications The study provides brand managers with an agile, highly actionable communication toolkit. Rather than relying on pure cognitive strategies or complex macro-segmentation, practitioners can leverage mixed emotions framing and contextual segmentation to proactively foster consumer acceptance of extreme product incongruity at the point of communication. Originality/value This research advances understanding of the cognitive consequences of mixed emotions by showing how affective conflict can translate into dialectical thinking in the context of distant brand extensions. It also offers practical guidance for firms and other market actors on using mixed-emotion communications to facilitate consumer acceptance of such extensions.